This article provides tips for creating UTM Parameters for Facebook.
What are UTM Parameters and why does it matter?
UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) Parameters are tags that you add to the end of a URL to allow for tracking. At Orbee, we also have an article explaining what UTM Parameters are.
Not only do these tips work for Facebook, but it can also work with other forms of social media including Instagram, Twitter, and more!
It may not be required to place UTM Parameters into your social media URLs, but it does make a significant change in Google Analytics and other analytics platforms.
What are the benefits?
- It makes it easier to keep track of your social marketing campaigns and marketing efforts.
- It provides you with specific data regarding where your traffic and conversions are coming from.
- You can see how well your individual posts are doing on by using the A/B testing style.
If you do not tag your social media campaigns, it will be reported as referred traffic, and referred traffic is when a link is posted on a domain and is clicked to be analyzed on your analytics tool(s). Using the correct parameters will allow each source/medium to be categorized properly.
Which UTM Parameters are important?
UTM Medium (utm_medium)
- Google Analytics provides you with a Social report, which is available at Acquisition> Social.
- If the utm_medium is set to social, social-network, social-media, sm, social network, or social media, it will show up under social traffic on Google Analytics
- At Orbee, we recommend utm_medium=social because it is simple and easy to keep track of for all of your social media campaigns
UTM Source (utm_source)
- Including utm_source is important because it tells us where your traffic is coming from
- Examples of sources include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, etc.
UTM Campaign (utm_campaign)
- Including utm_campaign helps you determine how your campaigns are doing
- If you are paying for social media advertisements, you can see how your specific ad campaigns are doing; you can also determine if which ads are working best if you are doing A/B ad campaign testing
- If you have unpaid social media links, you can also add UTM parameters to see how these posts are doing by tagging them and seeing how much engagement your posts get
- An example of a UTM campaign is fb_promo or fb_summersale
UTM Content (utm_content)
- Using utm_content can be beneficial, especially if you are testing out Call To Action buttons and you would like to see which work best in A/B testing
- You can also see which links work better by tagging these content links
- Examples of content utm tags are how_to_find_great_deals and 3_ways_to_save_money
- Using a content UTM parameter helps you remember what the post was about
UTM Term (utm_term)
- UTM Term is specific to paid search campaigns and you should not be using utm_term for social media campaigns
You can also learn how to create UTM parameters specifically for Facebook by reading about how to create UTM parameters using Facebook's Ad Manager.
Last Updated: Jan 27, 2020 10:13 AM
If you have any more questions regarding UTM parameters, please contact us and we will answer any questions you may have!