Looking to simplify lead nurturing? The integration of Closely and HubSpot combines LinkedIn automation with CRM tools to streamline sales and marketing workflows. Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Automated LinkedIn and email syncing: Say goodbye to manual data entry.
- Personalized outreach: Use LinkedIn and HubSpot data to craft tailored messages.
- Unified prospect tracking: Centralize engagement data for better lead management.
- Improved team collaboration: Share insights across sales and marketing for aligned strategies.
Steps to get started:
- Set up accounts on both platforms with proper permissions.
- Clean and organize your data to ensure smooth automation.
- Confirm technical requirements, including API access and subscription tiers.
- Map data fields carefully to sync information accurately.
- Test and troubleshoot before launching automated workflows.
This integration saves time, reduces errors, and helps prioritize high-value leads, ensuring efficient and personalized communication throughout the sales process.
How to connect LinkedIn and Hubspot and only send relevant leads [STEP-BY-STEP Guide]
Preparing for Closely + HubSpot Integration
Getting ready for a smooth integration between Closely and HubSpot involves a few essential steps. You’ll need to set up accounts, clean up your data, and confirm technical requirements to ensure your lead nurturing process runs effortlessly.
Setting Up Accounts and Permissions
To start, make sure you have active accounts on both Closely and HubSpot. Permissions are critical here – ensure the HubSpot user managing the integration has App Marketplace permissions. If you hit any snags during setup, Super Admin rights might come in handy.
The actual integration begins in Closely. Head to the Integrations tab and select "HubSpot." From there, log in with your HubSpot credentials or choose an existing HubSpot account. To keep data syncing accurate, team members should use the same email address on both platforms.
Once your accounts are ready, it’s time to shift focus to the quality of your data.
Data Preparation Best Practices
Automation works best when your data is clean and organized. Start by defining your ideal lead profile – this means identifying the data points that help you qualify leads, gauge their value, and personalize interactions. Remember, outdated or incomplete data can hurt your customer experience and slow growth. In fact, nearly 30% of B2B contact data becomes outdated every year [2].
Begin by assessing your current data across five key areas: completeness, accuracy, consistency, duplicates, and timeliness. Look for things like missing phone numbers, outdated job titles, inconsistent company names, or duplicate entries – issues like these can throw off your automation workflows.
"Most disagreements between revenue leaders in growing organizations can be curbed by having a single source of truth for data and documented standard operating procedures." – Greg Larsen, VP of Revenue Operations at Eltropy
To minimize errors, standardize data entry using tools like drop-down menus. Eliminate duplicate contacts and fill in any missing details before activating the integration. For context, integrations and web forms tend to create duplicates at a rate of 80%, compared to just 19% when importing data via CSV files [2].
Consider automating the data cleaning process to maintain quality over time. This proactive approach ensures your records stay reliable without relying solely on manual updates.
With your data polished, confirm that your systems are technically ready for integration.
Technical Requirements and Prerequisites
A solid technical setup is essential for seamless data syncing between Closely and HubSpot. Check that your HubSpot subscription includes workflow automation and advanced CRM tools. If needed, consider upgrading your plan.
Closely’s subscription plans also play a role in integration capabilities. For example:
- Starter Plan ($49/month): Supports one LinkedIn account with 1,000 credits.
- Growth Plan ($127/month): Supports three LinkedIn accounts with 3,000 credits.
- Higher-tier plans offer additional features and flexibility.
Your integration needs may also depend on API access and data synchronization requirements. For high-volume operations, higher-tier plans on both platforms might be necessary to handle the increased data flow and complexity. Before going live, test API connections in a controlled environment to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Taking these steps will set you up for a well-executed integration process.
Step-by-Step Guide to Integrating Closely with HubSpot
Now that your accounts and data are set up, it’s time to connect Closely with HubSpot. The process can be broken down into three key steps: establishing the connection, mapping your data fields, and testing to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Connecting Closely and HubSpot
To get started, head to the Closely dashboard and select the HubSpot integration option. You’ll need to authenticate your HubSpot account by either logging in with your credentials or selecting an existing account if you’re already signed in.
Make sure your HubSpot account has the necessary permissions – Super Admin or App Marketplace access – as mentioned earlier.
Once you’ve entered your credentials, Closely will securely connect to HubSpot. The connection usually takes just a few seconds to complete.
