## Introduction
High-quality leads are gold for any marketing team, especially startups aiming to optimize ad spend and maximize conversions. One powerful strategy is to push these leads directly into ad platforms as Custom Audiences, allowing for highly targeted campaigns that retarget warm prospects or create lookalike audiences.
This article provides a detailed, step-by-step guide for marketing teams, automation engineers, and startup CTOs on how to build an automation workflow that seamlessly transfers high-quality leads into platforms like Facebook Ads and Google Ads. We’ll focus on integrating tools such as Google Sheets (for lead storage), HubSpot (for lead qualification), and Facebook Ads / Google Ads custom audiences using Make.com (formerly Integromat). This process will significantly reduce manual effort, eliminate errors, and improve your ad targeting accuracy.
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## What Problem Does This Solve?
Marketing teams often capture leads from various channels (web forms, events, webinars) and store them in CRM or spreadsheet tools. However, manually exporting and importing these lists to ad platforms is time-consuming, error-prone, and cannot be done frequently, which limits the campaigns’ timeliness and effectiveness.
By automating the transfer of high-quality leads directly into ad platforms as custom audiences:
– Marketers can reduce manual work and avoid data syncing errors.
– Ads get pushed towards the most relevant audience segments quickly.
– Budgets are better optimized with tailored retargeting or lookalike campaigns.
– Sales and marketing teams gain more trust in data accuracy.
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## Tools and Services Integrated in This Workflow
– **HubSpot CRM**: Used for managing leads and scoring them to identify “high-quality” leads.
– **Google Sheets**: Optional intermediary storage for lead review and backup.
– **Facebook Ads (Meta Ads Manager)**: For creating and updating Custom Audiences.
– **Google Ads**: For pushing leads to Customer Match audiences.
– **Make.com (formerly Integromat)**: The automation platform orchestrating data flow.
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## Workflow Overview: From Lead Qualification to Custom Audience Update
1. **Trigger**: New or updated high-quality lead in HubSpot.
2. **Optional**: Add lead details to Google Sheets for visibility and backup.
3. **Format and normalize** lead data to comply with ad platform requirements.
4. **Push lead data to Facebook Ads Custom Audience**.
5. **Push lead data to Google Ads Customer Match Audience**.
6. **Log success or failure and notify marketing team via Slack or email**.
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## Step 1: Define What Constitutes a High-Quality Lead in HubSpot
Before automation:
– Ensure your HubSpot lead scoring is set up accurately, assigning points based on engagement (e.g., website visits, demo requests, form completions).
– Identify the lead lifecycle stages for further filtering.
– Use HubSpot filters to segment leads with scores above a threshold (e.g., score >= 50).
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## Step 2: Set Up Your Custom Audiences in Facebook and Google Ads
– In **Facebook Ads Manager**, create an empty Custom Audience (Customer List type) and note the Audience ID.
– In **Google Ads**, create a Customer Match audience segment and get the Audience ID.
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## Step 3: Create the Automation Scenario in Make.com
### 3.1 Trigger Setup: HubSpot Module
– Use the **HubSpot ‘Watch Contacts’** or **’Search Contacts’** based on lead creation or update.
– Filter for contacts where the lead score or lifecycle stage meets your high-quality criteria.
### 3.2 Google Sheets Module (Optional)
– Use the **Google Sheets ‘Add a Row’** module to log lead data.
– This helps marketing review leads in real-time.
### 3.3 Data Normalization Module (Tools/Functions)
– Clean phone numbers (format to E.164 standard).
– Normalize emails (trim, lower case).
– Hash personal identifiers (SHA256) if needed by platforms.
### 3.4 Facebook Ads Module
– Use the **Facebook Ads ‘Add Users to Custom Audience’** module.
– Map normalized emails or phone numbers.
– Handle API constraints: batch size limits (max 1000 users per call).
– Consider debounce to avoid duplicates.
### 3.5 Google Ads Module
– Use the **Google Ads Customer Match ‘Upload Customer List’** action.
– Follow Google’s required data formatting (hashed emails, phone numbers).
– Automate upload frequency according to lead volume.
### 3.6 Notification Module
– Use **Slack** or **Email** module to notify marketing of successes or failures.
– Include error details for troubleshooting.
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## Detailed Breakdown of Each Node
### HubSpot Watch Contacts
– Configure polling interval (e.g., every 5 minutes) or webhook triggers.
– Filter contacts where `hs_lead_score >= 50` and `lifecycle_stage in [‘lead’, ‘marketing qualified lead’]`.
### Google Sheets Add Row
– Column mapping: Email, Phone, Lead Score, Last Interaction Date.
– Use this sheet as a dynamic lead database.
### Data Formatter
– Use regex or Make’s built-in tools to normalize phone formats.
– Apply SHA256 hashing to emails/phones if required.
### Facebook Ads API
– Be aware of rate limits.
– Handle potential errors (invalid email format, unmatched audience).
– Include retry logic.
### Google Ads Customer Match
– Follow customer data policy — always hash sensitive data.
– Manage audience membership and removal carefully.
### Slack or Email Notifications
– Send summary reports daily or immediate alerts on failure.
– Provide contact info for the automation owner.
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## Common Errors and Tips to Improve Robustness
– **Data formatting errors:** Ensure emails are valid and phones conform to international standards.
– **API Rate limits:** Space out API calls or batch users to avoid hitting limits.
– **Audience syncing delays:** Custom Audiences may take up to 24 hours to update—set expectations.
– **Lead quality criteria drift:** Regularly review and adjust lead scoring in HubSpot.
– **Security:** Protect PII by hashing and securing API keys.
– **Error handling:** Build retries and alerting to catch failures early.
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## Scaling and Adapting the Workflow
– **Add more ad platforms:** Integrate LinkedIn Matched Audiences or Twitter Tailored Audiences by adding similar modules.
– **Two-way sync:** Export campaign performance data back to HubSpot for enriched lead scoring.
– **Enhanced segmentation:** Use dynamic criteria, like engagement recency or funnel stage.
– **Real-time triggers:** Switch to webhook-based triggers to reduce latency.
– **Multi-region support:** Adjust data formatting and audience creation per region nuances.
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## Summary and Bonus Tips
Automating the push of high-quality leads into ad platform Custom Audiences unlocks the power of targeted advertising with minimal manual overhead. By leveraging Make.com together with HubSpot, Google Sheets, Facebook Ads, and Google Ads, you can build a robust and scalable workflow that helps marketing teams focus on strategy instead of data wrangling.
### Bonus Tips:
– Use incremental updates to avoid re-uploading entire lists every time.
– Regularly audit your custom audiences for duplicates and inactive contacts.
– Pair this workflow with lead nurturing automations to maximize conversion probabilities.
– Document your automation for handover and troubleshooting.
Implementing this workflow helps align sales and marketing on a shared data-driven approach, optimizing advertising spend and accelerating startup growth.
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Ready to implement? Start by auditing your current lead scoring in HubSpot and setting up your initial Custom Audiences in Facebook and Google Ads. Then, create your Make.com scenario with data normalization in mind. Iterate based on feedback and lead flow volume for the best results.