Why did my Demandbase audiences stop syncing to LinkedIn, and how do I re-authenticate?
TofuAnswer by the Tofu team · checked

Most often the LinkedIn sign-in behind the integration expired, or the person who connected it lost their role on the ad account. LinkedIn's developer docs say partner apps must be authorized again when their one-year refresh token runs out, and The ABM Agency's 2026 guide says Demandbase's LinkedIn token lasts one year. To fix it, reconnect LinkedIn in Demandbase's Settings, signed in as a LinkedIn Billing admin or Account manager to be safe. Demandbase's help center wouldn't load for us, so check its exact steps while signed in.
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As of November 2026.
A note on sources: Demandbase's help center refused every request we sent (HTTP 403) on November 3, 2026, so we couldn't read its LinkedIn articles, and we left out details we could only see in search results. What's here comes from pages we could read: Demandbase's LinkedIn playbook, Demandbase's listing in LinkedIn's partner directory, LinkedIn's help and developer docs, and a 2026 guide from The ABM Agency, a third party. Before you change anything, read Demandbase's LinkedIn integration article while signed in.
Before you start
- In Demandbase: The ABM Agency's guide says you need "Edit rights for the Integrated Systems section under Settings."
- In LinkedIn: The same guide says the integration user needs "an Admin role with Write permissions" in Campaign Manager, and names Billing Admin, Account Manager or Campaign Manager. LinkedIn has no role called Admin. Step 2 covers which to pick.
- The right person: LinkedIn's developer docs say an app can manage audiences only on ad accounts where the signed-in person has a role other than Viewer. Connect with someone who will keep their LinkedIn access.
- Your login: Demandbase's playbook says to have your LinkedIn login ready, since connecting the integration asks for it.
- A list: Note which Demandbase audiences sync to this ad account (Orchestration > Audiences), so you can check each one afterwards.
Step 1: Find out why the sync stopped
Open the audience in Orchestration > Audiences. Demandbase's listing in LinkedIn's partner directory says that after the first sync, the audience's Destinations tab shows its status and metrics. Then find the audience in Campaign Manager: go to Plan > Audiences and set the Source filter to Third Party, as Demandbase's playbook describes, and check its status there.
Two causes to check:
- The sign-in expired. LinkedIn's developer docs say partner apps get access tokens that last 60 days and a refresh token that lasts a year by default. When the refresh token runs out, the person must authorize the app again. The ABM Agency's guide says Demandbase notifies users as the token nears expiry.
- The person lost access. LinkedIn's docs say API calls to an ad account fail when the token belongs to someone with no role on it. LinkedIn also "reserves the right to revoke" tokens at any time.
Until you reconnect, Demandbase can't update the audience in LinkedIn, so it stops picking up new or removed accounts.
Step 2: Check the LinkedIn user's role
In Campaign Manager, check the role of the person who will reconnect. LinkedIn's roles:
| LinkedIn role | What it can do | Write access in LinkedIn's API | Named by The ABM Agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing admin | Everything, plus billing and user access | Yes | Yes |
| Account manager | Campaigns, ad sets, ads, user access and account details; not billing | Yes | Yes |
| Campaign manager | Create and edit campaigns and ad sets, edit ads; can't manage users | Yes | Yes |
| Creative manager | Edit new and existing ads only | Yes | No |
| Viewer | Read-only | No | No |
So which role is "an Admin role with Write permissions"? Every role except Viewer has write access in LinkedIn's developer docs, but only Billing admin and Account manager can manage user access. Billing admin or Account manager is the safer pick, since either fits both "Admin" and "Write." If your ad account is in LinkedIn Business Manager, roles are managed there instead. LinkedIn also says some Matched Audiences need extra LinkedIn Page permissions.
Step 3: Reconnect LinkedIn in Demandbase
We couldn't read Demandbase's own steps, so we can't confirm whether you edit the LinkedIn integration or delete it and add it again. Follow Demandbase's article for that. What we could confirm:
- In Demandbase, go to Settings and open Integrated Systems, where The ABM Agency's guide places the integration.
