How to Add UTM Codes To Your Webinars

Hosts of webinars and virtual event sessions use UTM codes to attribute registrations to different marketing campaigns and sources. By adding a UTM code to the URL of your webinar’s registration page, you can track the source of your registrations and use those insights to inform future marketing choices. 

Add UTM codes to your BigMarker sessions following these steps: 

1. Log into your webinar and select the Manage Webinar tab. 

2. Staying on this page, select Custom Registration Fields from the left-hand menu shown below. 

3. This page lists the fields that are visible on your registration form. There are 3 default UTM codes for all webinars: utm_medium, utm_source, and utm_bmcr_source. These default UTM codes align with commonly used UTM codes, such as the utm_bmcr_source being present in the custom registration tracking URL. These fields are set to not display in registration form. Do not change these settings to avoid any issues or confusion during registration

(Note: These default UTM codes are present ONLY in newly created webinars and templates. Any previously created webinars or webinars created from older templates will not have these automatically.) 

4. Select Add Field, the blue button on the bottom of the box. Title your UTM code by typing that into the  Field Title. Do not include spaces in this field, but use dashes or underscores to separate words. For example, if you wanted to title it “Date Location”, it would be “Date_Location.” In the list below the Field Title, check off Do not display field on registration form. This ensures that your tracking code is not visible to attendees as they register for your event. Click Save Field to complete.

Any UTM codes will appear in their separate section below the Custom Registration fields. Custom Registration Fields will appear in the Custom Fields section, while UTM codes will appear in the Hidden Fields section.

5. Return to the Manage Webinar tab and click Share Link and then copy the Quick Link.

6. Paste the quick link URL into your browser’s address bar or into a text editor of your choice. At the end of the URL you will add the information for your UTM code using this format:

• ?[UTM Code]=[Value]

The [UTM Code] is the field title that you put into the custom registration field before. The field title and what is in the URL must match exactly. The [Value] is what you want to show up in the reports for each attendee, and can be any text you choose. Do not use special characters or spaces in the [Value]. Here’s some example URLs with the UTM code attached:

• https://www.bigmarker.com/sample/sample?utm_source=facebook
• https://www.bigmarker.com/sample/sample?utm_campaign=sales-team-john

You can use multiple UTM codes in one URL by using “&” at the start of each UTM code after the first

• https://www.bigmarker.com/sample/sample?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=sales-team-john

When your prospective attendees use this link, they will see the webinar landing page as normal. When they register with the values from the URL, they will be saved to the UTM codes in the registration fields.

7. Once you’ve inserted your UTM code into your registration page’s URL, copy and paste it into the marketing campaign you want to track (e.g., into the Register button of your email campaign or paid social media post). When people use this URL to register, the value will be saved for each registrant.

How can I track the performance of each of my UTM codes?

Once you’ve activated your UTM codes, you can access your registration records and see how many people have registered via each code. Because the UTM code is a registration field for your event, it will appear as its own separate data field on your BigMarker event report. 

Before the event begins, you can also follow these steps to see whether an individual attendee has registered using a UTM code. 

1. Log into your webinar and select the Manage Webinar tab. In the left-hand menu, select Manage Registrations.

 

2. The Manage Registrations page lists each person that has registered for your webinar. You can access each person’s individual registration record by clicking View in their individual listing. 

3. Under Custom ID, locate your UTM codes. Here you can see the values that were given to each attendee when they registered.

4. You can also see how your UTM codes were used by viewing the Registration Report. When you are looking at the Manage Registrations page, click on Download Registrants. In that report you will have all of your custom fields listed, including your UTM codes.

 

I shared a link with a UTM code without adding it as a registration field, can it be added even after setup? 

You have the ability to reprocess UTM codes. Essentially, if a link containing a UTM code was shared and used to register but that UTM code was not set up as a custom registration field, they are able to be added in by “reprocessing” the registration forms of your registrants to include the UTM code in and gather analytics after. 

In the Custom Registration Fields section, add the UTM code following the steps above. When finished, click Reprocess Registration Hidden Fields, and a popup will appear to confirm if you’d like to reprocess your hidden fields for all registrations. Click Ok, then go to the Manage Webinar Registration section. You will now be able to view the UTM code for the registrant. 

When reprocessing UTM codes, they can only be applied to registrants who registered up to two weeks prior. 

How can I ensure my UTM codes are tracked in my CRM?

When you are setting up your integration, you will be prompted to map data fields from BigMarker to your CRM. (The screenshot below shows the data mapping step of any typical integration setup.) This ensures that the data fields you collect on BigMarker will be transferred to your CRM and saved in the appropriate place.

So if you are using the "utm_medium" UTM code to track participants registering via email, and you call that data field "Registered by Email" in your CRM, type "Registered by Email" in the field next to "utm_medium".