This integration allows for the synchronization of key data types, including contacts, leads (displayed as companies in HubSpot), opportunities (deals in HubSpot), calls, emails, and tasks. However, keep in mind that certain activities, like SMS messages and meetings, won’t sync between the two platforms.
Mapping and Syncing Data
After establishing the connection, the next step is mapping your data fields. This ensures that information flows accurately between Closely and HubSpot. Field mapping links Closely’s custom fields to the appropriate properties in HubSpot, which is essential for managing leads effectively.
Start by identifying which Closely fields should correspond to specific HubSpot properties. Map each field carefully, keeping in mind that HubSpot’s standard properties have limited customization, while custom properties offer more flexibility for unique data points.
It’s important to note that custom mappings will only apply to future leads. To avoid inconsistencies, standardize field names and formats on both platforms before mapping. Using dropdown menus or radio buttons instead of open text fields can help minimize errors and maintain consistent formatting.
When it comes to syncing contacts, you have several options. For instance, you can sync contacts to HubSpot as part of a LinkedIn outreach campaign or use the sync feature within the Network section. Depending on your workflow, you can sync connections individually or in bulk.
Once your data is mapped correctly, move on to testing and troubleshooting to ensure everything works as intended.
Testing and Troubleshooting the Integration
Testing is a crucial step to confirm that the integration is functioning as expected. Start by running a test sync with a small batch of contacts to ensure data transfers correctly between Closely and HubSpot.
New contacts will display a Sync button, while already-synced contacts will show the timestamp of the last sync along with a Resync option. Note that resyncing is limited to once per hour.
During testing, double-check your field mappings and verify that custom values populate accurately. If something seems off, revisit your mappings and make adjustments as needed.
"Effective integration is the key to maximizing the benefits of HubSpot Service Hub. Additionally, proactive troubleshooting and optimization efforts help maintain seamless integration."
– Tabitha Young, Director of Account Strategy, SmartBug Media [3]
Some common issues you might encounter include API connection errors, incorrect field mappings, and data sync failures. If you run into these problems, start by checking your API key to ensure it’s active and hasn’t expired. If needed, you can regenerate the key in your HubSpot settings.
Also, confirm that Closely has the necessary permissions to access your HubSpot data. Often, integration issues stem from access rights rather than technical glitches. Make sure both platforms are set up for two-way synchronization.
Here’s a quick reference for common errors:
| Error Type | Description | HTTP Status Code |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication Error | Invalid or expired token | 401 |
| Bad Request | Invalid input data | 400 |
| Not Found | Resource does not exist | 404 |
| Server Error | Unexpected server issue | 500 |
To avoid exceeding API rate limits, monitor your usage closely. If you’re syncing large volumes of data, consider spreading the process out over multiple time periods to stay within limits.
Finally, test the full workflow by creating a sample LinkedIn outreach campaign. Verify that contact data flows seamlessly into HubSpot and ensure that deals created in your Closely inbox are reflected correctly in HubSpot. This step helps identify any gaps in your workflow before launching live campaigns.
Once testing confirms that everything is functioning properly, you can confidently activate automated lead nurturing workflows, harnessing the strengths of both platforms.
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Automating Lead Nurturing with AI-Powered Workflows
Once your Closely and HubSpot integration is up and running, you can tap into AI-driven automation to nurture leads effectively. By combining Closely’s LinkedIn automation tools with HubSpot’s workflow engine, you create a system that keeps prospects engaged without overwhelming your sales team.
"Automating your lead nurturing in HubSpot isn’t just a time-saver – it’s a revenue booster. By providing timely, relevant content, you’ll keep your leads engaged and moving steadily toward becoming loyal customers." – Lindsay Brown, HubSpot [4]
This approach is especially useful when you consider that 79% of all marketing leads never convert to sales [6]. Automated workflows help close this gap by ensuring consistent and personalized communication throughout the buyer’s journey. Next, we’ll explore refining LinkedIn outreach, launching multichannel campaigns, and maintaining efficient workflows.
Improving LinkedIn Outreach with Closely
With your integration in place, Closely’s AI can transform LinkedIn outreach from generic to personalized. By analyzing profile data and context, it crafts tailored messages at scale.
