If you’ve spent money on targeted ads but can’t tell if they’re actually turning into leads, you’re not alone. Integrating your ad platform with your CRM should help—at least in theory. This guide is for sales and marketing folks who actually want to see which people from their Influ2 campaigns are hitting their CRM as leads, and not just cross their fingers and hope for the best.
No fluff, no “seamless synergy.” Just honest, step-by-step instructions, with a heads-up on what actually works and what’s just vendor hype.
Why bother integrating Influ2 with your CRM?
If you’re considering Influ2, you probably know it’s a people-based advertising tool—meaning it lets you target specific individuals, not just companies or broad audiences. The pitch: run ads to named prospects, then track if those people engage and, eventually, become leads in your CRM.
But here’s the catch: unless you connect Influ2 to your CRM, you’re tracking two parallel universes. You see who clicked an ad, but you can’t tell if they ever showed up in your pipeline.
Done right, the integration lets you:
- Track real engagement from ad click to CRM lead
- Score and prioritize leads based on actual ad interactions
- Give sales more context (not just “someone from Acme clicked an ad”)
- Avoid wasting budget on people who’ll never convert
But it’s not always plug-and-play, and you’ll want to watch for pitfalls.
Step 1: Get your house in order
Before you even open Influ2 or your CRM, pause for a reality check.
- Do you have admin access to both platforms? You’ll need it.
- Is your CRM even supported? Influ2 claims to support Salesforce, HubSpot, and a few others. If you’re on something obscure, check their docs or ask support.
- Do you know what fields you want to map? Figure out which data from Influ2 (like ad engagement, company, email, etc.) should show up in which fields in your CRM.
- Are there naming conventions or data privacy policies? If you’re in a regulated industry, get legal/IT on board early.
Pro tip: Make a mock lead in your CRM with the fields you think you’ll need. It’s a lot easier to fix mapping issues now than after you’ve pushed in a few hundred records.
Step 2: Set up tracking in Influ2
You want to track real people, not just anonymous clicks. Influ2 is built for this, but only if you set it up right.
- Install the Influ2 tracking pixel on your site. This is what connects ad engagement to website activity and, eventually, to your CRM. You’ll get the code snippet from your Influ2 dashboard.
- Place it on all pages that matter for lead gen (landing pages, demo requests—not just your homepage).
- Test it using your browser’s dev tools or a Chrome extension like “Tag Assistant.” Make sure it fires on the right pages.
What can go wrong?
If your pixel isn’t firing, Influ2 can only tell you someone saw or clicked an ad—not what they did next. No pixel, no tracking, no integration magic.
Step 3: Connect Influ2 to your CRM
Here’s where the fun begins. Influ2’s integrations aren’t always one-click, but they’re not rocket science either.
For Salesforce
- In Influ2, go to Integrations.
Find Salesforce and click "Connect." - Authenticate with your Salesforce admin credentials.
Don’t use a personal login—use a dedicated integration user if possible. - Set permissions.
Influ2 will ask for access to leads, contacts, and possibly opportunities. Grant only what’s necessary. - Map fields.
Decide where Influ2 data lands in Salesforce. For example:- Influ2 Lead Score → Custom Lead Score Field
- Last Ad Clicked → Custom Field
- Influ2 Campaign Source → Lead Source or Campaign
- Test with a dummy lead.
Run a test campaign or manually push a test contact from Influ2. Make sure the data shows up as expected.
For HubSpot
- Same process: Go to Integrations in Influ2, pick HubSpot, and authenticate.
- Choose which records to sync.
Contacts, Companies, or both. Don’t sync everything blindly—pick what you need. - Map fields.
HubSpot is more flexible, but don’t go overboard. Only sync data you plan to use. - Test with a real or test contact.
Make sure the sync works both ways if you want updates to go back to Influ2.
For Other CRMs
If you’re not on Salesforce or HubSpot, you might need to use Zapier, a webhook, or custom API integration.
- Zapier: Influ2 supports Zapier, which can push new leads into a ton of CRMs. Set up a “Zap” to trigger on Influ2 activity and create/update a lead.
- Webhooks or API: If you have dev resources, you can use Influ2’s API to pull data and push it into your CRM however you want.
Reality check:
If you’re not technical, Zapier is your best bet. Custom API is overkill unless you have very specific needs.
Step 4: Decide what gets pushed into your CRM
Don’t dump every click or view. That’s a great way to annoy sales and clog your CRM with junk.
What matters:
- Only push people who’ve taken meaningful action (e.g., filled out a form, hit a key page, or engaged multiple times)
- Set up lead scoring in Influ2, and only sync leads above a certain score threshold
- Include useful context (which ad, when, level of engagement—not just “clicked ad”)
What to ignore:
- Low-quality form fills (e.g., personal emails, obvious spam)
- Single views/clicks with no real engagement
- Anonymous data—if you can’t tie it to a real person, don’t push it
Pro tip:
Work with sales to agree on what’s “CRM-worthy.” If they don’t want to see cold clicks, don’t send them.
Step 5: Test the integration (for real)
Nothing’s worse than announcing “integration is live!” only to find half your leads are missing—or worse, doubled.
- Run a test campaign targeting yourself or a colleague.
- Click an ad, fill out a form, and see what lands in your CRM.
- Check that all mapped fields are populated (not just name/email).
- Try edge cases: What happens if a lead already exists? Does it update or create duplicates?
- Check that any scoring or trigger logic works as expected.
What often goes wrong:
- Fields don’t map correctly (e.g., campaign name lands in the wrong place)
- Data overwrites existing CRM records instead of updating
- Sync is delayed or fails silently—watch for missing leads
Step 6: Train your team and set up reporting
Integration is only as good as what you do with the data.
- Show sales what the new data means (e.g., “Influ2 Lead Score” or “Last Ad Clicked”).
- Make sure marketing knows how to monitor the sync and troubleshoot if it breaks.
- Set up simple reports in your CRM to track leads sourced from Influ2—don’t rely on vendor dashboards alone.
- If you’re using lead scoring, adjust thresholds as you see what actually converts.
Pro tip:
Keep it simple at first. Don’t build a dozen custom dashboards before you’ve seen real data flow through.
Step 7: Monitor, tweak, and don’t be afraid to unplug
Just because it’s working doesn’t mean it’s working well.
- Review your lead quality weekly for the first month.
- Ask sales if the context from Influ2 actually helps. Cut anything they ignore.
- Watch for sync failures or weird data issues.
- Don’t be afraid to turn off the integration, tweak field mappings, or change your criteria if you’re flooding your CRM with noise.
Remember, no integration is “set it and forget it.” Iterate in small steps.
Honest takes: What works, what doesn’t
What works:
- Pushing high-intent, well-scored leads into your CRM
- Giving sales actual engagement data (not just “someone from this company clicked”)
- Using Influ2’s pixel to connect ad to lead, not just email to lead
What doesn’t:
- Syncing every click or impression—nobody wants that
- Relying on Influ2 for full attribution reporting (use your CRM for this)
- Assuming the integration will “just work”—always test
Ignore:
- Vendor claims about “seamless” one-click integrations. There’s always something to tweak.
- Overcomplicated setups with dozens of custom fields. Start with the basics.
Keep it simple and iterate
The best integrations are the ones you actually use. Don’t try to automate everything or impress your boss with a 50-field mapping. Start small, test with real data, and get feedback from sales. There’s no prize for complexity—just results.
If something feels broken or overhyped, trust your gut and simplify. That’s how you get real value from connecting Influ2 to your CRM.