Question from Reddit user:
Hi
Once you have connected HubSpot to instantly is there a way for activity on Instantly to be updated in real time to HubSpot?
Right now it looks like the app only allows me to import HubSpot leads to Instantly?
Answer from Nabil:
The short answer is:
You are correct that the native Instantly integration is primarily designed for one-way data flow, pulling leads from HubSpot into Instantly, and it does not offer real-time, two-way sync for activity data.
Since Instantly’s documentation confirms this one-way limitation, the solution is indeed a custom API connection.
You can achieve this real-time, bidirectional activity sync by using the HubSpot API and the Instantly API v2 (their newer API) to build a webhook-based listener that pushes campaign activity like opens, clicks, and replies from Instantly directly into the corresponding contact’s timeline in HubSpot.
The long answer is:
The limitation you’ve found is very common with integrations between CRMs and specialized outreach tools; the native app focuses on the core use case – getting contacts out for emailing – but neglects the need to push the results back.
Relying on scheduled, hourly data dumps to sync activity is too slow for a sales or marketing team.
To get truly real-time updates and make the most of your sales automation, you need to set up a direct connection using both platforms’ APIs.
This is an excellent and relatively cheap solution because both the HubSpot API and the Instantly API v2 are well-documented and designed for this exact kind of event-driven communication.
The process involves creating an intermediary service, which can be hosted affordably on a platform like Google Cloud Platform or within a server-side tagging environment like Stape using Google Tag Manager to manage the data flow.
When an event happens in Instantly (a reply is received, a prospect clicks a link, or a sequence is completed), Instantly’s system can be configured to send a webhook notification to your custom service.
This service then takes the activity data from the webhook payload, uses the HubSpot API to search for the corresponding contact, and creates a custom timeline event or updates a contact property, such as Last Outreach Activity or Instantly Reply Received, on that contact’s record.
This method is superior to simple third-party middleware because it offers instant, event-driven updates, allowing your sales reps to see a prospect’s current engagement instantly without waiting for a batch sync, and you only pay for the execution resources of the API calls, making it a highly cost-effective and scalable solution.
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