Lead gen forms

How do I automatically send LinkedIn Lead Gen Form leads to HubSpot or Salesforce?

By The Tofu team ·

Start with your CRM's own connection. In HubSpot, connect your LinkedIn ad account under Settings > Marketing > Ads > Lead syncing: it's on every HubSpot plan, and new leads arrive within two hours. In Salesforce, turn on Use LinkedIn Lead Sync APIs with Lead Forms in Lead Settings and connect a LinkedIn account: each lead becomes a Lead record. Use Zapier or Make when you need extra steps or routing, and LeadsBridge for a managed sync. When leads go missing, the usual causes are LinkedIn Page roles, a missing email field or a form edited after setup.

As of October 2026.

HubSpot vs Salesforce vs Zapier vs Make vs LeadsBridge

HubSpot lead syncing (native)Salesforce LinkedIn Lead Gen (native)ZapierMakeLeadsBridge
What it doesLogs each Lead Gen Form submission as a form submission in HubSpot, creating the contact if neededCreates a Lead record for each submission, using your field mapping and lead defaultsA Zap starts on each new sponsored or organic form response; you pick the CRM action, such as Create or Update Contact (HubSpot) or Create Lead (Salesforce)A scenario starts on Watch Form Responses (instant or polling); you map fields into CRM modulesA "bridge" from a Lead Gen Form to a CRM, with field mapping, lead filters and email receipts
CRMsHubSpotSalesforce (Sales)HubSpot, Salesforce and many othersHubSpot, Salesforce and many othersHubSpot, Salesforce and others ("300+ CRM integrations" from Starter)
CostIncluded on all HubSpot plansIncluded with Salesforce Sales; no separate price listedLinkedIn Ads is a Premium app, so it needs a paid plan: Professional from $19.99 a month billed annually, or $29.99 billed monthly (750 tasks a month)Free: 1,000 credits a month. Paid plans are priced by credits; Make says paying yearly costs less than monthlyFree: 50 leads a month, one bridge, no CRM destination listed. Starter from $22 a month billed annually ($29 monthly) for 800 leads. Pro from $60 a month billed annually ($79 monthly) for 2,000 leads. Business from $999 a month billed annually
SetupA LinkedIn Page role (Super admin, Content admin or Lead Gen Forms Manager), then connect in HubSpotModify All Data permission, a default lead creator, field mapping in SetupConnect LinkedIn Ads and the CRM, map fieldsConnect LinkedIn Lead Forms (needs Campaign Manager access) and the CRM, map fieldsConnect the ad account and CRM, map fields
SpeedUp to 2 hoursNot statedInstant: Zapier lists both LinkedIn lead triggers as instantInstant trigger availableListed as real-time on every plan
Main limitThe form must include a required Email field; custom questions must be single line inputLeads from before you connect don't sync; up to 500 leads a day, the rest emailed to the default lead creatorDedupes on Lead ID, so re-testing a form needs a new person or a new adYou build and maintain each scenarioPricing page doesn't say which plan includes HubSpot; Salesforce is a "Premium CRM" on Pro

When each option is the right pick

HubSpot's native lead syncing

Pick it if HubSpot is your CRM and you only need leads to arrive as contacts. It's free and needs no middleware.

  1. Make sure the person connecting has a role on the LinkedIn Page: Super admin, Content admin or Lead Gen Forms Manager. An ad account role in Campaign Manager isn't enough.
  2. In HubSpot, click the settings icon, go to Marketing > Ads, and open the Lead syncing tab.
  3. Click Connect, choose LinkedIn, and select the ad account.
  4. Optional: turn on the marketing contact switch and pick a sync timeframe. New & recent leads also brings in the last 90 days; New Leads syncs only from now on.
  5. Click Save.

Standard fields map to HubSpot properties; custom questions become single-line text properties in the "Lead Ad Properties" group. Custom fields over 255 characters and field type mismatches show as errors in the Lead syncing tab, and questions with no English characters don't sync.

To act on new leads, build a workflow on the Ad interaction event trigger, filtered by ad network (event-triggered workflows need a Professional or Enterprise subscription), or use the Automation tab when you edit a LinkedIn ad in HubSpot's ads tool (simple workflows need Marketing Hub Starter or higher, or an Ads subscription).

Salesforce's native LinkedIn Lead Gen integration

Pick it if Salesforce is your CRM and you want Lead records with Salesforce's own assignment rules. You need Modify All Data to set it up.

