Tags & Segments

Tags and segments are powerful tools for organizing your contacts and targeting specific audiences in your campaigns. This guide covers how to create, manage, and effectively use both features.

Understanding Tags vs Segments

Both tags and segments help organize contacts, but they work differently:

Think of tags as labels you stick on contacts, and segments as filtered views of your contact database.

Tags

What Are Tags?

Tags are simple labels you apply to contacts. They help you:

• Categorize contacts quickly
• Filter your contact list
• Target specific groups in campaigns
• Track contact attributes over time

Example tags: vip, newsletter, black-friday-2024, churned, website-lead

Creating Tags

Tags are created automatically when you first use them, but you can also create them in advance:

1. Go to Contacts > Tags
2. Click Create Tag
3. Enter the tag name
4. Optionally add a description and color
5. Click Save

Tag Naming Best Practices

Recommendations:

• Use lowercase letters
• Separate words with hyphens or underscores
• Be specific (include dates, sources, etc.)
• Keep names consistent across your team

Applying Tags to Contacts

Single Contact

1. Go to the contact's profile
2. Click the Tags section
3. Type to search for existing tags or create new ones
4. Click a tag to apply it
5. Click the X on a tag to remove it

Bulk Tagging

Apply tags to multiple contacts at once:

1. Go to Contacts
2. Select contacts using checkboxes
3. Click Add Tags in the bulk actions bar
4. Select tags to apply
5. Click Apply

During Import

Apply tags during CSV import:

1. Map a CSV column to "Import as Tag"
2. Or add tags to all imported contacts in settings

See Import Contacts for details.

Via API

curl -X POST https://api.waflow.com/v1/contacts/+14155551234/tags \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"tags": ["vip", "newsletter"]}'

Managing Tags

View All Tags

Go to Contacts > Tags to see:

• All tags in your workspace
• Number of contacts with each tag
• Tag descriptions and colors

Edit a Tag

1. Go to Contacts > Tags
2. Click on a tag
3. Edit name, description, or color
4. Click Save

Note: Editing a tag name updates it for all contacts with that tag.

Delete a Tag

1. Go to Contacts > Tags
2. Click the delete icon next to the tag
3. Confirm deletion

Deleting a tag removes it from all contacts. Contact data is not affected.

Merge Tags

If you have duplicate or similar tags:

1. Go to Contacts > Tags
2. Select tags to merge
3. Click Merge
4. Choose the target tag (all others merge into this)
5. Confirm

All contacts with merged tags will have the target tag.

Filtering by Tags

Use tags to filter your contact list:

1. Go to Contacts
2. Click the Tags filter dropdown
3. Select one or more tags
4. Choose filter logic:
   • Any: Contacts with any selected tag
   • All: Contacts with all selected tags

Tag Combinations

Create complex filters with tag logic:

Using Tags in Campaigns

Target campaigns by tags:

1. Create a new campaign
2. In recipient selection, choose Filter by Tags
3. Select tags and logic
4. Preview the audience size
5. Continue with campaign setup

Segments

What Are Segments?

Segments are groups of contacts defined by criteria. Unlike tags, segments can:

• Update automatically based on rules (dynamic segments)
• Be based on multiple conditions
• Combine tags, fields, and engagement data

Types of Segments

Static Segments

Manually curated lists of contacts:

• You add and remove contacts explicitly
• Membership doesn't change automatically
• Useful for hand-picked audiences

Example use cases:

• VIP list reviewed quarterly
• Event attendee list
• Custom exclusion list

Dynamic Segments

Rule-based groups that update automatically:

• Define criteria, and contacts matching those criteria are included
• Membership updates when contact data changes
• Useful for behavior-based targeting

Example use cases:

• "Contacts who purchased in last 30 days"
• "Subscribers who haven't opened last 5 campaigns"
• "High-value customers with email addresses"

Creating a Static Segment

1. Go to Contacts > Segments
2. Click Create Segment
3. Choose Static Segment
4. Enter a name and description
5. Click Create

To add contacts:

1. Go to Contacts
2. Select contacts using checkboxes
3. Click Add to Segment
4. Select your static segment
5. Click Add

Or from the segment view:

