If you’re drowning in contacts and updates, and your team’s always pinging you for “the latest,” this guide’s for you. Here’s how to hook up Folk with Slack so your team sees updates, fast—without you babysitting every change. Whether you’re in sales, recruiting, or just trying to keep everyone on the same page, this will save you time (and maybe a few headaches).
Below, we’ll walk through the integration step by step, show you what works, where things can get weird, and what you can safely skip.
Why connect Folk and Slack?
Before you dive in: is this worth your time? Short answer—yes, if you want to:
- Cut down on status meetings and “just checking in” messages
- Make sure nobody misses big updates (new deals, new contacts, etc.)
- Keep your Folk data moving, not stuck with one person
But don’t expect magic. The Slack integration doesn’t make Folk a CRM powerhouse overnight. It’s best for real-time alerts and keeping your team in the loop. If you want deep, two-way syncing or custom workflows, you’ll hit some limits.
Step 1: Decide what you actually want to automate
First, don’t integrate just because you can. Figure out exactly which updates matter to your team. Some common options:
- New contacts added to a Folk group
- Contacts moving stages (like from “lead” to “customer”)
- Notes or comments added for a contact
- Reminders or tasks coming due
Pro tip: If you blast every Folk update into Slack, your team will tune it all out. Be picky—less is more.
Step 2: Check your Folk and Slack permissions
You’ll need:
- Folk admin or “can manage integrations” access
- Slack workspace admin (or at least permission to add apps)
If you’re not sure, try installing. If you hit a wall, ask your admin—don’t waste 30 minutes hunting through settings.
Step 3: Connect Folk to Slack
Folk offers a built-in Slack integration, but you can also use Zapier or Make if you want more control. Here’s how to use the native integration (the simplest way):
- Sign into Folk
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Go to your dashboard.
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Access Integrations
- Click your profile photo (bottom left) > Workspace settings.
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Select “Integrations” from the menu.
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Find the Slack Integration
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Click “Connect” next to Slack.
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Authorize Slack
- Log into Slack (if you’re not already).
- Choose the right workspace.
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Approve the permissions Folk asks for. (Yes, it’ll need to post messages.)
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Pick your Slack channel
- Choose which channel gets Folk updates.
- You can only pick one channel per integration, but you can set up multiple integrations if you need.
Heads up: Folk can’t send DMs—just public or private channels.
Step 4: Choose what triggers updates
Now, tell Folk what you want pushed to Slack. Usually, you’ll see a menu like:
- When a contact is added
- When a contact is moved to a new stage
- When a note is added
- When a reminder is triggered
Set it up:
- Toggle on only what matters (see Step 1).
- Some triggers let you filter by group or stage—use this if you don’t want everything blasted to Slack.
Real talk: There’s no fine-grained logic (like “only post updates about deals over $10k”). If you need that, you’ll have to use Zapier or Make (see the end of this guide).
Step 5: Test the integration
Don’t skip this—nothing’s more annoying than a “seamless integration” that fails when you need it.
Quick test:
- Add a fake contact in Folk, or move one through your workflow.
- Watch the Slack channel for the update.
- Check the message—does it show the info you want? Is it readable, or just a wall of text?
If it doesn’t work:
- Double-check permissions in both apps
- Make sure you picked the right Slack channel
- Try removing and reinstalling the integration
If you’re still stuck, Folk’s help docs are decent, and their support is pretty responsive (but don’t expect miracles in off-hours).
Step 6: Tweak your Slack channel settings
A firehose of notifications is useless. Here’s how to keep things sane:
- Create a dedicated channel (e.g., #folk-updates)
- Set Slack notifications to “Mentions only” for that channel unless you want to be pinged every time
- Pin a message explaining what shows up there and what to do with it
Pro tip: If you’re an admin, set posting permissions so only Folk (and maybe a botmaster) can post. Keeps the channel clean.
Step 7: Communicate with your team
Sounds obvious, but tech only works if people know what it’s for.
- Announce the new integration—briefly explain what updates will show up and why
- Tell folks where to go for “big” updates (Slack) vs. details (Folk)
- Ask for feedback after a week. Is it helpful, or just noise?
What to ignore: Don’t waste time on a full training session unless your team loves meetings. A Slack post or short Loom video is plenty.
Bonus: Go further with Zapier or Make
The built-in Folk-Slack integration is solid for basics. But if you want:
- Multiple Slack channels for different Folk groups
- Custom message formatting
- Triggers based on custom fields or more complex workflows
...Zapier or Make is your friend. It takes longer to set up, but you get way more control.
How it works:
- In Zapier, set Folk as the trigger (e.g., “New contact in group X”)
- Set Slack as the action (e.g., “Post custom message to channel Y”)
- Use filters and formatting to get fancy
Downsides:
- Zapier/Make can get expensive if you have lots of updates
- More moving parts = more things to break
- Folk’s Zapier integration isn’t as mature as, say, Salesforce’s—expect some glitches
What works, what doesn’t, and what to skip
Works well:
- Automatic updates to Slack when things happen in Folk
- Keeping teams aware of new contacts or workflow changes
Doesn’t work so well:
- Deep custom filtering (without Zapier/Make)
- Editing or replying to Folk data from within Slack
- Multi-channel updates without extra setup
Skip it if:
- Your team already ignores Slack notifications
- You want full CRM-to-Slack syncing (this is more “alerts” than “integration”)
- You don’t have clear rules for what should get posted
Keep it simple and iterate
Start small—maybe just new deals or contacts, not every single update. See what your team actually uses. If Slack gets noisy, dial it back. If people still ask for updates, add more triggers.
The best tool is the one your team actually pays attention to. Don’t let automation get in the way of real communication. Try it, tweak it, and move on to things that matter.