Hubspot Tips - Using IP Addresses to Find Location Content Properties

As a content creator or marketer, you’ve likely built a strong following by getting subscribers to your newsletter, encouraging downloads of your white papers, and using various lead magnets. These are all excellent strategies that make inbound marketing effective. But what happens when you want to take your online presence offline and host an event, say, in Nashville, Tennessee? You’ll need to let your audience know, especially those nearby, so they can attend. The challenge? You might not know where many of your contacts are located.

The Problem: Location Data Is Missing

If you haven't collected location data from your subscribers, it can be tough to segment your contact list by location. When someone fills out a form on your website, one of the details logged is their IP address. This little piece of data can be your secret weapon. HubSpot, for example, automatically logs the city, state, and country associated with an IP address when a form is submitted, even if you didn’t explicitly ask for that information.

The Solution: Leveraging HubSpot Workflows

By using HubSpot’s workflows, you can automatically populate your contacts’ location fields based on their IP address. This is an effective way to segment your contact list without needing to manually gather location data. Below, I’ll walk you through setting up this workflow.

Step 1: Accessing Your HubSpot Properties

First, let’s explore where these location properties exist in HubSpot. In your HubSpot portal, navigate to a contact record. Even if a contact hasn’t provided their location, HubSpot may have logged their IP city, state, and country. For example, when you search for the “City” property, you might not find it filled in, but “IP City” likely will be. The same goes for “State” and “Country.”

Step 2: Creating the Workflow

Now that you know where to find these properties, let’s create the workflow. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Workflows: In HubSpot, go to Automations and then Workflows.
   
2. Create a New Workflow: Click the orange “Create Workflow” button in the top right corner and choose to start from scratch. This workflow will be Contact-based, so select that option and click Next.
   
3. Name Your Workflow: A descriptive name is essential for future reference. For example, "Set Location Based on IP Address" works well. The description might be, "This automation updates the contact’s location properties based on their IP address."

Step 3: Setting Up the Trigger

Next, set up a trigger based on an event:

1. Choose Trigger: Click on When an Event Occurs, scroll to Property Value Changed, and search for the IP-based property you want to use, like “IP State Region.”
   
   
   
2. Set Condition: You’ll want to ensure that the trigger only activates when the IP state is known. Save this condition.
   

Step 4: Adding If-Then Logic

Now, create logic that will determine whether or not the workflow should update a contact’s location:

1. Add an If-Then Branch: Select “Branch” and choose the logic based on whether the state property is known.
   
2. Check for Existing Data: The first branch should check if the contact already has a state set. If they do, the workflow should end to avoid overwriting accurate data.
   
3. Populate Missing Data: If the state is unknown, use the IP address to populate the “State/Region” property. You’ll repeat this process for the city and country.
   
   

Step 5: Adding City and Country Data

You don’t want to stop at just the state. Repeat the same process to populate the city and country properties:

1. Set City Property: Add a new action, select Set Property Value, and choose the “City” property. Populate it with the IP city value.
2. Set Country Property: Do the same for the “Country/Region” property, using the IP country code.

Addressing Concerns About Accuracy

A valid concern is whether the IP address accurately reflects a contact’s current location, especially if they travel frequently. While IP addresses aren’t always perfect, they usually provide a good indication of where someone is located, especially for event targeting purposes.

Final Steps and Testing

Before fully rolling out this workflow, test it on a few contacts to ensure it works as intended. Once you’re satisfied, activate the workflow and start using it to better target your marketing efforts based on location.

Conclusion

And that’s it! You’ve now learned how to automatically populate location properties for your contacts using HubSpot workflows. This technique can significantly enhance your ability to segment your contact list and execute more targeted, location-based marketing campaigns. Whether you’re planning an event or tailoring your messaging, this approach will ensure you’re reaching the right people in the right places.