10 Ways to Automate Microsoft Teams with Zapier to Improve Your Business Operations, Fast

Microsoft Teams is quickly becoming one of the most used collaboration and messaging tools among remote (and in-house) teams today. Teams is the Office 365 hub where teamwork happens. It's the single place that integrates the content, tools, and people that your team needs for better engagement and a more effective business overall.

With Teams, you can do a lot in the way of automating notifications and sharing information. Zapier has a handful of triggers and actions already prebuilt for this tool alone and can integrate it with the more than 3,000 apps in its own library. Engage your productivity superpowers with these integrations and streamline your business in more ways than you realize.

Zapier is one of our favorite tools for automation. This platform is designed specifically to integrate apps, automate workflows, and make business better, faster, and more efficient. Why are you still handling all of the details yourself? There's so much waiting to automate and there's never been a better time to start than now.

We're sure you're already well on your way to imagining all of the different Zaps that you could create with Microsoft Teams and other apps and tools in your tech stack. However, you're probably also wondering which ones are going to be most effective, most useful, or most productive for your team. Well, since there are thousands to choose from, you don't really have to narrow it down too much because you can use as many Zaps as you want.

Here are 10 of our favorites. (Another favorite of ours? Zapping away your stress by handling things like after-hours call answering, 24/7 live website chat, and more—ask our virtual receptionists how a partnership can improve your business.)

1. Send messages in Teams when leads are generated from Facebook Lead Ads

Facebook Lead Ads is a handy tool to have in your arsenal. However, when you're looking for better marketing methods, you can't afford to have someone just sitting around waiting for leads all day. Instead, have Teams notify you when leads come in through Facebook and then you can address them as needed. That way, everyone can keep working on whatever they're doing and your leads still get the dedicated attention that they deserve.

2. Post ClickFunnels leads to Team channels      

Similar to the way you can with Facebook Lead Ads, you can create Teams messages or channel posts based on your ClickFunnels leads. When leads come in, you can trigger an action to notify the entire team, post on the ClickFunnels channel you create, or even let someone specific know that a lead has been obtained. Whatever you want, you can create, with the various Zaps from Zapier. You can even have the Zap send the leads to Teams, and then have Teams send reminders to Outlook to follow up at a later date, if you want to get fancy.

3. Post to Teams channels when events start from Google Calendar    

It's important to let people know when things are going on. Plus, it's a helpful reminder for today's busy world when you give people a notification or heads-up right before an event starts. By integrating Teams and Google Calendar with Zapier, you'll be able to post notifications or messages to any Teams channel automatically when an event starts that is scheduled on your Google Calendar. That way, if anyone doesn't make it, they can't say they weren't informed because they should've gotten the notification on Teams.

4. Send notifications on Teams when attendees register for Eventbrite events

Much in the same way that you use it for leads, you can use Teams to post notifications or info that was gathered in your channels or specific message feeds every time that someone registers for an event through Eventbrite. You can let the whole team know, let the managers know, or even just let the attendance people know that you've got another confirmed attendee to add to the list. Plus, when you automate it with a Zap, it happens without you having to do a thing once the integration has been put into place.

5. Post your Salesforce leads to their own Teams channel    

Salesforce is, by and large, one of the most powerful CRM and all-in-one sales and marketing platform that's available today. It has so much potential to help businesses grow and when you automate it, you take that potential even further. You can post all of your Salesforce leads to a dedicated Teams channel as they come in, which guarantees that a lead is never missed and that people always know what they should be doing. You can even post them to a channel specifically for your marketing team or to the person dedicated to lead cultivation.

6. Send messages to your Teams channels or specific users when Typeform entries are submitted    

Collecting forms and form data is an important part of your business. It could be the starting point of a marketing campaign, or it could be a matter of learning just what people think of your business. No matter how you use it, a form-filling tool is going to be an asset in several ways. With this integration from Zapier, you will be able to notify your Teams channels automatically whenever a Typeform entry comes in, share information on the Teams app, and even alert specific users who need to follow up on those entries to ensure they are properly handled. This is great for things like surveys, new customers for newsletters, customer service forms, and more.

