As a digital marketer, it's crucial to track and measure the performance of your Facebook ads.
Why?
Because you want to know how a person who clicked on a particular ad behaves when they land on your website. E.g, think about these two ads:
- Ad#1 is corporate looking graphic that emphasizes how great your product/service is
- Ad#2 is a hilarious user generated testimonial
You want to know how visitors from each of these two ads convert (or bounce). Once you know the data about these separate visitor groups, you can point your future budget in the right direction, vs blindly spraying it all across the board.
The best way of identifying visitors who click on each ad is by adding UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters to your ad URLs.
In this blog post, we'll walk you through the process of adding UTM parameters to your Facebook ads, both statically and dynamically, and share a handy reporting tip to help you manage your ads more efficiently.
The Measurement Marketing Framework:
Before diving into the technical aspects, it's essential to understand the Measurement Marketing Framework. This framework consists of three key pillars: plan, build, and launch. By following this framework, you can transform your marketing efforts from blind shots in the dark to data-driven, revenue-generating campaigns. Going back to the example of two ads above, once you know how each ad performs, you will know which one is better to optimize around.
Now that we got the why’s out of the way – let’s move onto tactical stuff!
Adding Static UTM Parameters to Facebook Ads:
1. In the Facebook Ads Manager, navigate to the ad level of your campaign.
2. Scroll down to the “Destination” section and enter your ad's URL.
3. Locate the “Tracking” section and click on “Build a URL parameter.”
4. In the pop-up window, fill in the following UTM parameters:
- Source: Always use “facebook” for this field.
- Medium: Use “cpc” (cost per click) or “ppc” (pay per click), depending what you use for other paid traffic like google, tiktok.
- Campaign Name: Enter the product or service you're promoting (e.g., “academy”).
- Content: Include audience information or leave it blank if you're just starting out.
- Term: Add a custom parameter by clicking “Add Parameter” and entering “utm_term.” Use this field to specify the ad headline or description.
5. Click “Apply” to add the UTM parameters to your ad.
6. Repeat this process for each ad in your campaign.
Using Dynamic UTM Parameters:
Facebook offers dynamic URL parameters that automatically populate UTM fields based on your ad settings. To use dynamic parameters:
1. In the “Build a URL Parameter” pop-up, use the following placeholders:
- Campaign Name: {{campaign.name}}
- Ad Set Name: {{adset.name}}
- Ad Name: {{ad.name}}
2. You can combine dynamic parameters with static values using hyphens (e.g., “adname-{{ad.name}}—adid-{{adset.id}}”).
3. Keep in mind that dynamic parameters will always default to the first value set for that ad or ad set, even if you change the name later on.
Reporting Tip: Viewing URL Parameters in Facebook Ads Manager:
To quickly see which ads have URL parameters:
1. In the Facebook Ads Manager, click on the “Columns” drop-down menu and select “Customize Columns.”
2. Search for “URL” in the search bar and check the box next to “URL Parameters.”
3. Click “Apply” and scroll to the far right of your ads table to view the URL parameters for each ad.
Conclusion:
Adding UTM parameters to your Facebook ads is a simple yet powerful way to track and measure their performance. By using static or dynamic parameters, you can gain valuable insights into which ads, ad sets, and campaigns are driving the most traffic and conversions. Remember to follow the Measurement Marketing Framework and use the reporting tip to streamline your ad management process. Happy tracking!