Tags and lists, and when to use each | Noonable Help

Both live under More in the left navigation, as Tags and Lists. They work the same way mechanically, so the difference is how you use them.

Tags are labels. A contact can carry many, and they describe a fact about that person: webinar-attendee, vip, refunded, interested-in-coaching. Tags are also what automations watch and set, so they are the natural currency for behaviour.

Lists are named collections. Use them for deliberate groupings you maintain yourself, such as Newsletter or Beta testers. The description on the page puts it plainly: named collections you can reuse.

Both attach to more than contacts. The same tag can sit on media, pages, products and blog posts, which is why the usage column counts across all of them.

Creating one. On either page, click New tag or New list, give it a name and pick a colour. Colours are assigned automatically from a palette if you do not choose, so chips always stay readable.

Applying them.

On a single contact profile, click a chip in the Tags or Lists card, or type a new name in the box below it.
From the Contacts list, tick several rows and use Add tag in the bulk bar. Bulk applies tags only, not lists.
During a CSV import, where you can tag everyone in the file, add everyone to a list, or use a per-row Tags column.
From an automation, using the Add tag and Remove tag actions.

Managing them. Each page has a search box, a Filter panel (Used on media, Used on contacts, Used on pages, Used on products, Used on blog posts, Unused) and sorting by Name, Usage or Created. Click a tag or list to open its own page, which lists everything currently attached, split into Leads, Media, Pages, Products and Blog posts.

Editing and deleting. Edit changes the name and colour everywhere at once. Delete removes it from everything it is attached to. Nothing else is deleted, the contacts and files stay exactly where they are.

Where they pay off. Tags and lists are both selectable as an audience when you send an email, and both can be used as conditions inside segments. See Sending your first campaign.