1. Open the segment
2. Click Add Contacts
3. Search and select contacts
4. Click Add

Creating a Dynamic Segment

1. Go to Contacts > Segments
2. Click Create Segment
3. Choose Dynamic Segment
4. Enter a name and description
5. Define your rules

Building Segment Rules

Dynamic segments use a rule builder:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Segment Rules                                                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Include contacts where [ALL ▼] of the following are true:      │
│                                                                 │
│ [Tag ▼] [contains ▼] [vip ▼]                        [×]        │
│                                                                 │
│ [AND ▼]                                                         │
│                                                                 │
│ [Last Message ▼] [is within ▼] [30 days ▼]         [×]        │
│                                                                 │
│ [+ Add Condition]                                               │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Preview: 1,234 contacts match these rules                       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Available Rule Conditions

Contact Fields:

Tags:

Engagement:

Dates:

Rule Logic

Combine conditions with:

• ALL (AND): Contact must match every condition
• ANY (OR): Contact must match at least one condition

For complex logic, create multiple rule groups:

( Tag contains "vip" AND Email is not empty )
OR
( Tag contains "high-value" AND Last Reply within 30 days )

Example Dynamic Segments

Engaged VIP Customers

Contacts who are VIPs and have interacted recently:

ALL of:
- Tag contains "vip"
- Last Reply within 30 days

Dormant Subscribers

Newsletter subscribers who haven't engaged:

ALL of:
- Tag contains "newsletter"
- Last Reply is before 90 days ago

New High-Value Leads

Recent leads with high purchase potential:

ALL of:
- Created within 14 days
- Custom field "lead_score" greater than 80
- Email is not empty

Re-engagement Candidates

Customers who might be slipping away:

ALL of:
- Tag contains "customer"
- Tag does not contain "churned"
- Last Message is before 60 days ago

Managing Segments

View Segment Contacts

1. Go to Contacts > Segments
2. Click on a segment
3. See all contacts in the segment
4. Apply additional filters if needed

Edit Segment

1. Go to Contacts > Segments
2. Click the edit icon on a segment
3. Modify name, description, or rules
4. Save changes

For dynamic segments, membership updates immediately based on new rules.

Delete Segment

1. Go to Contacts > Segments
2. Click the delete icon
3. Confirm deletion

Deleting a segment does not delete the contacts in it.

Using Segments in Campaigns

Target campaigns to segments:

1. Create a new campaign
2. In recipient selection, choose Select Segment
3. Choose one or more segments
4. For multiple segments, choose logic:
   • Union: Contacts in any selected segment
   • Intersection: Contacts in all selected segments
5. Preview audience size
6. Continue with campaign setup

Segment Limits

Best Practices

Tag Strategy

1. Create a tag taxonomy: Define categories before you start

   • Source tags: source-facebook, source-website, source-referral
   • Status tags: lead, customer, churned
   • Interest tags: interested-product-a, interested-product-b

2. Be consistent: Use the same format across all tags

3. Review regularly: Audit tags quarterly, merge or delete unused ones

4. Document your tags: Maintain a shared reference for your team

Segment Strategy

1. Start simple: Begin with basic segments, add complexity as needed

2. Name clearly: Include the purpose in the name

   • Good: "VIP Customers - Active Last 30 Days"
   • Bad: "Segment 1"

3. Use dynamic segments for behavior-based groups

4. Use static segments for hand-curated lists

5. Combine with tags: Use tags for labeling, segments for targeting

Campaign Targeting

Troubleshooting

Dynamic Segment Empty

• Check that rules are correctly configured
• Verify condition values (e.g., tag exists, date format correct)
• Try relaxing conditions one at a time

Tag Not Appearing

• Tags are created on first use
• Check for typos in tag name
• Verify you're in the correct workspace

Segment Count Seems Wrong

• Dynamic segments update periodically (not real-time)
• Check the "Last Updated" timestamp
• Click "Refresh" to force an update

Next Steps

Now that you understand tags and segments:

• Set up custom fields for more data points
• Create targeted campaigns
• Build automated sequences based on segments