How to segment users in FullStory for targeted marketing campaigns

If you want your marketing to actually work (and not just annoy people), you have to send the right message to the right users. That’s where user segmentation comes in — and why tools like FullStory matter. This guide is for marketers, product folks, and anyone who’s tired of blasting out generic campaigns that don’t get results. I’ll walk you through how to segment users in FullStory, what actually works, and what you can safely ignore.

Let’s keep it practical.

Why Bother Segmenting Users in FullStory?

Before we get into the how, let’s be clear: FullStory is not an email marketing tool or a CRM. It’s a digital experience analytics platform. You use it to see how people behave on your site or app. The real power comes when you use that data to create user segments — and then tie those segments to your marketing.

Here’s what segmenting users in FullStory actually gets you: - Pinpoint who’s doing what: See which users bounced after checkout, spent 10 minutes lost on a page, or hit an error. - Stop guessing: Build segments based on real behavior, not just gut feeling. - Send smarter campaigns: Use segments to trigger personalized emails, messages, or offers.

If your campaigns feel like shouting into the void, segmentation is how you get people to actually listen.

Step 1: Get Your User Data Flowing into FullStory

You can’t segment what you can’t see. Out of the box, FullStory tracks anonymous sessions — which is fine for broad trends, but pretty useless for targeted marketing. To fix that, you need to pass in user info.

What you need to do: - Identify users: Use the FS.identify JavaScript API to tell FullStory who’s who. This usually goes right after a user logs in or signs up. js FS.identify('user_123', { displayName: 'Jane Doe', email: 'jane@example.com', plan: 'premium', lifetimeValue: 200 });

  • Send traits that matter: Think email, account type, subscription status, or anything you’ll want to segment on later.
  • Don’t go overboard: Too many traits make things messy. Stick to what you’ll actually use.

Pro tip: If your dev team gives you the side-eye, remind them this is a one-time setup that pays off for every campaign after.

Step 2: Decide What Segments Actually Matter

Here’s where most people get lost: they create a million segments because it’s easy, then never use them. Resist the urge.

Start with these basics: - Lifecycle stage: New, active, dormant, churn risk. - Product usage: Tried feature X, never touched feature Y, completed key actions. - Conversion status: Signed up, didn’t activate, upgraded, downgraded. - Support interaction: Opened a support ticket, rage-clicked, hit an error repeatedly.

Ignore these (for now): - “Visited homepage more than 3 times in a week.” (Usually noise.) - “Clicked FAQ link.” (Maybe interesting for UX, but weak for marketing.) - Overly granular device/browser data. (Fun for debugging, not for campaigns.)

Ask yourself: “If I had a list of users who did this, would I actually send them something different?” If not, skip it.

Step 3: Build Segments in FullStory

Now for the fun part. FullStory’s segment builder is powerful, but it’s easy to overcomplicate things.

How to actually do it:

  1. Go to Segments: In the left sidebar, click on “Segments.”
  2. Create a new segment: Hit “+ New Segment.”
  3. Add filters: Here’s where you pick the traits and behaviors you care about.
    • User properties: email, plan, signup date, etc.
    • Events: Visited a page, clicked a button, saw an error, etc.
    • Session properties: Device, browser, location (useful, but don’t go nuts).
  4. Stack filters: Combine them to get exactly the group you want. Example: plan = premium AND used_feature_x = false.
  5. Save and name it: Be specific. “Churn Risk – Premium, No Feature X” is better than “Segment 1.”

What works: - Combining user properties with behavior. Example: “Active users who haven’t tried new feature.” - Using negative filters. Example: “Users who upgraded but never completed onboarding.”

What doesn’t: - Building segments you’ll never use. If you can’t think of a message for a segment, don’t build it. - Segments based only on session data (like device type) — these rarely lead to actionable marketing.

Step 4: Connect FullStory Segments to Your Marketing Tools

Here’s the catch: FullStory won’t send emails for you. To actually use your segments for targeted campaigns, you need to get the data out.

Your options:

  • Manual export: Download a CSV of users in a segment. Old-school, but it works for small lists and one-off campaigns.
  • Integrations: FullStory has built-in integrations with tools like Segment, HubSpot, and others. These let you sync segments automatically (but set-up can be fiddly).
  • API: If you’ve got dev resources, you can use FullStory’s API to pull segment data and push it wherever you want.

Things to watch out for: - Data freshness: Manual exports get stale fast. For ongoing campaigns, use an integration. - Privacy: Only export what you need, and be careful with personal data. - Matching users: Make sure your identifiers (like email or user ID) line up across tools.

Pro tip: If your marketing tool supports webhooks or APIs, you can set up automations so users in a segment trigger campaigns in real time.

Step 5: Trigger and Track Campaigns Based on Segments

Now you’ve got useful segments in your marketing tool. Here’s how to put them to work — without overcomplicating things.

What to do: - Send targeted emails: Welcome nudges, reactivation offers, feature announcements, whatever fits the segment. - Personalize in-app messages: If your product supports in-app messaging, show tips or promos to the right users at the right time. - Experiment: Try a campaign for one segment, see what works, and adjust. Don’t try to “boil the ocean” on your first go.

What not to do: - Don’t send everything to everyone: That’s what you’re trying to avoid. - Don’t ignore performance: Track open rates, clicks, replies, and — most importantly — the actual business impact (did they upgrade, come back, or convert?).

Real talk: Most “personalization” is just lipstick on a generic campaign. If you’re not changing the message based on the segment, you’re wasting both your time and theirs.

Common Pitfalls (and How to Dodge Them)

  • Analysis paralysis: Don’t build 50 segments you’ll never use. Start small.
  • Bad data in, bad segments out: If your user traits aren’t accurate, your segments will be a mess.
  • Ignoring privacy/GDPR: Don’t collect or export more than you need. It’s not just smart — it’s the law in a lot of places.
  • Chasing vanity segments: Just because you can segment by browser language or screen size doesn’t mean you should.

Keep It Simple — and Iterate

Segmenting users in FullStory isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to get lost in the weeds. Start with segments you’ll actually use for real campaigns. See what works, then refine. Don’t overthink it, and resist shiny new “AI-powered” features unless they actually solve a problem you have.

Most importantly, use segmentation to make your marketing less annoying and more useful. That’s what your users want — and, honestly, what you want too.