How to automate LinkedIn connections with Popl, Zapier, and HeyReach

As a BDR at Popl, I spend a lot of time walking event floors and starting conversations that matter. But the real impact comes afterward, when those connections continue online. 

That’s why I automated my post-event LinkedIn follow-up using Popl, Zapier, and HeyReach. It saves me hours of manual work while keeping every touchpoint warm and personal. After one long week in Vegas, I realized just how game-changing that workflow really was.

In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to set it up for your own events.

How I save 10+ hours on event follow-up

As I settled into the airport lounge with my vanilla latte after a long week in Vegas, I started scrolling through the names of everyone I’d met. That’s when it hit me: all those energizing conversations were about to turn into hours of manual LinkedIn follow-up…

It had been a serious week of handshaking, badge scanning, and lead capturing. Sixty thousand steps, long expo hours, and over 250 floor conversations as I made my way from booth to booth, giving my pitch to people in every corner of the expo. Popl had already done the heavy lifting. Every badge scan was enriched, organized, and neatly waiting for me in Salesforce. But the next step would have meant connecting with everyone on LinkedIn one by one…

The thought of hours of manual LinkedIn connecting, after a week of being “on,” felt more draining than the conference itself.

I genuinely enjoy meeting people on the show floor. I love hearing where they’re from, what they’re solving, and what their day-to-day looks like. But when the follow-up becomes a repetitive task that steals time from personalized outreach (the part that actually moves deals forward), something needs to change.

That was the moment it clicked. I didn’t need to work harder. I needed my workflow to work smarter.

And the answer was Zapier.

With Popl already available as a Zapier integration and HeyReach among my favorite LinkedIn automation tools, the pieces were right in front of me. I just needed to put them together.

Why automation enhances my human touch

The first time my Popl-Zapier-HeyReach workflow ran, I felt an actual wave of relief. Not the “automation is cool” kind of relief. The I-just-unlocked-a-new-level-of-BDR relief.

Every time I scanned a badge or met someone on the floor, an automated, thoughtful follow-up sequence was already waiting for them without me lifting a finger.

It didn’t replace the human part. It amplified it.

By offloading the repetitive steps, I had more time and more mental bandwidth to write real, personalized Relationship Continuation Outreach (RCO) messages (the kind that reference the actual conversation we had, not just their job title).

RCO is one of the most valuable parts of event work. It’s the bridge between the energy of an in-person conversation and the depth of a relationship built over time. RCO should feel personal, intentional, and attentive. Automation simply keeps the momentum alive long enough for me to nurture those connections thoughtfully.

How to set up the Popl-Zapier-HeyReach workflow

Here is exactly how I set the workflow up so that every event lead I scan in Popl is automatically added to a HeyReach campaign. Even if you have never used Zapier or HeyReach before, you can follow these steps. 

Part 1: Set up HeyReach

You will start in HeyReach so that Zapier has somewhere to send your leads.

Step 1: Create a lead list for event contacts

1. Log in to HeyReach.
   
   

2. Go to the section where you manage lead lists.
   
   

3. Create a new list.
   
   

4. Name it something like “Event Leads” or “Conference Contacts.”
   
   

5. Save the list.
   
   

This will be the list where all your Popl leads land.

Step 2: Create a campaign that uses that list

1. Go to the Campaigns area in HeyReach.
   
   

2. Click to create a new campaign.
   
   

3. When it asks which lead list to use, select the event list you just created.
   
   

4. Choose the LinkedIn account you want to send activity and connection requests from.
   
   

Now set up the campaign steps:

Here is the simple sequence I use.

1. First step
   

• Action: View profile
  
  

• Delay: Wait a minimum of three hours before the next step
  
  

2. Second step
   

• Action: Send connection request

1. I include a short message because it helps increase the chances that they’ll accept your request!
   
   

3. Optional follow-up step
   

• Condition: If they accept the connection within one day
  
  

• Action: Like their most recent post
  
  

This keeps things warm and natural. They see that I viewed their profile, then they get a connection request, and if they accept, I show up again by liking a post to stay engaged and top of mind to them.

Once those steps are set, save and activate the campaign.

