The ActiveCampaign Salesforce integration provides a two-way sync between your eduConverse account and your Salesforce account.
This integration will let you:
- Add Salesforce leads and contacts into eduConverse
- Add eduConverse contacts into Salesforce as contacts and leads
- Sync updates between the two platforms when a contact or lead record changes in either platform
- Send a campaign created in eduConverse to a lead or contact from their Salesforce record
- Enter the inquiry or contact into an automation created in eduConverse from their Salesforce record
This article will show you how to install and set up the integration.
- Set up your custom domain for Salesforce Lightning
- Install the ActiveCampaign app
- Assign permission sets to Salesforce users
- Setup Step 1: System connections
- Setup Step 2: Dynamic field mapping
- Setup Step 3: Configure Outbound Sync Settings
- Setup Step 4: Enable the ActiveCampaign CX Automation component
- Add components and fields to pages in Salesforce
- View the Salesforce integration
- View synced leads and contacts
- Use automation to create contacts and leads
- Why contacts are synced to Salesforce in batches
Take note
- You will need a Salesforce account with Lightning Experience enabled to use this integration. This will not work with Salesforce Classic.
- You will configure and manage this integration through your Salesforce account
- Your Salesforce administrator will need to complete the integration setup. They will also need to add the ActiveCampaign components to the Lead and Contact page layouts in Salesforce.
- Leads and contacts in Salesforce need to have an email address in order to be synced into eduConverse.
- To uninstall the ActiveCampaign Salesforce integration, see this Salesforce help article on how to uninstall a package. Once the package is uninstalled, data will no longer sync.
- In addition, you will not be able to use any of the ActiveCampaign components in your Salesforce account. However, previously synced data will not be deleted.
Set up your custom domain for Salesforce Lightning
To install the ActiveCampaign for Salesforce app, you need to set up a custom domain for Salesforce Lightning. If you already have a domain enabled, you can skip this step.
1. From your Salesforce account, click the gear icon. Then click "Setup."
2. Click "Company Settings" then "My Domain."
3. Type the domain into the field provided and click the "Check Availability" button.
4. After the domain has been registered, refresh the page. You'll want to wait about five minutes before refreshing the page.
5. Click the "Log in" button to log back into your Salesforce account using the new custom domain you registered.
6. Click the "Deploy to users" button.
Install the ActiveCampaign Salesforce app
In this section, we'll show you how to install the ActiveCampaign Salesforce app in your Salesforce account.
1. From your Salesforce account, click the dots on the top left of your account, then click the "Visit AppExchange" button.
2. Search for ActiveCampaign, then click the ActiveCampaign app.
3. Click the "Get it now" button.
4. A "Log in to AppExchange" modal will appear. Click the "Open Login Screen" button.
5. An "Allow Access?" modal will open. Click the "Allow" button to allow Salesforce to access your ActiveCampaign account.
6. Click the "Install Here" button located in the "Install in This Org" box.
7. Click the "Terms and conditions" box, then click the "Confirm and Install" button.
8. Click the "Install for Admins Only" option then click the "Install" button. Note that admins will be able to assign permissions to Salesforce users.
9. An "Approve Third-Party Access" modal window will appear. Click the box for "Yes, grant access to these third-party websites" then click the "Continue" button.
The application will begin to install in your Salesforce account. When the application is installed, it will be listed in your Salesforce App Launcher where you can begin to configure it.
Assign permission sets to Salesforce users
There are two permission sets for Salesforce users: one for the user(s) who will configure and maintain the integration and the other for the user(s) who will interact with ActiveCampaign components and view activities.
ActiveCampaign Package Manager Permission set (available with version 1.38)
In order to correctly install the ActiveCampaign Managed Care Package in your Salesforce account:
- The ActiveCampaign Package Manager permission set must be applied to the user(s) that will configure and maintain the application
- The user must have a System Administrator profile. This will ensure the proper access to the Salesforce organization settings.