You can set up LinkedIn campaigns in Closely that automatically sync prospect data to HubSpot. When you connect with someone on LinkedIn, their information – including engagement history and timestamps – seamlessly transfers to HubSpot. This ensures your sales team has a complete view of every interaction.
Closely’s AI takes LinkedIn profile details, company updates, and recent activity into account to create messages that feel relevant. For instance, if a prospect recently changed roles or their company announced new funding, the AI can incorporate these events into your outreach, making your messages more engaging and timely.
From the unified inbox in Closely, you can manage LinkedIn and email responses in one place. When prospects reply, you can move the conversation to email or schedule a call directly through the system. This multichannel approach ensures smooth communication across platforms and keeps all interactions tracked in HubSpot.
To refine your strategy, use Closely’s analytics to track which LinkedIn messages generate the best response rates. These insights help you fine-tune your outreach and identify what works best for different types of prospects, amplifying the impact of your integration with HubSpot.
Setting Up Multichannel Campaigns
Expand your lead nurturing by creating multichannel campaigns that combine LinkedIn, email, and phone calls. These workflows trigger automatically based on a prospect’s behavior, ensuring timely and relevant communication.
For example, start with LinkedIn connection requests through Closely. When someone accepts, HubSpot can automatically send a personalized email series offering resources tailored to their role or industry.
Behavior-based triggers keep the communication flowing. If a prospect views your LinkedIn profile after receiving an email, the system can schedule a follow-up call or send a detailed case study. This type of intelligent automation keeps your outreach aligned with their level of interest.
"When a contact fills out a form requesting a quote, the contact automatically receives a thank-you email with useful information, while the sales team is notified. This type of automation improves the user experience and makes lead management more efficient." – Elena Tilmaciu [5]
Segment your workflows based on the prospect’s stage in the sales funnel. New leads might receive educational content, while warm leads get product demos or case studies. Use HubSpot’s segmentation tools to group prospects by industry, company size, or engagement level, and tailor your Closely campaigns accordingly.
To prioritize high-value prospects, implement lead scoring by combining LinkedIn engagement data from Closely with email and website activity tracked in HubSpot. Once a prospect reaches a specific score, your team can be notified or a high-priority outreach sequence can be triggered, leveraging the full potential of both platforms.
Maintaining Workflow Efficiency and Compliance
After launching your campaigns, focus on keeping workflows organized and compliant. A clear naming system and regular audits are key to maintaining performance.
Start by creating a structured naming system for your workflows, using prefixes like "LinkedIn Outreach -" or "Email Nurture -" to categorize campaigns. Mirror this organization in both HubSpot and Closely to make it easy for team members to manage workflows across platforms.
Audit your workflows regularly to remove outdated sequences or duplicates that could cause conflicts. This cleanup ensures prospects don’t receive conflicting messages and helps maintain a professional communication flow.
Unified data is crucial for automation. Use suppression lists to prevent prospects from being enrolled in multiple workflows at once. For example, if a prospect is part of a high-touch sales sequence, exclude them from general nurture campaigns to avoid overlap.
Introduce proper delays between workflow steps to make your interactions feel natural and allow time for data updates. Spacing out communications also prevents your outreach from appearing too automated or pushy.
Stay compliant with privacy regulations by including clear opt-out options and honoring communication preferences. Both LinkedIn outreach through Closely and email campaigns via HubSpot should offer prospects the ability to update their preferences or unsubscribe easily.
Monitor workflow performance by analyzing metrics like open rates, response rates, and conversions. Use A/B testing to refine your messaging and timing, applying successful variations to similar campaigns.
Set up alerts to notify you of workflow errors or drops in engagement. These notifications help you address issues quickly, ensuring your campaigns remain effective and aligned with your goals. By staying proactive, you can maintain a streamlined, compliant system that maximizes the benefits of Closely and HubSpot working together.
Measuring Success and Optimizing Campaigns
Once you’ve set up your automated workflows, the next step is tracking performance to ensure you’re getting the most out of your investment. By combining Closely’s LinkedIn automation with HubSpot’s powerful analytics, you gain detailed insights into your lead nurturing campaigns. This allows you to pinpoint which strategies are working, allocate resources wisely, and scale successful efforts across your sales process. Let’s dive into the key metrics that show how your campaigns are performing.
