If you’re running marketing campaigns and juggling community engagement, you’ve probably wondered: “Why can’t I see all my user activity in one place?” This guide is for marketers and ops folks who want to connect the dots between their community (Discord, Slack, forums, events, etc.) and their marketing stack—specifically, HubSpot. If you use Commonroom to track what’s happening in your community, and HubSpot to manage email, campaigns, and contacts, here’s how to get these two working together—without the fluff.
Why bother integrating Commonroom and HubSpot?
Let’s be blunt—most marketing tools and CRMs don’t play nicely with community data. You’ve got people chatting, posting, and showing interest outside your owned properties, but that doesn’t make it into your email segments or lead scoring in HubSpot.
Connecting Commonroom and HubSpot means:
- You see which community members are also HubSpot contacts (and vice versa).
- You can segment, personalize, or trigger campaigns based on real engagement, not just website visits.
- You stop missing out on “invisible” leads who love your brand, but haven’t filled out a form.
If you just want to “get the logo on a slide” or tick a box, you don’t need this guide. But if you actually want unified data and better campaigns, read on.
Step 1: Check What (Actually) Integrates
Let’s get expectations straight: as of early 2024, there’s no native “one-click” Commonroom ↔ HubSpot integration. You’ll need to use the Commonroom API, HubSpot’s APIs, or a connector tool like Zapier, Tray.io, or Workato. Some enterprise plans may have “native” connectors, but these are usually wrappers around APIs.
What you can sync:
- Contacts: Community members → HubSpot contacts
- Activity: Community engagement (messages, posts, events) → Custom properties or notes in HubSpot
- Segments/Tags: Groupings from Commonroom → HubSpot lists or properties
What you can’t:
- Real-time, bi-directional sync (expect up to 15–30 min lags)
- Full message content (privacy and API limits mean you’ll get summaries, not transcripts)
- All community platforms—some obscure ones may not be supported
Pro tip: If you’re an admin in both tools, have API access, and can use Zapier or a similar tool, you’re in good shape. If you’re locked out of APIs, ask your admin before wasting an hour.
Step 2: Map Out What You Want to Sync
Don’t just connect everything. Decide what actually matters for your campaigns.
Questions to ask:
- Do you want all community members in HubSpot, or just those who hit certain engagement levels?
- Do you want to tag existing HubSpot contacts with community activity, or add new ones?
- Which platforms matter most (Discord? Slack? GitHub? Events?)—don’t overload with noise.
Common use cases:
- New highly engaged community members → Add to HubSpot and trigger a welcome sequence
- Community event attendees → Tag in HubSpot for follow-up
- Product feedback from community → Pipe into HubSpot for support or advocacy campaigns
Keep it simple at first—syncing every action or user will just create chaos in your CRM.
Step 3: Set Up Your Connection (The Actual “Integration”)
Option 1: Use a Connector Tool (Zapier, Workato, Tray.io)
This is the easiest way for most teams. Here’s the rough process:
- Create accounts (if you don’t have them) on your chosen connector platform.
- Connect Commonroom as a data source: Use your API key from Commonroom. You’ll need admin access.
- Connect HubSpot as a destination: Use your HubSpot API key or OAuth connection. Again, admin access required.
- Set up your “Zap”/workflow:
- Trigger: E.g., “New community member joins segment X in Commonroom”
- Action: E.g., “Create or update contact in HubSpot,” or “Add note to contact”
- Map fields: Email is the main way to match users. If emails aren’t available, you’ll need to get creative (usernames, social handles, etc.—but don’t expect miracles).
- Test your workflow: Run a test to make sure data flows correctly. Double-check for duplicates.
Honest take: Zapier works for basic syncs (think: up to a few hundred events per day). If you need high volume or complex logic, look at Tray.io or Workato. If you’re technical, skip ahead to the “API” option.
Option 2: Use the APIs Directly
If you’ve got dev resources, or want more control, use the APIs.
Commonroom API: Lets you pull community member and activity data. API docs (check your plan for access).
HubSpot API: Lets you create/update contacts, add notes, and more. API docs.
Basic flow:
- Script or integration tool runs periodically (every X minutes/hours).
- Pull data: Get new/updated community members or activities from Commonroom.
- Transform/match data: Match on email where possible.
- Push to HubSpot: Create or update contacts, add notes, update custom properties.
- Log errors: Don’t skip this—API rate limits and mismatches are common.
Pro tip: If you’re syncing a big backlog, throttle your requests—both APIs have rate limits. Don’t get your org’s access blocked because you ran one giant import.
Step 4: Decide on Data Hygiene Rules
This part isn’t glamorous, but it’s what keeps your CRM useful.
- De-duplication: Always check for existing contacts before creating new ones. Use email as the unique ID if possible.
- Data freshness: Decide how often you want to sync (hourly, daily, weekly). Real-time is rarely needed, and will just burn API calls.
- Field mapping: Don’t map every field. Stick to what’s actionable—e.g., “community engagement level,” “last activity date,” “primary community platform.”
What to ignore: Don’t bother syncing raw message content or every emoji reaction. No one in marketing is going to read those. Focus on signals you’ll actually use.
Step 5: Build HubSpot Workflows Around Your Community Data
Now for the fun part—using that data to do something useful.
Examples:
- Segment contacts: Build HubSpot lists for “Active in community last 30 days” or “Attended virtual event.”
- Personalize nurture: Send different emails to folks who are active in community vs. those who aren’t.
- Trigger campaigns: Auto-enroll new community champions in advocacy or beta tester workflows.
How to do it:
- Use the custom properties or tags you synced from Commonroom as criteria in HubSpot workflows.
- Don’t overcomplicate—start with one or two automations, see what works, and expand from there.
- Regularly audit your lists and automations to make sure they’re actually driving results (not just creating noise).
Pro tip: If engagement drops or you’re seeing lots of junk data, revisit your sync rules. Community data can get messy fast if you’re not careful.
Step 6: Test, Tweak, and Monitor
Integrations are never “set it and forget it.” Some honest advice:
- Test your syncs with a small batch first. Don’t unleash a firehose on day one.
- Monitor for duplicates, errors, or missing data. Most issues show up in the first week.
- Get feedback from your marketing team. Is the data actually useful? If not, cut what’s not working.
If something breaks (and it will), don’t panic. Usually it’s an API limit, expired key, or field mismatch. Fix, test again, and move on.
What Works (and What Doesn’t)
Works well:
- Syncing basic contact data (emails, engagement scores, tags)
- Triggering simple automations (welcome emails, follow-ups)
Works, but with caveats:
- Activity syncing—expect lag and occasional missed events
- Matching users without emails—doable, but with more manual work
Doesn’t work (don’t waste your time):
- Real-time chat syncing (no one needs every message in their CRM)
- Deep multi-way enrichment (the APIs aren’t built for this yet)
- Hype-fueled dashboards—stick to what answers real business questions
Keep It Simple and Iterate
You don’t need a “perfect” integration on day one. Start by syncing the basics. See what data actually helps your team run better campaigns. Add complexity only when you need it.
The best integrations are the ones people actually use—not the ones that look fanciest in a demo. Set it up, check your work, and keep improving as you go. That’s how you get real value, not just another thing to maintain.