How to create segment on ActiveCampaign

Segments can help you reach a large number of audience at once. It minimizes efforts and enables you to target just the right audience for your business. Creating segments in ActiveCampaign allows you to target specific groups of contacts with tailored content based on their attributes, behaviors, and interactions.

What is ActiveCampaign?

ActiveCampaign is a cloud-based platform. It combines customer relationship management (CRM), automation, and email marketing to help organizations grow. It enhances client connections, boosts sales and income, simplifies and expedites marketing and sales procedures, and enables data-driven decision-making.

The most convincing reasons for using ActiveCampaign are its strong automation and simple email builder.

What is email segmentation?

Email segmentation is the act of grouping and splitting email subscribers into groups or segments according to criteria.

Email subscribers can be categorized into various segments, such as age, region, and activity. Although segmentation falls under personalization, the two are not the same.

Personalization, for instance, modifies email content to make it more custom by adding things like a subscriber’s first name. On the contrary, email segmentation focuses more on assembling similar audience members into groups so that they get more targeted email campaigns.

Why should you create segments in ActiveCampaign?

Targeted communication

Segments allow you to tailor your messages to specific groups of contacts based on their attributes, behaviors, and interactions. This targeted approach boosts the relevance of your communication, along with higher engagement and conversion rates.

Improved personalization

You can personalize your messages to address the unique needs and interests of different groups. Personalization enhances the consumer experience and fosters stronger relationships with your contacts.

Increased efficiency

Segments help you streamline your marketing efforts by focusing on the most relevant audience for each campaign. Instead of sending generic messages to your entire list, you can develop targeted campaigns that resonate with certain segments. This saves time and resources.

Better response rates

When your messages are tailored to the preferences and interests of your audience segments, you are more likely to see higher click-through rates, open rates, and overall response rates. This leads to better campaign performance and ROI.

Enhanced retention and loyalty

You can keep your subscribers engaged and interested in your brand over time by delivering relevant content. Segmented campaigns that address the needs and pain points of your audience segments are more likely to foster loyalty and retention.

Data-driven insights

Creating segments allows you to gather valuable insights into the preferences, behaviors, and interactions of your contacts. By measuring the performance of different segments, you can refine your targeting strategies and optimize future campaigns for better results.

Here’s how you can create a segment in ActiveCampaign:

1. Log in to Your ActiveCampaign Account:

•  Log in to your ActiveCampaign account dashboard.

2. Navigate to the Contacts Section:

• From the main dashboard, navigate to the “Contacts” section. This is where you’ll manage your contacts and create segments.

3. Create a New Segment:

• In the “Contacts” section, click on “Segments” in the left-hand menu.
• Click the “+ New Segment” button to create a new segment.

4. Define Segment Criteria:

• Give your segment a name to identify it.
• Define the criteria for your segment. ActiveCampaign provides a variety of conditions for segmenting your contacts.
• You can segment based on contact attributes, tags, engagement history, and more.

5. Add Conditions and Rules:

• Depending on your chosen criteria, you’ll need to add conditions and rules that define who should be included in the segment.
• For example, you might segment contacts based on their location, behavior on your website, or engagement with previous emails.
• Preview and Save the Segment: After setting up the conditions and rules, you can preview the segment to see the contacts who meet the criteria.
• Click the “Preview” button to review the contacts.
• If everything looks good, click the “Save” button to create the segment.

6. Use the Segment in Campaigns:

• Once you’ve created the segment, you can use it to set up your email campaigns.
• ActiveCampaign makes it easy to select the segment you want to target with each campaign.

7. Automate and Use the Segment:

• You can also use the created segment in email automation workflows to deliver targeted content to your contacts based on their segment membership.

Tips for optimizing segments for better targeting and results

Define clear objectives

Start by defining the objectives of your segmentation strategy. Do you want to increase engagement, client retention, conversion rates, or email deliverability? Being aware of your segmentation goals will help you in selecting the most relevant and successful segmentation criteria and messaging.

Segment based on behavior

Utilize behavioral data to segment your audience effectively. Consider factors such as purchase history, website interactions, email engagement, and social media activity. For example, you can make segments for loyal customers who frequently purchase and engage with your brand versus new leads who have shown interest but have not converted yet.

Combine multiple criteria

Combine multiple criteria to create more targeted segments. Instead of relying on a single attribute or behavior, consider using a combination of factors to refine your audience further. For instance, you can make a segment for customers who have made a purchase within the last six months and have also clicked on recent email campaigns.

Regularly review and update segments

Keep your segments dynamic by regularly reviewing and updating them based on changing customer behavior and preferences. Set up automated rules to update segments when certain conditions are met, such as adding contacts to a segment when they meet specific engagement criteria.

Test different segmentation strategies

Experiment with different segmentation strategies to see which ones yield the best results. Test different criteria, messaging approaches, and campaign strategies to see what resonates most with your audience segments. Use A/B testing to weigh up the performance of different segmentations and refine your strategy accordingly.

Personalize content and messaging

Personalize your content to serve the specific needs and interests of each segment. Use dynamic content blocks to customize email campaigns based on segment attributes, such as location, preferences, or past purchases. Personalization increases relevance and engagement, leading to better results.

Monitor performance metrics

Track key performance metrics for each segment to measure the effectiveness of your targeting efforts. Monitor metrics such as open rates, conversion rates, click-through rates, and customer lifetime value to gauge the impact of your segmented campaigns. Use this data to identify areas for improvement and optimize your segmentation strategy over time.

Segment for retention and loyalty

Do not just focus on acquiring new customers—also prioritize segmenting for retention and loyalty. Create segments for VIP customers, frequent buyers, and brand advocates, and tailor special offers or rewards to encourage continued engagement and loyalty.

Keep in mind that software interfaces and features can change over time. If you’re using a more recent version of ActiveCampaign, there might be slight differences in the steps or interface. For the most accurate and up-to-date instructions, I recommend referring to ActiveCampaign’s official documentation or help resources.