Key Metrics to Monitor
When evaluating your campaigns, focus on metrics tied to revenue. Thanks to the synchronized data from Closely and HubSpot, you can track these indicators to measure the impact of your lead nurturing efforts.
- Revenue-focused metrics: Keep an eye on new contacts from both first-touch and last-touch attribution to identify which channels bring in high-value leads. Monitor influenced contacts to understand how many prospects interact with multiple touchpoints before converting. And, of course, track the actual revenue generated to calculate your return on investment (ROI).
- Email performance indicators: These metrics tell you how well your automated email sequences are performing. Open rates reflect the effectiveness of your subject lines, while click rates show if your content inspires action. Deliverability rates ensure your emails are reaching inboxes, and HTML click maps highlight which links are driving engagement. You can also analyze how long prospects spend reading your emails to gauge content effectiveness.
- LinkedIn engagement metrics: Closely provides valuable data on your social selling efforts. Metrics like connection acceptance rates, message response rates, and profile views reveal how well your outreach resonates and where adjustments might be needed in your AI-powered messaging strategy.
Marketing automation has proven to deliver strong returns. On average, it generates $5.44 for every dollar spent [9], while email marketing boasts an ROI of $36 to $40 per dollar invested [7]. Beyond volume, it’s important to assess lead quality. Using HubSpot’s lead scoring features alongside Closely’s engagement data helps you identify prospects most likely to convert, enabling your sales team to focus on high-value opportunities.
Best Practices for Continuous Improvement
To keep your campaigns running smoothly and effectively, regular optimization is essential. Start by reviewing your current setup to uncover underutilized features or quick changes that could improve performance.
- A/B testing: Experiment with subject lines, sending times, and audience segments to boost email open rates [8]. Test different LinkedIn message templates, connection request strategies, landing page headlines, and call-to-action buttons to refine your approach and improve conversion rates.
- Data quality management: Poor data can derail even the best campaigns. With 21% of marketing budgets wasted due to bad data [9], regular audits are critical. Clean up duplicate contacts, standardize lifecycle stages, and ensure consistent data entry to improve targeting accuracy and avoid sending conflicting messages.
- Audience segmentation: Use behavioral and company data to create targeted audience segments. HubSpot’s dynamic lists automatically update as contact properties change, ensuring your campaigns stay relevant and timely.
- Personalization: Tailored messaging significantly boosts engagement, with 72% of consumers interacting only with personalized content [7]. Leverage HubSpot’s personalization tokens for email campaigns and Closely’s AI tools for LinkedIn outreach to deliver messages that resonate.
- Workflow audits: Review your workflows quarterly to remove outdated sequences, eliminate duplicates, and ensure proper timing between steps. This helps interactions feel natural rather than overly automated.
- Refining lead scoring: Update your scoring criteria regularly based on recent conversion trends. Combine LinkedIn engagement insights from Closely with email and website activity tracked in HubSpot for a comprehensive view of what makes a lead "sales-ready."
Finally, set up performance dashboards to monitor key metrics like pipeline contribution, lead quality, conversion rates, and influenced revenue. With 83% of marketing leaders prioritizing ROI measurement [9], clear reporting is essential for demonstrating value.
Native vs. Custom Integration
Choosing between native and custom integration depends on your technical needs and campaign goals. Here’s a comparison to help you decide:
| Feature | Native Integration | Custom Integration |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Complexity | Simple, one-click connection via HubSpot | Requires technical expertise and API work |
| Implementation Time | 15–30 minutes for basic setup | Weeks to months, depending on complexity |
| Data Synchronization | Automatic bi-directional sync for standard fields | Fully customizable sync rules |
| Maintenance | Minimal, with automatic updates | Ongoing technical upkeep required |
| Cost | Included with platform subscriptions | Additional development and maintenance costs |
| Customization | Limited to pre-built field mappings | Full control over data flow and fields |
| Support | Provided by Closely and HubSpot | Relies on internal or third-party developers |
| Reliability | Built and tested by platform providers | Dependent on custom code quality |
For most businesses, native integration is the go-to choice. It’s reliable, easy to set up, and covers standard use cases like syncing contact information, engagement data, and campaign results. However, if your workflows are complex or you have unique data needs, custom integration might be worth considering. Companies with dedicated technical resources often opt for this route to gain more control.
