The Zapier integration connects Community to the other apps you use, such as your store, CRM or email platform, so Members and messages move between them automatically. You build each automation in Zapier as a Zap: something happens in one app (the trigger), and Zapier does something in another (the action).
What is the Zapier integration
Zapier is an integration platform. It connects apps that were not built to talk to each other, without code. Community publishes an app in Zapier, which means any app Zapier supports can send information to Community or receive it.
Every Zap has two parts:
- A trigger. The event that starts the Zap. When Community is the trigger, Community sends the event to Zapier, for example when a Member's status changes.
- One or more actions. What Zapier does as a result. When Community is the action, Zapier asks Community to do something, for example add a Member to a Subcommunity or send them a message.
Community is available in Zapier as both a trigger and an action app.
| Community triggers | What starts the Zap |
|---|---|
| Message Received | A Member sends you a message |
| Term Response | A Member responds to a term (TK: confirm what a term is in Community's language) |
| Member Changed | A Member's status changes to live, opted out, blocked or deleted |
| Community actions | What Zapier does in Community |
|---|---|
| Create New Member | Adds a Member by phone number, with optional name, email, date of birth and location |
| Add Member to a Community | Adds a Member to a Subcommunity |
| Remove Member From a Community | Removes a Member from a Subcommunity |
| Send Message to Member | Sends a message to a Member |
| Create a Community | Creates a new Subcommunity |
Zapier lists most actions twice, once to identify the Member by phone number and once without. In Zapier, "Community" in an action name means a Subcommunity. The full, current list is on Community's page in Zapier: Community Supported Triggers and Actions.
Why should I use the Zapier integration?
Your Members already exist in other systems: they buy from your store, sit in your CRM and receive your emails. Without an integration, keeping those lists in step with Community means exporting and importing by hand, and the lists drift between exports.
With Zapier, each change moves as it happens. A Member who opts out in Community can be marked opted out in your CRM straight away. A customer who gets a tag in your CRM can be added to the matching Subcommunity, so the next Campaign to that Subcommunity reaches them. Because the trigger is a real event, such as an abandoned cart, the message that follows is timely and relevant to that Member.
You set this up yourself in Zapier, without engineering work or a custom integration.
How do I use it?
Building a Zap
- In Zapier, create a new Zap.
- Choose the trigger app and event. For example, choose Community and Member Changed, or choose your CRM and its new tag event.
- Choose the account to use for the trigger. If the trigger is Community, choose the Community account you connected.
- Set up the trigger. When Community is the trigger, choose which Members it applies to, for example a Subcommunity.
- Add an action. Choose the app and the action event, for example Community and Add Member to a Community.
- Map the fields from the trigger to the action, for example the phone number from your CRM to Member Phone Number.
- Test the action. A test of Send Message to Member sends a real message. Test with your own phone number, not a Member's.
- Turn the Zap on in Zapier.
Only add Members through Create New Member who have agreed to receive texts from you. Zapier adds whoever it is given, and opt-in rules still apply. See Can I import phone numbers from my lead generation forms?
Starting from a pre-made Zap
Pre-made Zaps come with the trigger and action already chosen. Open one, connect your accounts and adjust the fields. In these Zap names, "communities" means Subcommunities.
How do I use it well?
Bring existing Members across before you switch on a sync. Triggers fire on new events only, so a Zap that sends new Members to your CRM does nothing for the Members you already have. Export them first using Data Exports, import them into the other app, then turn the Zap on.
Sync opt-outs, not only sign-ups. Use Member Changed to update your other systems when a Member opts out, is blocked or is deleted. This keeps the other app from treating someone as reachable after they have left.
Use Subcommunities as the bridge. Mapping a CRM tag to a Subcommunity lets the other system decide who is in an audience, while Campaigns stay in Community. See Subcommunities in Community.
Common questions
Am I eligible for the Zapier integration?
If your plan includes it, the Zapier option appears in Settings > Integrations. If it does not, contact your Account Manager or email yourfriends@community.com.
How can I integrate with Zapier?
Connect your Community account in Settings > Integrations, then build Zaps in Zapier.
What is a trigger and action?
A trigger is the event that starts a Zap, such as a Member sending you a message. An action is what Zapier does as a result, such as adding that Member to a Subcommunity. Every Zap has one trigger and at least one action. See What is the Zapier integration for the triggers and actions Community supports.
Why aren't my existing Members in my other app?
Zaps act on events that happen after the Zap is turned on. Members who joined before then were never sent. Export them with Data Exports and import them into the other app.
Can I import phone numbers from my lead generation forms?
Yes, through the Community Advanced Integration, which brings phone numbers from another system into Community. Because people who fill in a lead form may not have agreed to receive texts, this setup needs a legal review for TCPA compliance before it is turned on. Email yourfriends@community.com to start. For signup forms on your own site, see Integrating External Signup Forms.
Which apps can I connect to Community?
Any app Zapier supports. Search for your app in the Zapier app directory. If your app is not there, see [TK: Developers & API article] for building your own integration.