  1. In Setup, open Lead Settings and turn on Use LinkedIn Lead Sync APIs with Lead Forms.
  2. Enter "LinkedIn Lead Gen" in Quick Find, click LinkedIn Accounts, and connect a LinkedIn member account. Every form on the ad accounts tied to that member creates leads, so Salesforce recommends a member with access to all your ad accounts and Pages.
  3. In Lead Gen Fields, set the Default Lead Creator, Record Type and Lead Source. The default creator needs Modify All Data, Send Email and Access Activities, granted through a permission set or a profile, not a mix.
  4. Map form data, lead fields, up to three custom questions, consent fields and hidden fields. Salesforce sorts LinkedIn hidden fields alphabetically, so map them in that order.

Leads submitted before you connect don't sync; import those from a CSV. Salesforce's support article (April 30, 2026) caps it at 500 leads a day, with extra leads emailed to the default lead creator. LinkedIn notes that Salesforce doesn't support the LinkedIn member profile field. Salesforce's setup article lists the feature for Lightning Experience, so do the setup there.

Zapier

Pick it if you need more than one step: create the lead, add it to a campaign, alert sales in Slack, or write to a CRM without a native option. Use the New Lead Gen Form Response (Sponsored content) trigger, then actions such as HubSpot's Create or Update Contact (matches on email) or Salesforce's Create Lead and Add Lead to Campaign. Zapier lists LinkedIn Ads and Salesforce as Premium apps, which only paid plans can use, so the free plan won't run these Zaps. LinkedIn notes that Zapier dedupes on Lead ID, unique per person, ad and form, so a second test from the same person on the same ad won't come through.

Make

Pick it if you want visual, branching scenarios. Make's LinkedIn Lead Forms app has an instant Watch Form Responses trigger that sets up its own webhook. Make says most module actions use one credit, so longer scenarios cost more per lead. After you edit a form, LinkedIn says to submit a new lead and update the mappings in later modules.

LeadsBridge

Pick it if you want a dedicated sync across several ad platforms without building automations. You create a bridge, choose the ad account and form, authorize the CRM, map fields, and optionally filter leads or test the connection. Its pricing page lists real-time sync on every plan, but the free plan lists no CRM destinations, so plan on a paid tier.

Your own build on LinkedIn's Lead Sync API

Pick it only if you have developers and a need the tools above don't cover. Lead Sync API access is a separate program you apply for; Advertising API access doesn't include it. Since March 16, 2026, LinkedIn only pushes new lead notifications to validated leadNotifications webhooks, re-checks them about every two hours, and can deliver the same notification more than once, so your code must dedupe.

CSV download (no automation)

If your CRM has no integration, download leads in Campaign Manager: Content & Assets, then Lead generation forms, select the forms and a date range, and click Download leads. LinkedIn stores collected member profile data for one year, so export before then.

Why aren't my LinkedIn leads showing up in HubSpot or Salesforce?

Check these in order:

  1. Wrong LinkedIn role. HubSpot needs a Page role, not just an ad account role. Fix it on LinkedIn under My pages, the Page, Settings, Manage Admins, then reconnect in HubSpot.
  2. No required Email field. HubSpot can't create a contact without it.
  3. The form changed after setup. After editing a form, refresh the connection: in HubSpot, disconnect and reconnect the ad account and send a test lead; in Salesforce, refresh the ad accounts and update the field mapping; in Zapier, pull a new sample.
  4. Old authorization. LinkedIn retired its legacy lead APIs on July 31, 2025. If HubSpot's Lead syncing tab shows Authorize lead sync, click it.
  5. The report hides them. HubSpot's "First form submission" attribution report only shows contacts created by a lead form. Switch to All form submissions (Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise) or search contacts by email.
  6. Workflow didn't fire. Synced leads carry an ad event and a lead ad form submission event. Enroll on the Ad interaction trigger, or use the ads tool's Automation tab.
  7. Too early, or too many. HubSpot can take up to two hours. Salesforce emails anything over 500 leads a day to the default lead creator.

To track campaign source in the CRM, add hidden fields to the form. LinkedIn's API changelog says hidden fields accept dynamic URL tracking parameters, with the rollout planned to reach everyone by December 10, 2025. Some partners don't support hidden fields, member profile links or custom checkboxes, so check yours. To get companies that engaged with your ads but never filled in a form into your CRM, see How do I get the companies that engaged with my LinkedIn ads into HubSpot or Salesforce?.

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