Part 2: Creating the Zap in Zapier

Now you will connect Popl to HeyReach so that every time you scan someone in Popl, they are added to that event campaign in HeyReach.

Step 1: Create a new Zap

1. Log in to Zapier.
   
   

2. Click “Create Zap.”
   
   

You are going to add three main things.

One trigger from Popl and two actions. One formatter and one HeyReach step.

Step 2: Set the Popl trigger

1. In the first step of the Zap, search for the app “Popl."
   
   

2. Choose the event “New Lead.” This tells Zapier to start the workflow every time you collect a new lead in Popl.
   
   

3. Connect your Popl account if you have not already. Zapier will walk you through logging in and granting access.
   
   

4. In the trigger settings, make sure it is set to use “Leads you collect” or the equivalent option.

5. Click “Test trigger,” so Zapier can pull in a sample lead from Popl. This will help you see the data fields like name, email, company, and LinkedIn URL.
   

Step 3: Use Formatter to split the name into first and last

HeyReach needs the first name and last name separately. Popl usually sends the full name together. So you will use Zapier’s Formatter to split it.

1. Click “Add step” under the Popl trigger.
   
   

2. Choose the app “Formatter by Zapier.”
   
   

3. For the event, choose “Text.”
   
   

4. In the action type, choose “Split Text.”
   
   

Now configure the split:

1. In the “Input” field, select the full name field from the Popl trigger data.
   
   

2. In “Separator,” you can simply type a space character. In other words, hit your space bar once.
   
   

3. In “Segment index,” choose “First.”
   
   

This tells Zapier to take the first word from the full name and treat it as the first name.

Click “Test step” and check that it returns just the first name.

Now repeat this for the last name:

1. Add another step. Again, choose “Formatter by Zapier.”
   
   

2. Choose “Text” and then “Split Text” again.
   
   

3. Use the same full name as the Input.
   
   

4. Use a space as the Separator again.
   
   

5. This time, in “Segment index,” choose “Last.”
   
   

Click “Test step” and make sure it returns the last name.

You now have two clean fields from the Formatter: one for the first name and one for the last name.

Step 4: Add the HeyReach action

Now you will send everything to HeyReach.

1. Click “Add step.”
   
   

2. Search for the app “HeyReach.”
   
   

3. Choose the action event “Add lead to list.”
   
   

4. Connect your HeyReach account if you're using it for the first time in Zapier.
   
   

Once the account is connected, configure the action:

1. In the “List” field, choose the event lead list you created earlier in HeyReach.
   
   

2. Map the data from Popl and Formatter to the correct fields in HeyReach. For example:
   

• First name → use the output from your first Formatter step
  
  

• Last name → use the output from your second Formatter step
  
  

• Email → use the email field from the Popl trigger
  
  

• Company → use the company field from the Popl trigger
  
  

• LinkedIn URL → use the LinkedIn profile field from the Popl trigger
  
  

3. Look through the remaining fields and fill in anything else that is useful for your workflow, such as tags or notes if available.
   
   

When everything is mapped, click “Test step.” Zapier will send a sample lead to HeyReach.

Go back to HeyReach and confirm that the test lead appears in the correct list.

Step 5: Turn the Zap on

1. Go back to Zapier.
   
   

2. Give the Zap a clear name like “Popl to HeyReach Event Leads.”
   
   

3. Toggle the Zap on.
   
   

From this point on, every time you scan a lead in Popl on the show floor, Zapier will automatically send that person into your HeyReach list and campaign. The sequence will start running for them without you doing anything manually.

What this workflow truly gave me…

This Popl-Zapier-HeyReach workflow saved me hours. It made my process cleaner, faster, and more scalable.

But the real value was presence.

I could stay present in conversations. Present at the booth. Present in the follow-up that actually matters. I wasn’t losing time to manual tasks or scrambling to catch up days later when the event buzz had already faded. Instead, I had a system that captured the moment for me, so I could focus on continuing the relationship rather than recreating it.

If sharing this helps even one other rep walk out of their next conference feeling more organized, confident, and prepared, then that’s the real win. 

Curious about how Popl can streamline your own event lead capture and follow-up? I’d love for you to see it in action. Book a demo with our team and experience the workflow firsthand.