Enable Dynamic Content for Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Turn on dynamic content in your Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) integration before building personalized emails.
Steps
Go to Admin > Integrations > Platforms.
Edit your Salesforce Marketing Cloud integration.
Enable Dynamic Content.
Add Merge Tags for Dynamic Attributes
Merge tags allow Knak to access subscriber data. These attributes are used to create segments.
Steps
Go to Admin.
Click Integrations.
Open Merge Tags.
Add the attributes you want to use for segmentation.
Example:
%%country%%%%city%%%%industry%%
Repeat this step for all attributes used in your dynamic segments.
Add Dynamic Content to an Email
Dynamic content can be applied to individual elements or sections in your email.
Steps
Open the email builder.
Select the element or section you want to personalize.
Click the purple Add Dynamic Content icon in the content attributes panel.
Section-Level Dynamic Content
Important
If section-level Dynamic Content is applied to a section that already contains dynamic elements, the existing Dynamic Content will be overridden.
Use Existing Segments in Your Email
You can apply segments that were already created in Knak to your dynamic content block. These are usually global segments that can be reused across emails.
Steps
Select the content block you want to make dynamic.
Click the Dynamic Content icon in the attributes panel.
Click the Settings (cog icon).
Press the + sign to select an existing segment from the list.
The selected segment will now appear as a variant in the block.
Review Segment Details (Recommended Tip)
Before selecting a segment, hover over it to open the segment flyout menu.
The flyout provides key details, including:
The Marketing Automation Platform (MAP)
Whether the segment is Global or Local
The condition logic used to build the segment
Reviewing this information helps ensure the segment belongs to the correct MAP—especially useful if your workspace includes multiple marketing automation platforms. It also allows you to view the segment’s conditions, making it easier to determine which segmentation is most appropriate to use in your emails.
Create Dynamic Segments
Segments define which audience sees each content variation.
Create a Segment
Open the Variants panel.
Click the Settings (cog icon).
Click Create a new segment.
Select your SFMC integration.
Add a segment name.
Choose whether conditions must match any or all rules.
Define your conditions and select a Variable.
Select different strings based on your condition sets.
Click Save.
Hide Content by Default
Use Hide content by default when content should only appear if a segment condition is met. If this option is enabled, the content block will not appear unless a recipient matches a segment rule.
Example Use Cases
Exclusive offers for specific customers
Regional promotions
Partner-only announcements
How to Enable
Select the dynamic content block.
Open the Variants panel.
Check Hide content by default.
Edit Content Variants
Each segment can show different content.
Steps
Select the variant from the variants panel.
Edit the content for that segment.
Example:
Variant | Content |
Default | Generic product message |
Lead City | Location specific message to that region |
Preview Dynamic Content
Preview allows you to test how the email appears for each segment.
Steps
Open Preview Mode.
Without toggling specific segmentation views, this will show you the default settings.
Toggle the segment selector.
View the email as a matching recipient.
Default:
City is Ottawa:
Manage Dynamic Content Permissions
Control who can create or edit dynamic content.
Steps
Go to Admin.
Click Roles.
Select the role you want to edit.
Scroll to Dynamic Content permissions.
Available permissions:
Manage dynamic content variants
Manage global segments
Manage local segments
More details on the specific permissions can be found on our Dynamic Content overview article.
🔍 Tip: Global segments can be reused across emails. Local segments are for one-time use.
Demo Video:
You are now ready to use dynamic content. If you have any questions, reach out to support at support@knak.com or the chat bubble in the lower right corner.