HubSpot Workflows: Using a Recent Incoming SMS to Trigger or Stop a HubSpot Workflow

You can trigger a HubSpot workflow or set a HubSpot workflow Goal based on a recent incoming text message from your HubSpot Contacts.

Requirements: 

• Connect Kixie to Hubspot
• Access to HubSpot Workflows
• Access to HubSpot Active Lists

Mechanics:

Set up your Active List

1. Create an Active List in HubSpot to capture your Contacts who recently texted your Kixie numbers. You can call this list something like "Recent Incoming SMS," to make things easier.

Using Active lists in HubSpot grants more flexibility to HubSpot users than trying to build the same filters in HubSpot Workflows enrollment triggers and goals. 

Since Kixie logs SMS as native HubSpot SMS Activities, the text messages you receive from your HubSpot Contacts will automatically work using HubSpot's own functionality.

2. Apply the following filters to your Active list then hit Save:

At least one associated Activity has all of:

• Channel type is any of SMS
• Create date is less than 1 day ago (this will include any Contact who has only sent you an inbound SMS within the last day, after which they will automatically drop off the list).
• Communication body contains any of "incoming sms" (since Kixie will include the direction of the SMS in the Communication Body of the SMS).

Using your Active List as a Workflow Trigger

1. Create a Contact-based Workflow from scratch.

2. Set your enrollment trigger by selecting "List memberships" > Select your Active List

3. Select "is member of list" and click "Apply filter" and "Save"

4. If you want this workflow to run every time a new SMS is received on Kixie, go to Re-enrollment and check the box next to "is member of [Active List name]"

Using Your Active List as a Workflow Goal

1. Go to the Goals section of your Contact-based Workflow and click "set goal"

2. Click on "List memberships" and select your Active list from earlier

3. Check the box next to "is member of list" and click "Apply filter" and "Save"

Use Cases:

Remove a Contact from your latest SMS Drip Campaign

When using HubSpot workflows to create SMS and email drip campaigns, you can use the above process to remove your contact from your workflow when they respond to a text message in your campaign. 

You could also use the workflow goal "Activity properties > Channel type > is any of SMS" to achieve the same goal without creating an Active list, but if your contact has ever sent you an incoming SMS prior to enrolling in the workflow, they would automatically meet this goal criteria even though they didn't send a text response to your latest SMS drip campaign.

The Active list method outlined in this article allows you to unenroll a contact only if they sent you a text message recently, instead of at any point in the past.

Re-enroll Contacts into a Workflow

You can use the workflow trigger "Activity properties > Channel type > is any of SMS" to enroll your Contacts into a workflow, but you can only do this once because Activity properties are not eligible for re-enrollment. Using the list methodology will allow for re-enrollment into your workflow.