Different Types Of Input Data For Phantoms

December 12, 2024 13:02

Phantoms require specific types of input data to perform their tasks. This guide will walk you through the different types of input you can provide, how to format them, and tips for using each option effectively.

Overview of input types

During the setup stage of your Phantom, you will be asked to provide input in the section titled “Searches to Scrape”, “Tweets to Like”, “Profiles to find” or similar depending on the Phantom you are using.

Each Phantom has different input requirements, but some general guidelines apply:

For single queries, you can provide a URL, a Hubspot list (for Hubspot compatible Phantoms), an existing Phantom link, a LinkedIn Leads list, or—if using LinkedIn Search Export—keywords.
For multiple queries, you can provide a Google Spreadsheet URL listing multiple URLs or multiple contacts.

💡 When using LinkedIn Search Export, it’s recommended to run multiple queries in a spreadsheet to avoid LinkedIn’s 1,000-result limit. To gather more results, narrow your search with filters (e.g., location, industry), and use multiple search URLs in a spreadsheet.

Types of input for single queries

There are several input types for single queries. These are all listed in each Phantom setup, here's a recap for your convenience:

Single URL: Provide a specific URL, such as the social media profile or company URL, your Sales Navigator List URL or the Search URL, depending on the Phantom you are using. You can find specific instructions on the type of URL within the Phantom setup itself.
My Phantoms: Specify which Phantom’s results you wish to use as input for another.

💡 Using this option allows you to chain Phantoms together in a workflow.

LinkedIn Leads List: For most LinkedIn and Sales Navigator Phantoms, you can use a LinkedIn Leads List as input.

💡 LinkedIn Leads lists can be created in the LinkedIn Leads database using filters. These lists are dynamic, so any new leads created from new Phantoms which meet your filter criteria will automatically be added to the list.

Keywords: For LinkedIn Search Phantoms (such as LinkedIn Search Export you can use keywords as input. The Phantom will run a search using the keywords you provide.
Hubspot: For Phantoms compatible with Hubspot, connect your Hubspot account and select a Hubspot contact list as input.

Types of input for multiple queries

If you want to run multiple queries (for example, multiple URLs or multiple contacts), you can use a Spreadsheet URL as input. This option lets you get more results.

Follow these steps to avoid running into any issues with your spreadsheet as input:

List your inputs in Column A of your spreadsheet. Your inputs should always be in the same format as those accepted for single URL input (Search URLs, social media profile or company URL, depending on the Phantom you’re using).
Make sure your spreadsheet is publicly accessibly by clicking on the “Share” button in the top right hand corner, and specifying “Anyone with the link”.
Copy and paste the link into your Phantom input during Setup.

⚠️ The Phantom will always take Column A as input by default. If your input is listed in a different column, you can specify it during the Setup step.

How do Phantoms process multiple queries?

Phantoms will go through each URL listed in your spreadsheet, one by one. Most Phantoms can resume processing where they left off if you run multiple launches.

You can specify how many spreadsheet rows you would like to process in the Phantom’s Behavior settings:

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