How do I create segments?

Segments are the engine of your marketing automation strategy. Unlike static lists, segments are dynamic: they automatically update (via cron jobs) to include or remove contacts based on whether they meet specific criteria in real-time.

We encourage you to use the Segment Assistant, which will help you turn your text-based queries into precise filters for your contact segments.

What are the types of segments?

Static segments

Static segments do not contain any filters. The only ways to fill them with your contacts are:

• Import directly in the segment,
• Set actions in campaigns,
• Set actions in forms,
• Manually add contacts in segment via the interface.

Dynamic segments

It contain filters. They will update automatically as soon as contacts fulfill (or not) the conditions.

Be careful: contacts manually added into segments will not be removed even if they do not fulfill the condition's filters.

1. The 4 Pillars of Filtering

To build a segment, you can cross-reference data from four distinct sources:

• Contacts (Native and Custom Fields): Filter based on any field in the contact record (First Name, Last Name, City, Job Title, Score, etc.). All manually created custom fields are available here.

• Companies: Target contacts based on the attributes of the company they are linked to (Industry, Annual Revenue, Head Office Location, etc.).

• Contact Behavior and Actions: This focuses on engagement data (e.g., opened an email, visited a specific landing page, submitted a form, or possesses a specific tag).

• Custom Objects: If you have synced business-specific objects (e.g., vehicle fleets, contracts, or course registrations), you can segment contacts who have a relationship with these objects.

2. Understanding Comparison Operators

The operator defines the relationship between the selected field and the value you are looking for. This is the key to precise targeting.

Standard Operators (Text & Single Values)

• Equals / Not Equal: An exact match (or exact exclusion) of the value.

• Empty / Not Empty: Checks whether a piece of information is present or missing in the contact record (essential for database cleaning).

• Contains / Does not contain: Searches for a specific string of characters anywhere within the field.

• Starts with / Ends with: Useful for filtering zip codes (e.g., "Starts with 75") or specific email domains.

• Regexp / Not regexp: For advanced users, this allows the use of Regular Expressions for complex pattern matching.

• Like (SQL): Uses SQL syntax (using % wildcards) for flexible searching.

Multi-select and List Operators

When a field contains multiple values (such as "Multiple Select" fields or Tags), specific operators appear to handle the logic:

• Including one of: The contact is included if they have at least one of the selected values (Equivalent to an "OR" logic).

• Excluding one of: The contact is excluded if they possess any one of the listed values.

• Including all: The contact must possess every single one of the selected values to enter the segment (Equivalent to an "AND" logic).

• Excluding all: The contact is excluded only if they possess the entire set of listed values.

3. Logical Structure: AND vs. OR

The articulation of filters relies on a simple logical hierarchy:

1. The "AND" Operator: All criteria must be met simultaneously. The more "AND" filters you add, the more restrictive (smaller) your segment becomes.

2. The "OR" Operator: Only one of the criteria needs to be met. This allows you to broaden your audience (e.g., Contacts in London OR Contacts in Manchester).

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Expert Advice:

Pay attention to the order of your filters. Webmecanik Automation processes filter groups from top to bottom. For complex segments, use the Segment Assistant (AI) to translate your needs from natural language directly into a filter structure.

4. Segment Synchronization

Once your filters are saved, the segment may not populate instantly. The system periodically scans your database to match contacts against the filters.

• If a contact no longer matches: They are automatically removed from the segment.

• If a new contact matches: They are added automatically and can immediately trigger any linked Campaign workflows.

Update segments manually

There are three ways to update your segment:

1. The cron job automatically updates the segment every 10 minutes.
2. You edit your segment and click Save & Close.
3. You click the Refresh button in the top-right corner, below the arrow.