Assign ActiveCampaign Package Manager Permission set
To assign the ActiveCampaign Package Manager Permissions set:
1. In your Salesforce account, navigate to the Setup page by clicking the gear icon then clicking "Setup."
2. Click "Users" in the left menu. The Users menu will expand.
3. Click "Permission Sets."
4. The Permission Sets page will load. Click "ActiveCampaign Package Manager."
5. The "ActiveCampaign Package Manager" permission set will open. Click the "Manage Assignments" button.
6. Click the "Add Assignments" button.
7. Check the box next to the user(s) that you would like to assign the permission set to.
8. Click the "Assign" button.
ActiveCampaign Standard User Permission set
Once the ActiveCampaign for Salesforce app is installed, you can give specific users in your Salesforce account permission to interact with ActiveCampaign components and view ActiveCampaign activities.
To assign the Standard User Permission set:
1. In your Salesforce account, navigate to the Setup page by clicking the gear icon then clicking "Setup."
2. Click "Users" in the left menu. The Users menu will expand.
3. Click "Permission Sets."
4. The Permissions Sets page will open. Click "ActiveCampaign Standard User."
5. The "ActiveCampaign Standard User" permission set will open. Click the "Manage Assignments" button.
6. Click the "Add Assignments" button.
7. Check the box next to the user(s) that you would like to assign the permission set to.
8. Click the "Assign" button.
Setup Step 1: System Connections
After installing the ActiveCampaign application in your Salesforce account, you can set up the connection between the two platforms. Doing so will permit both accounts to send data to each other.
In this step, you will access the Setup Assistant, add your account API key to Salesforce, and authorize your account to access your Salesforce account.
This setup is done through your Salesforce account and should only take a few moments to complete. Here's how:
A. Access the "Setup Assistant"
1. From your Salesforce account, click the dots in the top left corner to open the App Launcher.
2. Click the "ActiveCampaign Setup Assistant" app.
3. The Setup page will load. Click the "Get Started" button.
1. On the System Connections page under API access, type your eduConverse account name in the Account Name field provided. Your account name is part of your account login URL.
2. Provide your account API key into the API Key field.
3. Click the "Authorize" button to authorize API access.
If authorization is successful, you'll see a green bar that says "Connected." If it is not successful, you will see a red bar that displays an error message.
If you see the red error bar, double-check that your account name and API key are accurate and click the "Authorize" button again.
4. Click the "Next" button to go to the "Authorize ActiveCampaign to Salesforce" screen.
1. On the "Authorize ActiveCampaign to Salesforce" screen, you'll see a black bar that says "Not Connected."
This screen will look similar to the API access screen. Click the "Authorize" button.
2. A Salesforce sign-in modal will appear. Type your Salesforce account username and password into the fields provided.
3. Click the "Log In" button and complete the Salesforce login form.
4. Next, you'll be asked to give ActiveCampaign access to your Salesforce account. To allow access, click the "Allow" button.
If authorization is successful, you'll see a green bar that says "Connected." If it is not successful, you will see a red bar that says "Error." If you see the red error bar, try reconnecting again.
5. Click the "Finish" button.
You will be redirected to the main Setup page and "System Connections" will have a green checkmark.
Setup Step 2: Dynamic field mapping
With the Dynamic Field mapping step, you can map contact fields from your account to contact and lead fields in Salesforce.
- Standard Lead and Standard Contact field mapping will already be configured for you. However, you can choose to override the default mapping and use your own
- It is not possible to map deal fields from your account to any fields in Salesforce
To access Dynamic Field Mapping, click the "Continue" button located on the setup page.
Standard lead field mapping will already be configured for you for most fields. These mapped account fields include:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Phone
- Account
If you would like to modify the default mappings, use the dropdowns located under "Salesforce Field" to select the fields you wish to map to.
Click the "Next" button to proceed to Custom Lead Field mapping.
You can map ActiveCampaign custom contact fields to Salesforce custom lead fields. Custom fields are fields that you create to capture and store extra information about your contacts and leads.
