If you’re new to using ActiveCampaign, or just haven’t been in there for a while, you definitely need to get comfortable with Tags – they’re hands down the easiest and fastest way to organise contacts in ActiveCampaign.
You can put a tag on an ActiveCampaign contact. Then you can take it off again. As many times as you like.
And that’s all there is to it.
Tags are the sticky-labels of ActiveCampaign.
And you can use them to count, search, sort, segment, organise, automate and send emails – they’re just the best thing!
Tags are way easier to work with than Lists or Custom Fields.
Read on in the company of Kay Peacey, renowned ActiveCampaign expert, certified consultant and trained teacher…
Sign up for Email & Automation tips and strategy from Slick Business
Follow these steps to learn how to use ActiveCampaign Tags
Visit our FREE Facebook Group now
The safe place to freak out and geek out about Email & Automation for your small business
Watch this video to learn about ActiveCampaign tags in 4 mins
Visit our YouTube Channel and Subscribe for more Email & Automation tips
What is an ActiveCampaign Tag?
You can have as many different tags as you like.
Contacts can have lots of tags, or none at all. Tag goes on, tag comes off, as many times as you like.
ActiveCampaign can see immediately whether a contact has any particular tag or not, no matter how many there are.
ActiveCampaign does not keep track of tags throughout history, and when they were added or removed – it just knows whether the tag is there on the contact, or not, at that moment in time.
How to use better names for Tags in ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign has no idea what the words on your tags mean.
It can count how many contacts have that tag, and make decisions based on whether the tag is there or not, but AC definitely cannot tell you what that tag means in your business. It’s just using the hidden ID number.
The meaning of the words bit is for the humans who see or use the tag in your ActiveCampaign account
Like sticky-labels, tag names are best kept short and intuitive.
Humans don’t like cryptic sticky-labels – much better if you can tell right away what the label means.
Consistency, and a naming system is the key to getting this right. Check out our blog on naming things well for some great tips.
Naming tags better is a major easy win for ActiveCampaign users, and we teach a fast and effective snippet on how to do it in our free Accelerated ActiveCampaign training.
Using ActiveCampaign already, or thinking about getting it?
Get our FREE Accelerated ActiveCampaign training now
How to keep your Tags well organised in ActiveCampaign
Careless or hasty tagging causes trouble many ActiveCampaign accounts.
First sign of trouble is the mess when multiple similar tags are in use, and no one has any idea which is the “real” tag.
- BCM-done-63
- bcm-DONE_63
- BCM-don
Using master-class where Masterclass ought to be can cause days or weeks of expensive fallout, and the worst cases require major intervention from a specialist to reduce symptoms and prevent further outbreaks.
Prevention is better than cure, so make a vow right now, when typing in or creating tags on contacts, or in automations and so on
Watch this 10 min video on using Tags inside ActiveCampaign
Visit our YouTube Channel and Subscribe for more Email & Automation tips
FAQs for ActiveCampaign Tags
What is a tag in ActiveCampaign used for, really?
It’s a sticky label you stick (or unstick) from a contact There’s no in-between or fancy meaning. It’s either there, or it’s not
Do the actual words in a tag matter in automations or integrations to do with ActiveCampaign?
Nope — the tag name is just for humans ActiveCampaign and other tech look at the hidden tag ID number, not the text
Should I use tags for organising everything inside ActiveCampaign?
No! Keep tags meaningful and limited, or your account will get messy, confusing, and hard to manage
Use custom fields for storing actual data or information about a contact
Tags are best for binary info – it’s there, or it’s not there
How do I keep tag chaos under control when using ActiveCampaign?
- Be consistent in naming and formatting
- Limit tag length
- Regularly prune unused or temporary tags
- Stick to a small set of tag “types” that serve specific purposes
Should I delete temporary tags in ActiveCampaign?
Yes, when you’re done with them, there’s no shame in using and binning tags as you tidy up!
Just take care not to delete Tags that are busy doing useful things in your ActiveCampaign account.
Learn more about our Slick Business Academy
Fast effective Email & Automation training & support from Kay Peacey
Get more help with how to use Tags in ActiveCampaign
There is a *lot* to know about Tags in ActiveCampaign – far more than I can tell you in one blog post.
We created the Slick Business Academy membership to support users to get way more value from their ActiveCampaign accounts – and we spend a lot of time talking tags and all their glorious uses.
Joining for just one month will give you a massive rocket-boost on what you can get done on auto-pilot in your business, to free up more of your time, and serve your customers better. Come on in – we’re super-friendly too…
Learn more about our Slick Business Academy
Fast effective Email & Automation training & support from Kay Peacey