How to Create ActiveCampaign Custom Fields (vs tags)

Creating custom fields in ActiveCampaign is a great way to store and organize additional information about your contacts, such as their job title or industry. By using custom fields, you can segment your audience and send targeted campaigns to specific groups of people. This can be extremely beneficial for entrepreneurs and digital business owners looking to automate their marketing.

Choosing a Field Type and Giving the Field a Name in ActiveCampaign

To start creating custom fields in ActiveCampaign, you'll first need to log into your account. 

If you don't have an ActiveCampaign account yet, create a free trial (14 days free).

Once logged in, navigate to the "Contacts" menu and select "Custom Fields" from the drop-down list. You'll then be presented with a list of all the existing custom fields in your account, as well as the option to create a new field.

When creating a new custom field, you'll have several options to choose from. First, you'll need to select the type of field you want to create. ActiveCampaign allows you to create these type of fields:

Each field type serves a specific purpose, so it's important to choose the one that best fits your needs.

Once you've chosen a field type, you'll need to give your field a name. This name will be used to identify the field when you're segmenting your audience or sending targeted campaigns. You'll also have the option to add a description for the field, which can be useful if you need to provide additional information about the field for your team or other users.

After you've completed the basic setup of the field, you can start customizing the details of it. For example, if you selected a dropdown or radio field, you'll need to add the options that will be available for the field. If you selected a date field, you can also set a date format that will be used when data is collected.

When you're finished creating the custom field, you'll need to decide where it will be displayed. You can either choose to show the field on your signup forms or on the contact profile page. If you select to show the field on the signup forms, it will be required for the contact to fill it out in order to be added to your list. If you choose to show the field on the contact profile page, it will be optional for the contact to provide the information.

With custom fields, you can create powerful marketing automation workflows. You can use the custom fields to segment your audience and send targeted campaigns to specific groups of people. This will allow you to tailor your messaging and increase the chances of converting leads into customers.

In summary, creating custom fields in ActiveCampaign is a great way to store and organize additional information about your contacts. It allows you to segment your audience and send targeted campaigns to specific groups of people. The process is simple and can be done quickly by following the steps outlined in this article. 

Differences between Custom fields & tags in ActiveCampaign

Custom fields and tags are both useful tools for organizing and segmenting your contacts in ActiveCampaign. However, there are some key differences between the two that you should be aware of.

Custom fields are used to store additional information about your contacts, such as their job title or industry. These fields can be used for a variety of purposes, including segmentation, targeted campaigns, and personalized messaging. Custom fields can also be displayed on signup forms and contact profile pages, making it easy for contacts to provide this information.

Tags, on the other hand, are used to group contacts together based on specific criteria. For example, you might tag all of your customers with "customer" and all of your leads with "lead." Tags can also be used to indicate a contact's status or stage in a sales or marketing funnel. For example, you might tag a contact as "qualified lead" or "closed sale." 

Also, you can use the tags in an analytics software as Wildmetrics to track the Customer Journey of each user.

When deciding whether to use custom fields or tags, it's important to consider the specific information or criteria you're trying to track. Custom fields are best used for storing specific information about a contact, such as their job title or industry. Tags, on the other hand, are best used for grouping contacts together based on a specific criterion, such as their status or stage in the sales funnel.

It's also worth noting that custom fields are structured data and tags are unstructured. Custom fields have specific format and options that the user need to define. This structured data can be used for creating segments, automations and also it can be integrated with other platforms via webhooks and api. Tags, on the other hand, are more versatile and flexible and can be added or removed as needed, but also don't provide the same level of structure and automation capabilities.

In conclusion, while both custom fields and tags can be used to organize and segment your contacts in ActiveCampaign, they serve different purposes. 

Custom fields are best used for storing specific information about a contact, while tags are best used for grouping contacts together based on a specific criterion. 

Both of them have their own specific use cases and advantages, so it's important to choose the one that best fits your needs.

Learn how to create tags in ActiveCampaign with our article ◀️