Labels

Labels, also known as tags, are single- or multiple-word phrases that can be applied to some content types. Use labels to help categorize content by overarching concepts relevant to digital workplace members. Members can also use these labels as search filters to find similar content quickly. 

Labels support multiple languages, are grouped into label groups, and can be required for publishing content.

Sections in this article:

Managing labels

Managing labels for the digital workplace

You can manage your digital workplace's labels from the Manage Labels page. To access this page, you must be one of the following:

  • Enterprise Administrator
  • Workplace Administrator
  • Member of a Group that has the Manage Labels role.

 On the Manage Labels page, you can:

Managing label requirements for a channel

You can manage whether a channel requires labels on its content from its Settings page. You must have at least Edit access to the channel to access this page. For more information, see Making labels mandatory.

Applying labels

You can apply any number of labels to the following content types:

When creating content, you have the opportunity to apply labels to it. Depending on your digital workplace's and channel's label requirements, you may need to add at least one label before publishing your content. After publishing any of these content types, you can return to add additional labels. For instructions, see Adding labels to existing content.

Searching by labels

When viewing content with labels, you can click a label to search for additional content that has that same label. If you search for content, you can search by a label's name or apply a label as a filter while on the Advanced Search page.

Best practices

Applying a well-planned taxonomy for your digital workplace content can transform how you communicate with your employees by organizing your information to align with your users' expectations. If done correctly, it provides an immense return on investment through improved content discovery and findability.

  • Do it right the first time: Have a plan and strategy for your digital workplace taxonomy that aligns with the use of labels right from the beginning. A plan will save you a lot of time and effort when you try to apply this strategy to a large amount of existing content.
  • Remember that people navigate differently: Different people navigate according to their needs and interests. Sometimes, the same user will navigate to content in different ways. Consider the various approaches to finding content while you build your taxonomy.
  • Relate content by topic and type: Tagging content by taxonomy allows you to relate content by topic and type.
  • Consider different interests: A taxonomy allows you to connect people with their interests and likes.
  • Optimize your site structure for searchability: The more intuitive and user-friendly your site structure is, the more efficient and effective the search will be at finding, indexing, and ranking your content.

General guidelines for creating labels

When creating labels, consider the following:

  • Minimal numbers: The number of labels to choose from should be minimal. People typically can handle only 12-15 items in a list before having difficulty selecting a label.
  • Conceptual level: Keep the labels within a group at the same conceptual level where possible. For example, having a single Location group containing labels such as "San Francisco," "United States," and "North America" can be jarring and confusing, especially when they are in a long alphabetized label list. 
  • Specificity: Be as specific as possible in your label descriptions. For example, don't use "Presentation" when "IT Presentation" or "HR Presentation" might be a more accurate description.
  • Balance: Labels should be balanced, with roughly the same amount of content tagged by each label. Something is wrong if 90% of content exists under one label while other labels have only one or two items.

How should labels be grouped?

Igloo can support unlimited numbers of groups and labels, but there are some practical constraints. It is human nature that the more choices you present, the more confusing and time-consuming it will be for the user to choose the proper labels when publishing content.

There are also constraints in how labels are viewed. For example, clicking the Add Label button presents a screen with all labels listed in a single box. If there are many labels to display, users have to scroll their browser screen down to see them all. Similarly, when selecting labels as search filters, users will be presented with a scroll bar if the group they open has more labels than can be displayed at one time within the box.

Consider the following for grouping labels: 

  • Site architecture: A group may be redundant and unnecessary if the content is already segmented as part of the site architecture. For example, you want content segmented by functional area (HR, IT, etc.) and location (New York, Sydney, London, etc.). However, if your site structure already separates content by functional area, you only need labels for the location.
  • Existing filters: There is no need to create groups for spaces or Igloo content types (blogs, documents, forums, etc.) as these filters are already available on the Advanced Search page.
  • Understandability for all digital workplace members: Groups are often based on time or sequence, location, topic, form, or business function. Labels will be visible to all workplace members and should be obvious and intuitive to everyone. Some groups signify who should use the labels (Corp Comms, IT, HR, etc.). If labels are to be used by everyone, group them according to their purpose rather than in a catch-all "miscellaneous" group.

How should groups and labels be ordered?

Igloo arranges labels alphabetically, but groups are displayed in creation order and cannot be changed without deleting and recreating them. It is essential to consider group order before you expend effort creating them. Here are some approaches to consider if order is important to you.

Strategies for ordering groups:

  • Audience Size: Place groups intended for use by the entire enterprise at the top of the list and then create additional groups based on the group's expected audience size. Place the most heavily used groups at the top.
  • Number of labels in groups: Place groups with the fewest labels at the top to maximize visible choices when users scroll to add labels.

Strategies for ordering labels within a group (other than alphabetical):

  • Numbers: Put a number in front of each label to force the order you want (e.g., 01-Jan, 02-Feb, 03-Mar, etc.).
  • Create subgroups: Use a colon to create subgroups. For example, if your legal team needs to label customer and vendor contracts, policies, white papers, and presentations, subdivide those labels:
    • "Customer Contract" and "Vendor Contract" could become "Contracts: Customer" and "Contracts: Vendor"
    • "Policy", "Presentation", and "White Paper" could become "Documents: Policy", "Documents: Presentation", and "Documents: White Paper".

When should labels be mandatory?

Mandatory labeling guarantees that all content will be labeled, but it also puts pressure on the label taxonomy to ensure that the set of defined labels is rich enough to encompass all content that might be created. A label called "no good label" or "no applicable label" can be useful to provide a catch-all option. Someone responsible for label maintenance can routinely examine any content containing this label to see if new labels need to be created.