Connecting Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Use this article when

• You want to send an Avid audience to SFMC for email marketing.
• You need to keep a Data Extension in sync with your latest donor data.
• You are setting up your first pathway to Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

Before you begin

Step 1: Connect Salesforce Marketing Cloud

If your organization has already connected SFMC to Avid, skip to Step 2.

Create an Installed Package in SFMC

1. Log in to your Salesforce Marketing Cloud account.
2. Click your profile name in the top-right corner and select Setup.
3. Under Platform Tools, go to Apps > Installed Packages.
4. Click New to create a new package.
5. Enter a name (for example, "Avid Integration") and a description.
6. Make sure Create with enhanced functionality (recommended) is selected.
7. Click Save.

Add the API integration component

1. In the package details, click Add Component.
2. Select API Integration and click Next.
3. Choose Server-to-Server as the integration type and click Next.

4. Assign the following API scopes:

   Scope	Permissions
   Automations	Read, Write, Execute
   Audiences	Read, Write
   Campaigns	Read, Write
   Data Extensions	Read, Write
   Email	Read
   File Locations	Read, Write
   Journeys	Read, Write
   Lists and Subscribers	Read, Write
   Tracking Events	Read
   Asset Document and Images	Read

5. Click Save.

Retrieve your credentials

After saving the component, the Components section displays three values you need:

• Client ID
• Client Secret
• Authentication Base URI (looks like https://mcxxxxxx.auth.marketingcloudapis.com)

Copy these values. You will enter them in Avid next.

Enter credentials in Avid

1. In Avid, go to Settings > Connections.
2. Click Add System.
3. In Add a System, search for and select Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
4. Enter the three credential fields:
   • Client ID — from the Installed Package
   • Client Secret — from the Installed Package
   • Auth Base URI — the authentication endpoint (e.g., https://mcxxxxxx.auth.marketingcloudapis.com)

5. Click Save.

   Avid validates your credentials by requesting an access token from SFMC. If the connection is successful, you see the connection appear in your list.

Step 2: Configure pathway mapping

The pathway mapping tells Avid which columns from your data source to send to SFMC and how to keep them in sync.

1. Go to Pathways > Push Audiences.
2. In Step 1: Select Audience, pick the audience you want to push.
3. In Step 2: Choose a Destination, select your Salesforce Marketing Cloud pathway.
4. Click Review Pathway.
5. In Pathway Summary, expand Information and Column Mapping under Advanced Settings

Information: Set destination and sync method

1. Under Destination Object, confirm the selection. For SFMC, this is Data Extension.

2. Under Method of Sync, choose how Avid keeps records in sync:

   Option	What it does
   Update or Create (recommended)	Updates existing records when IDs match. Creates new records if missing.
   Mirror	Fully replaces all records in the Data Extension each sync.
   Append	Adds new records only. Does not update or remove existing records.
   Update Only	Updates matching records. Does not add new records.

Column Mapping: Map your columns

1. Map the Primary Key Column(s). For SFMC, map Email as the primary key so each record can be uniquely identified in the Data Extension.

2. Select the Category (folder) where Avid should create the Data Extension in SFMC. This dropdown is populated from your SFMC folder structure.

   The Category field is required. Every SFMC pathway must specify a folder for the Data Extension.

3. Map additional columns by clicking Add Column Mapping. For each mapping, select:
   • Source Column — the Avid data field
   • Destination Column — the SFMC Data Extension field name

4. When your mappings look correct, continue to Step 3.

   On first push, Avid saves the mapping and starts the sync.

Step 3: Push an audience

With the pathway configured, you can push any audience segment to SFMC.

1. Review the summary card. It shows the estimated record count and sync details.

2. Click Confirm.

   Avid queues the sync and begins sending data to SFMC.

Step 4: Monitor your sync

1. Go to Pathways > Manage Pathways.
2. Find your Salesforce Marketing Cloud pathway and expand it.
3. You see each audience that has been pushed, along with:
   • Sync Status — Syncing, Active, Error, or Inactive
   • Last Sync Successes — records accepted by SFMC on the most recent run
   • Last Sync Failures — records rejected by SFMC on the most recent run
   • Last synced — timestamp of the most recent sync

What you'll see

After a successful sync, your SFMC account shows a new Data Extension in the folder you selected. The Data Extension contains:

• All mapped fields from your Avid audience.
• Records matching your audience segment definition.
• An Email primary key that SFMC uses to identify unique contacts.

You can now use this Data Extension as an audience for SFMC email sends, journeys, and automations.

Sync operations explained

Notes and limits

• Sync times depend on audience size. Large audiences (100,000+ records) may take several minutes.
• If you add new columns to your Avid data source after configuring the pathway, update the column mapping to include them.
• The Category (folder) is set during initial mapping. To change the folder, create a new pathway.
• Each audience creates a separate Data Extension in SFMC. The Data Extension key follows the format avid_{clientId}_segment_{segmentId}.
• SFMC access tokens expire after 20 minutes. Avid handles token refresh automatically during sync.

Troubleshooting

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