FAQ: Marketing Hub

What is a contact?

A contact is a record of information about an individual.

What is a marketing contact? How does this differ from a contact?

A marketing contact is an opted-in contact who has indicated willingness to be contacted via marketing. Typically, marketing contacts have filled out a form, checked a box, or subscribed to receive more messaging. Not all contacts are marketing contacts. Some contacts have not given implicit or explicit consent to be marketed to.

What is a segment? Is this different from a list?

Segments and lists can be used interchangeably. They both refer to a collection of records based on shared criteria. HubSpot has changed the name of lists on their platform to segments, so if you see lists anywhere, they are referring to what are now called segments.

Can I store media contacts on HubSpot?

NO. HubSpot is not a tool for hosting a directory of media contacts. HubSpot is a marketing platform for business development. Please do not include journalist information in your mailing list uploads. Remember, HubSpot is a platform we use to drive Orchestra’s growth, not to do work on behalf of clients.

Why do my contacts have to “opt in” in order to receive marketing emails? Can’t I just load them up and send an email, since I have their information?

GDPR, CAN-SPAM compliance, CCPA. No matter the regulation mentioned, all marketing emails must provide audiences the option to unsubscribe. But before individuals can unsubscribe, they should have given permission to be on the mailing list in the first place. 

Sending marketing emails without having proper implicit or explicit permission puts the team’s sender score and email health at risk, which increases the odds of getting blacklisted. This would mean Orchestra would be unable to send marketing emails entirely. To protect the domains connected to HubSpot, please follow the guidelines provided by HubSpot on what constitutes a proper opt-in: https://knowledge.hubspot.com/marketing-email/understand-opt-in-consent-for-email

If you have specific questions on whether your contact list meets the criteria for being safe to send marketing emails to, please contact marketingrequests@orchestraco.com with a request to review your list with you and identify whether or not your team is in the clear.

I have a new contact I met at a client event. I would like to add them to the existing list so they can start receiving our newsletter. Is this allowed?

If the individual in question filled out a paper or electronic form that indicated explicitly that they agree to receive marketing communications from you, then they are considered an opt-in. Outside of that, they are not an opted-in contact. 

If you need help identifying whether your sourced contact data list meets the criteria for being an opt-in, please contact marketingrequests@orchestraco.com with a request to review your list with you and identify whether or not your team is in the clear.

Can I upload contact data whenever I have a batch of new contacts?

All contact data prior to upload is validated and cleaned through a rigorous data hygiene process (outlined in the List Segmentation article). Please batch all new contacts in a new spreadsheet for upload using the HubSpot Contact List Upload Template and submit the request to clean the list and upload to marketingrequests@orchestraco.com.

I duplicated one of the email templates to create an email. Is there a naming convention I should follow?

Not necessarily. Our advice would be to stay as consistent as possible if you are sending similar emails to your audience segment. For instance, if you’re sending a monthly newsletter, providing the month, year, audience segment, and your agency in the title of the email will help with categorizing the emails per audience on the backend. (September 2025 Lifestyle Newsletter - BR, October 2025 Lifestyle Newsletter - BR, etc.)

Why does my email need approval before it is sent out?

This is a guardrail against accidental mass emails. Think of the approval process as a final check to ensure all components of the email communications meet our internal guidelines for client communication. Our team needs to review:

1. The contact list(s) used in the emails to see if the email is going to the right audience
2. Any last-minute copy edits on the body of the email and the subject line
3. Ensuring all recipients have proper opt-in permissions and have the unsubscribe/manage preferences option in the email

Providing our team with an advanced notice of an email in the works and your target delivery timeline will go a long way in ensuring a quick turnaround on the review of an email. As we get more accustomed to delivering HubSpot email requests, our team will be able to provide an average turnaround time per each type of email. For now, please email marketingrequests@orchestraco.com with all questions related to email comms on HubSpot.

Can I send emails to a list I didn’t upload if they overlap in focus with my business?

Different agencies under Orchestra have uploaded their contact list data onto the shared HubSpot instance. While there’s nothing stopping users from viewing the contact records, a member of Glen Echo Group can not reach out to Civitas’ contact list to score new business, and so on and so forth for each Orchestra agency. Every contact has an activity page, so our team and the Growth team will be monitoring activity on all contacts. We will know if you are emailing contacts that do not belong to your practice. Only send emails to contact lists owned by your specific agency. If your team collaborates with another agency on email communications, this must go out under the Orchestra banner. Please reach out to marketingrequests@orchestraco.com if you have a special circumstance like this to clear any issues with emailing contacts on multiple lists.