- Reconnect LinkedIn as Demandbase's article says. Demandbase's partner listing describes the first setup as granting permission and connecting your LinkedIn ad accounts, then selecting the ad account to push audiences to.
- When LinkedIn asks you to sign in, use the person you checked in Step 2. The ABM Agency's guide says the connection uses LinkedIn sign-in (OAuth), after which Demandbase creates a new token.
- Pick the same ad account your audiences sync to.
The ABM Agency's guide also mentions an "Automatically Sync" toggle that turns on 3rd-party campaign reporting in Demandbase. For that report, see How do I see my LinkedIn and Google Ads results by account in Demandbase?
Step 4: Check that your audiences sync again
Demandbase's playbook says an audience's first sync "may take a few days," and later syncs run nightly. We couldn't check the timing in Demandbase's help center. On LinkedIn's side, an audience that is building or updating can take up to 48 hours, or occasionally 72. The ABM Agency's guide says audiences over 50,000 members can take longer than 48 hours.
We couldn't confirm whether audiences pick up a reconnected integration on their own. So after the next nightly sync, check each audience's Destinations tab in Demandbase and its status under Plan > Audiences in Campaign Manager.
If an audience still isn't updating, check its LinkedIn destination. The ABM Agency's guide lists three options:
- Create New makes a new LinkedIn audience.
- Create New and Replace makes a new audience that takes the place of one in use.
- Use Existing overwrites an audience created earlier through the integration.
Demandbase's playbook says you set the sync's start date, and an optional end date, on the audience's Scheduler tab, then activate the audience.
Common problems
| Problem | Why it happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Sync stopped about a year after you connected | The LinkedIn refresh token ran out. By default it lasts a year | Step 3 |
| Sync stopped before the year was up | The person who connected LinkedIn lost their role or left. LinkedIn also "reserves the right to revoke" tokens at any time | Reconnect with a current Billing admin or Account manager |
| You can't pick your ad account when you reconnect | LinkedIn lets apps reach only ad accounts where the signed-in person has a role | Fix the role in Campaign Manager or Business Manager, then sign in again |
| Use Existing doesn't offer the LinkedIn audience you want | The ABM Agency's guide says Use Existing overwrites audiences created through the integration | Use Create New, or Create New and Replace |
| LinkedIn shows the audience as Archived | It "hasn't been used in an ad set or modified for 30 days" | Unarchive it from the Audiences page, or add it to an active or draft ad set |
| LinkedIn shows the audience as Expired | Not edited or used in an active or draft ad set for 90 days, and its data is gone | LinkedIn says to edit and upload the list again. For a Demandbase audience, ask Demandbase support |
| LinkedIn shows the audience as Failed | A problem with the segment the data provider pushed | LinkedIn says to work with the provider, so contact Demandbase support |
Sources (9)
- Demandbase's LinkedIn integration article (Demandbase Help), couldn't be read: Demandbase's help center refused our requests (HTTP 403) on November 3, 2026
- Sync Demandbase Audiences to LinkedIn Guide (Demandbase playbook), checked November 3, 2026
- Demandbase (LinkedIn Marketing Partners directory), checked November 3, 2026
- User roles and permissions in Campaign Manager (LinkedIn Help), checked November 3, 2026
- Matched Audiences status definitions (LinkedIn Help), checked November 3, 2026
- Refresh Tokens with OAuth 2.0 (LinkedIn, Microsoft Learn, updated October 8, 2025), checked November 3, 2026
- Key Concepts (LinkedIn Marketing API, Microsoft Learn, updated February 11, 2026), checked November 3, 2026
- DMP Segment Users (LinkedIn Marketing API, Microsoft Learn, updated August 17, 2026), checked November 3, 2026
- The 2026 Guide to LinkedIn Advertising Through Demandbase Integration (The ABM Agency), checked November 3, 2026