If you are mapping an ActiveCampaign text input field to a currency field in Salesforce, decimals, commas, and currency symbols will be supported.
Learn about supported field mapping combinations.
If you wish to skip this step, click the "Next" button to proceed to the next mapping option.
To map an ActiveCampaign custom contact field to a Salesforce custom contact field:
1. Click the "Add Mapping" button.
A row will appear with two dropdown fields. The left dropdown contains all of your account's custom contact fields and the right dropdown contains all Salesforce lead fields.
2. Click the "Select ActiveCampaign Field" dropdown and click the custom field you wish to map. Note that all custom contact fields you've created in ActiveCampaign will be listed in this dropdown.
3. Click the dropdown under "Salesforce Field" and select the Salesforce field you wish to map the ActiveCampaign custom field to.
Note that you will need to complete steps 1-3 above to map additional custom fields from your account.
4. Once you've finished mapping custom fields, click the "Next" button.
- First Name
- Last Name
- Phone
If you would like to override the default mappings, use the dropdowns located under "Salesforce Field" to select the fields you wish to map to.
Click the "Next" button to proceed to Custom Contact Field mapping.
You can map ActiveCampaign custom contact fields to Salesforce custom contact fields. Custom fields are fields that you create to capture and store extra information about your contacts and leads.
If you are mapping an ActiveCampaign text input field to a currency field in Salesforce, decimals, commas, and currency symbols will be supported.
Learn about supported field mapping combinations.
If you wish to skip this step, click the "Next" button to proceed to the next mapping option.
How to map custom contact fields to Salesforce custom contact fields
1. Click the "Add Mapping" button.
A row will appear with two dropdown fields. The left dropdown contains all ActiveCampaign custom contact fields and the right dropdown contains all Salesforce lead fields.
2. Click the "Select ActiveCampaign Field" dropdown and click the custom field you wish to map. Note that all custom contact fields you've created in ActiveCampaign will be listed in this dropdown.
3. Click the dropdown under "Salesforce Field" and select the Salesforce field you wish to map the ActiveCampaign custom field to.
Note that you will need to complete steps 1-3 above to map all desired custom fields from ActiveCampaign.
4. Once you've finished mapping custom fields, click the "Next" button.
You can set up a bi-directional sync between your account object fields and Salesforce Account object fields.
How to map Account object fields to Salesforce Account object fields
Note: If you are mapping a text input field to a currency field in Salesforce, decimals, commas, and currency symbols will be supported.
Learn about supported field mapping combinations.
1. Click the "Salesforce Account Field Mapping" toggle to set it to the "On" position.
2. The Account field will already be mapped to the Salesforce Account Name field for you. To map additional account fields, click the "Add Mapping" button.
3. Click the "Select ActiveCampaign Field" dropdown and click the field you wish to map. Note that all Account fields you've created in your eduConverse account will be listed in this dropdown.
4. Click the dropdown under "Salesforce Field" and select the Salesforce field you wish to map the account field to.
Note that you will need to complete steps 2-4 above to map all desired Account fields from ActiveCampaign.
5. Once you've finished mapping fields, click the "Finish" button.
Setup Step 3: Configure outbound sync settings
In this step, you determine which Salesforce leads and contacts will sync over to your account and how often the sync will run. This includes:
- Syncing leads and contacts to your account. This will create a new contact record in ActiveCampaign
- Syncing updates made to contact and lead records. This will push an update to contact records in eduConverse when updates are made to records in Salesforce for synced contacts and leads
To access Outbound Sync Settings, click the "Continue" button located on the ActiveCampaign setup page.
Learn how syncing works by reading the "How syncing works with the ActiveCampaign Salesforce integration" help article.
Note that we'll sync Account object data if the contact being synced is associated with an Account. No additional configuration is needed.