7. Post messages to Teams when new Calendly invitees come through    

Calendly is one of the most popular calendar and scheduling apps available today (it's even the one that we prefer here at Smith.ai). When you are using Zapier, you'll be able to integrate your Calendly invites, events, and invitees into your other online accounts and can even post messages right to Teams based on user or channel. You can even update your Teams boards or messages with reminders about your own events or Calendly schedules so that collaboration is effortless and everyone is on the same page. Whenever an invitee is created or another action is triggered, a channel message (or other message) will be generated in Teams to make sure everyone knows.

8.Post emails from Gmail as Microsoft Teams messages    

When you integrate Gmail and Microsoft Teams, you'll basically be able to share just about anything back and forth between the two. For starters, you can set up a Zap so that every email that you get from Gmail shows up as a Teams message. You might even want to send messages about emails with attachments or create a Zap to automatically download or transfer the attachment when the email is received. This can cut multiple steps out of your email management and communication process, saving everyone time and hassle and a ton of money your business could be spending elsewhere.

9. Send new inbound emails through your Teams channels    

You can use this integration by creating your own custom zapiermail.com address and then generating a Zap that will automatically forward that message to your Teams channels or anywhere else that you'd like. Rather than using your own email server, you can allow the power of Zapier to do everything for you, including sending all of these new emails. Whether you flag them all for coming through Teams or just note specific emails that you want to share with everyone, you can get rid of a lot of sorting, filtering, and digging through spam when you do it right.

10. Create message in Teams for Airtable Records    

Airtable makes database tracking easy. You can easily send messages to your Teams groups or people in your team with Airtable records that are generated or altered. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page and knows when the next steps need taken. Just set it up so that whenever a record is created or altered in Airtable, a message is sent to the right people in your Microsoft Teams app. Then, you’ll never have to follow-up yourself or have somone checking in constantly because automation will take care of it.

The advantages of automation: it all comes back to the same bottom line

What business isn't looking for a way to increase their bottom line? Automated workflows are going to do wonders for your company in that regard, among others. Aside from the obvious time savings that you will find, though, what else do you stand to gain? Here's what you need to know.

Fewer errors occur as a result of automated tools. When you use automation, you are removing the human element. This typically means that you are going to see fewer errors and less "slipping through the cracks," as it were.

·      The use of automation helps standardize processes.

·      Automating repetitive tasks can save a lot of money and hassle.

·      Creates a trail you can follow.

When you put automation to work for your brand, you will find several perks. One of the biggest advantages of using these tools, coming up with a better way to market your brand so that you can reap the maximum rewards. You will be able to ensure that you are compliant with the lawn and keeping things kid-friendly so that you, too, can alleviate that stress.  You will save a lot of time and effort because it's all already done for you. You can even create a standard process or a new way for you to keep news articles and information on hand.

Automation makes it easy to get things done and get rid of the risk of efforts. You'll be able to enjoy better results, fewer tests, and so much more. You can standardize everything going on and keep a closer eye on your business in every possible regard. That way, you can ensure that everything is on the same page and good to go, no matter what type of setup you choose.

The bottom line is that it's all about improving the bottom line and giving people the information and tools that they deserve or even feel like they might be able to benefit from. With Zapier and Microsoft Teams, you'll have no trouble keeping everything organized and keeping the whole team on board as to what changes are taking place, making it easy to run your business from any perspective.

Improve operations further when you partner with Smith.ai

Our team loves the power of automation, and we love being part of the process of improving your business operations. When you choose to hire our dedicated virtual receptionists, we can act as the face of your brand for everything from answering after-hours calls to live website chat and more. Plus, we’ll help you craft the perfect strategy for fielding every need, no matter what you have in mind.

We love Zapier because it makes working smarter simple—anyone can create smart workflows to connect their business software programs. It's also in part to Zapier that Smith.ai is capable of integrating with over 3,000 different apps so every chat, call, and text is logged in the right part of your business software, from your marketing automation tools to your CRM and more.

Check out our apps to explore how we connect to Zapier! Learn more about Smith.ai’s Answering Service app on Zapier, and explore Smith.ai’s Website Chat app on Zapier.

If you're ready to discuss how we can help you on your path to freeing up your time to improve your operations, schedule a consultation now. We can handle things like after-hours answering, scheduling, new client intake and more. You'll also find us at (650) 727-6484 or hello@smith.ai.