Creating a Campaign is the first step in tracking any marketing program in Salesforce. Most orgs create Campaigns ahead of the program launching, populate them with target Leads or Contacts, then track responses as members engage.
- Open the Campaigns tab
From the App Launcher, search Campaigns and open the list view. Most marketing orgs filter the default view to My Active Campaigns or All Active Campaigns rather than the global list.
- Click New
The New button sits at the top of the list view. If your profile lacks Create on Campaign, the button is hidden; marketing-user permission sets typically grant this.
- Pick a record type if prompted
Many marketing orgs use record types to separate Email, Event, Webinar, Trade Show, Content Syndication, and Paid Advertising, each with its own page layout and required fields. Pick the one that matches the program.
- Fill the name, type, and dates
Use a consistent naming convention. "2026-Q1-Email-ProductLaunch" reads cleanly across reports. Type drives downstream segmentation. Start and End Dates drive Campaign Influence windows.
- Set Budgeted Cost and Expected metrics
Budgeted Cost is the planned spend; Expected Response is the rate marketing forecasts; Expected Revenue is the projected pipeline. These drive ROI calculations before the campaign runs, so populate them before sending out invitations.
- Configure Member Statuses
Edit the Campaign Member Status set on the Campaign before adding members. Add the statuses your campaign actually uses (Sent, Bounced, Responded, Registered, Attended). Default statuses rarely fit any specific tactic.
- Save and add members
Click Save. Add members through the Add Members button (single, list, or report-driven). Track responses as the campaign runs.
Required. Marketing-attribution reports group on Campaign Name; consistent naming is the single biggest input to clean reports.
Required by most orgs (not platform-required). Drives report segmentation and Member Status defaults.
- Campaign Member Status sets are per-Campaign-type, configured on the Campaign record. Setting up a status set after members have been added means rebuilding historical state by hand.
- Campaign Influence requires admin setup. Default Customizable Campaign Influence assigns one hundred percent credit to the most-recent campaign; without explicit configuration, multi-touch attribution is single-touch in disguise.
- Inactive campaigns stay in lookup pickers if IsActive is not toggled off. Build a monthly hygiene job that marks completed campaigns inactive based on End Date.
- ROI fields (Actual Cost, NumberOfLeads, AmountWonOpportunities) only auto-populate from member and opportunity activity. Forgetting to update Actual Cost after the campaign runs distorts every CPL and CPA calculation downstream.