Select which leads should sync to ActiveCampaign by clicking any of the following options:
- Not using Leads
Select this option if you are not syncing leads from Salesforce into your account. - All Leads created from this point forward
This will sync all leads created in Salesforce after this setting is saved. - Leads marked via Process Builder or other custom method
This will sync all leads whose “ActiveCampaign Sync Status” field value is “Waiting For Next Sync.” - Only leads that match certain criteria
This will sync all leads that match the rules you set when selecting this option.
When finished, click the "Next" button.
Select which contacts should sync to your account by clicking any of the following options:
- Not using Contacts
Select this option if you are not syncing contacts from Salesforce into your account. - All Contacts created from this point forward
This will sync all contacts created in Salesforce after this setting is saved. - Contacts marked via Process Builder or other custom method
This will sync all contacts whose “ActiveCampaign Sync Status” field value is “Waiting For Next Sync.” - Only Contacts that match certain criteria
This will sync all contacts that match the rules you set when selecting this option.
When finished, click the "Next" button.
On the Job Schedule page, you determine how often data will sync from Salesforce to ActiveCampaign. This sync setting will apply to:
- Leads and contacts syncing for the first time to your account from Salesforce
- Updating previously synced contacts in your account with information from Salesforce
To configure the sync frequency:
1. Click the dropdown labeled "Job Frequency" on the left.
2. Click one of the following options:
- Every hour
- Every 2 hours
- Every 3 hours
- Every 4 hours
- Every 6 hours
- Every 8 hours
- Every 12 hours
- Once Daily
3. If "Once Daily" is selected, select the time that the sync should start each day. To do so, click the "Job Start Time" dropdown on the right and click the time you wish to perform data syncs.
Note that all other Job Frequency options will start as soon as possible after the setup is complete.
4. When finished, click the "Schedule" button, then click the "Finish" button.
To change the Job Frequency you set, click the "Remove Job" button and make the desired changes. Then click the "Schedule" button.
"Other Scheduled Jobs" shows scheduled jobs in your organization. These are not associated with your account.
Setup Step 4: Enable the CX Automation component
If you wish to use the CX (Customer Experience) Automation component, you'll need to enable it from the ActiveCampaign Setup page in your Salesforce account. The CX Automation component requires Salesforce Lightning.
The CX Automation component lets you do the following right from a contact or lead record in Salesforce:
- Send a campaign created in ActiveCampaign (eduConverse) to a lead or contact
- Enter the lead or contact into an automation you created in ActiveCampaign (eduConverse)
To set this component up, click the "Continue" button located on the ActiveCampaign setup page.
Then click the "Finish" button.
Add components and fields to pages in Salesforce
You can add ActiveCampaign components to any lightning record page(s) of your choosing.
ActiveCampaign components include:
- ActiveCampaign CXA (Customer Experience Automation) Activities component
This will list up to 20 recent CXA activities that took place in ActiveCampaign for a synced lead or contact. This component requires Salesforce Lightning. This can be added to any lightning record page in Salesforce. - ActiveCampaign CX Automation component
This lets you send a campaign created in eduConverse to a synced lead or contact from a profile record in Salesforce. Also lets you enter a lead or contact into an automation you created in eduConverse from a profile record in Salesforce.
This component requires Salesforce Lightning. This can be added to any lightning record page in Salesforce.
You can also add your account fields to any page layout(s) of your choice for both Leads and Contacts in Salesforce.
ActiveCampaign fields include:
- ActiveCampaign Sync Status field
Will show if the sync was successful. This field can be added to any page layout in your Salesforce account. - ActiveCampaign ID field
The ID number of synced contact in ActiveCampaign. This field can be added to any page layout in your Salesforce account. - ActiveCampaign Relation Sync Status
Will display information on the account relationship and the sync status for an account.