A common approach is starting with native integration to establish basic functionality. Over time, you can evaluate whether custom enhancements are necessary based on your specific requirements and usage patterns.
Conclusion: Transforming Lead Nurturing with Closely + HubSpot
The integration of Closely and HubSpot changes the game for lead nurturing by blending advanced AI tools with robust CRM capabilities. By combining Closely’s LinkedIn automation with HubSpot’s CRM, businesses can efficiently manage leads, turning cold prospects into warm, qualified opportunities.
Companies that adopt AI-driven lead nurturing strategies experience a 20% increase in sales opportunities [11]. Additionally, nurtured leads tend to close faster, with a 23% shorter sales cycle and a 9% higher deal size [10]. With 75% of companies reporting positive ROI from their investments in AI and automation [12], the advantages are hard to ignore.
"HubSpot CRM integration ensures smoother workflows, improved collaboration, and efficient data management, helping your team work smarter and deliver superior customer experiences."
- Kishan Mehta, Managing Director, Shiv Technolabs [1]
This integration allows businesses to scale personalized outreach without compromising quality. Instead of relying on generic campaigns or time-consuming manual processes, the Closely + HubSpot partnership enables real-time adjustments based on a prospect’s behavior and preferences. Teams can automate LinkedIn connection requests, follow-ups, and email campaigns while maintaining the personalized touch that drives results.
A multichannel approach further enhances these efforts. Coordinating LinkedIn and email outreach boosts engagement, with segmented emails generating 50% more clicks [10]. Meanwhile, 60% of marketers agree that AI-powered personalization improves customer experiences [12].
Speed is another key advantage. Quick responses often determine success, with 35–50% of sales going to the fastest responder [10]. Automated workflows ensure your team can respond instantly to qualified leads, keeping you ahead of the competition.
"With HubSpot lead nurturing, you’re not just collecting leads – you’re building relationships that convert."
Beyond efficiency, AI significantly reduces time spent on repetitive tasks. By cutting manual work by 78% [12], teams can focus on building strategic relationships and closing deals. Predictive insights and lead scoring further streamline efforts, helping prioritize prospects with the highest conversion potential.
As 67% of companies plan to increase their AI budgets by 2025 [12], the Closely + HubSpot integration places businesses at the forefront of this shift. By combining LinkedIn’s vast network with HubSpot’s automation capabilities, companies can turn lead nurturing into a powerful revenue-generating strategy.
For professionals looking to move beyond manual outreach and achieve scalable growth, this integration delivers both efficiency and measurable results. It’s a solution that not only simplifies outreach but also drives meaningful revenue gains.
FAQs
What are the main advantages of integrating Closely with HubSpot for lead nurturing?
Integrating Closely with HubSpot simplifies your lead nurturing efforts by automating essential tasks like personalized follow-ups and lead scoring. This automation ensures your prospects receive timely and consistent communication, which can lead to stronger engagement and higher conversion rates.
On top of that, the integration offers real-time insights into campaign performance. This allows you to adjust your outreach strategies on the fly and run more effective multichannel campaigns. By leveraging these tools together, you can save time, work more efficiently, and concentrate on closing deals.
How do I ensure accurate data and avoid errors when integrating Closely with HubSpot?
To keep your data accurate and reduce errors during integration, here are some practical tips:
- Conduct regular audits to spot and correct inaccuracies, duplicates, or missing information.
- Leverage automation tools for data entry to minimize human errors.
- Establish consistent data management practices and routinely monitor the integration to address issues before they escalate.
Taking these steps can help ensure the integration process runs smoothly and reliably.
How can I use the Closely and HubSpot integration to enhance LinkedIn outreach and multichannel campaigns?
To get the most out of LinkedIn outreach and multichannel campaigns using the Closely and HubSpot integration, start by clearly defining your ideal customer profile. Once you know who you’re targeting, create customized outreach sequences that speak directly to their needs and interests. Incorporate AI-driven personalization to make your messages stand out and resonate with each prospect.
With HubSpot’s automation tools, you can efficiently track engagement, handle follow-ups, and nurture leads across various channels. Sync LinkedIn lead generation data with HubSpot to keep all your information organized and ensure smooth, timely communication with prospects. Regularly review your campaign performance in HubSpot to fine-tune your approach and improve your results over time.