Add the ActiveCampaign CXA Activities component to lead and contact page layouts in Salesforce
The activities displayed in the box include:
- Campaign opened
The name of the campaign will display. Clicking the caret next to the activity will present a link to the web copy of the campaign. - Campaign replied
The subject of the reply email along will display. Clicking the caret next to the activity will display the body of the reply email. - Campaign was sent
The campaign name will display. - Campaign link clicked
The campaign name will display. Clicking the caret next to the activity will display the URL of the link that the contact clicked. - Entered automation
The automation name will display. Clicking the caret next to the activity will present a link to the automation in your ActiveCampaign account. - Completed automation
The automation name will display.Clicking the caret next to the activity will present a link to the automation in your ActiveCampaign account. - Site & Event tracking
This will list a tracked page visit or event the contact/lead completed. Page visits are tracked with the Site Tracking feature. Events are tracked using the ActiveCampaign Event Tracking feature.
Clicking the down arrow on the top right of the box will let you view all CXA activities for the lead or contact.
To add this component to any lightning record page:
1. Click on any lead or contact in your Salesforce account to open their record page.
2. Click the gear icon on the top right.
3. Click "Edit Page."
4. Scroll down the Lightning Components column until you see Custom Components.
5. Click the Marketing Activities component and drag it into your page layout.
6. Click the "Save" button located on the top right of your page, then click the "Activation" button.
7. The "Activation" modal will open.
From here you will need to activate the record page as an Org Default, App Default, or as an App, Record Type, and Profile. To do so, click one of the three options, then click the "Assign as" button.
You will be redirected back to the lead or contact record page in the Lightning App Builder:
Add the CX Automation component to lightning record pages in Salesforce
The ActiveCampaign CX Automation component allows you to:
- Send a campaign from a lead or contact profile record
- Add a lead or contact to an automation you created in ActiveCampaign, right from their profile record
To use the ActiveCampaign CX Automation component in your Salesforce account, you'll need to add it to any lightning record page of your choosing.
Once added, it will look like this:
To add this component to any lightning record page:
1. Click on any lead or contact in your Salesforce account to open their record page.
2. Click the gear icon on the top right.
3. Click "Edit Page."
4. Scroll down the Lightning Components column until you see Custom Components.
5. Click the ActiveCampaign CXA component and drag it into your page layout.
6. Click the "Save" button located on the top right of your page, then click the "Activation" button.
7. If you are adding the component to the Contact Layout page, the "Activation: Contact Record Page" modal will open.
If you are adding the component to the Lead Layout page, the "Activation: Lead Record Page" modal will open.
From here you will need to activate the contact or lead record page as an Org Default, App Default, or App, Record Type, and Profile. To do so, click one of the three options, then either click "Close" or click the "Assign as" button.
In order to select campaigns and automations for this component, you must add the following label to them in your account:
Salesforce
Add the fields to contact and lead page layouts in Salesforce
You can add the ActiveCampaign Sync Status and ActiveCampaign ID fields to any contact and lead page layouts of your choosing. These two fields can only be added to the Record Details component.
The Sync Status field will show if the contact or lead was synced into ActiveCampaign. If the lead or contact was synced, the field will say "Successfully Synced." If the lead or contact was not synced, the field will be blank.
The ActiveCampaign ID field stores the ActiveCampaign ID number of the contact or lead.
To add these fields to the Record Details component of a contact or lead page layout, you'll want to make sure you have either layout open in the Lightning App Builder.
1. From either the Lead or Contact Record Page in the Lightning App Builder, click the "Details" tab.
2. Click into the Record Details component.
3. The menu on the right side of your Salesforce application will list your page layouts. Click the Lead or Contact Layout you wish to work with.
You will be directed to the Object Manager for your page layout:
4. Click the "ActiveCampaign Sync Status" field and drag it onto the page under "Lead Detail" or "Contact Detail."
5. Hover your mouse over the field and click the wrench icon.
6. Check the "Read-Only" box then click "OK." This will prevent the standard user from editing the field.
7. Follow steps 4-6 above to add the ActiveCampaign ID field and the ActiveCampaign Relation Sync Status field to contact and lead page layouts.
8. When finished, click the "Save" button.
View the Salesforce integration
Once the Salesforce integration is set up, we'll display the connection in your account. As a reminder, this integration can only be set up and managed from your Salesforce account.
To see the connected integration:
1. Click the gear icon or "Settings" in your account.
2. Click "Integrations" in the left menu.
The Salesforce integration will be listed:
View synced leads and contacts in ActiveCampaign
All leads and contacts synced from Salesforce will be contacts in the platform. They will have the "created-from-salesforce" tag on their profile records.
You can use this tag in the segment builder to create "If/Else" conditions in your automation, add conditional content to your emails, create goal conditions, set up "Split Test" automations, update a contact score, create a segment of contacts, and more.
Use automation to create contacts and leads in Salesforce
You can use an automation to add new contacts and leads to Salesforce.
To do so, you'll need to add either the "Create a contact in Salesforce" or "Create a lead in Salesforce" action to your automation.
When contacts in your ActiveCampaign account reach either step in your automation, they will be queued to sync into your Salesforce account as either a new lead or contact.
How syncs run to Salesforce
We send contacts to Salesforce in batches. This is because Salesforce has limitations for incoming API calls. This varies for each Salesforce plan tier. Sending API calls in batches to your Salesforce account helps you stay within your daily API call limit.
Batches will run either every ten minutes or if 100 contacts are updated before that time.
To understand your Salesforce API limits, you will need to review your Salesforce edition.
Once a contact or lead is synced through this integration from either direction (ActiveCampaign to Salesforce or Salesforce to ActiveCampaign), any updates made to a record in ActiveCampaign will be sent to Salesforce when the next batch runs.
See the "How syncing works with the Salesforce integration" help article for more information on how syncing works with this integration.
Note that there isn't a specific automation action for "Create an account in Salesforce." That's because Account field data will sync to Salesforce if the contacts and leads you're syncing are associated with an account.
Existing leads and contacts in Salesforce that are synced to ActiveCampaign then pushed back to Salesforce through either the "Create a Contact in Salesforce" or "Create a Lead in Salesforce" automation action will not convert.
For example, if you synced a lead from Salesforce to ActiveCampaign, then had that lead pushed back to Salesforce through the "Create a Contact in Salesforce" automation action, a new contact record will be created for them in Salesforce. Their lead record in Salesforce will not be updated.
Create a contact or lead in Salesforce
To sync contacts to Salesforce as contacts or leads
1. Go to Automations in your ActiveCampaign account.
2. Click the "Edit" button for the automation that you want to add the Salesforce action to. Note that you can also create a new automation by clicking the "Create an automation" button and add this action to it.
3. Click the "Salesforce" tab in the right menu of the automation builder.
4. To create a new contact in Salesforce, click the "Create a contact in Salesforce action and drag it to your automation.
To create a new lead in Salesforce, click the "Create a lead in Salesforce" action and drag it to your automation.
5. A modal pop up will appear and your Salesforce account will be automatically selected in the dropdown. Click the "Save" button.
Once you've finished creating/updating your automation and make it active, any contacts who reach this step in your automation will be added to your Salesforce account as either a Lead or Contact, depending on the action used in your automation.
Their lead profile in Salesforce will include their sync status, ActiveCampaign ID, the 20 most recent marketing activities and/or the CXA component. Contact profiles will include their ActiveCampaign sync status, ActiveCampaign ID, and the CXA component.
Any contacts added to Salesforce through this action will have the "added-to-salesforce" tag on their profile records in your account.
Existing leads and contacts in Salesforce that are synced to your account then pushed back to Salesforce through either the "Create a Contact in Salesforce" or "Create a Lead in Salesforce" automation action will not convert.
For example, if you synced a lead from Salesforce to eduConverse, then had that lead pushed back to Salesforce through the "Create a Contact in Salesforce" automation action, a new contact record will be created for them in Salesforce. Their lead record in Salesforce will not be updated.