Use "Querystring" to Add to Program?

[Jenn_DiMaria2]

We currently have a Content Program for people who visit a landing page and download a whitepaper.  I'm in the process of setting up some Online Advertising that will direct people to this Content Program.  I'd like to attribute people to the Online Advertising Program without duplicating all the logic, pages, etc, from the Content Program.  This will also help me keep track of ROI in the Program Analyzer.

Is there a way I can use a combination of querystrings (based on utm_campaign) and "Change Program Status" in the Online Advertising Program to accomplish this goal?  I'm open to other ideas, as well.

Thanks!
Jenn

[Anonymous]

Hey Jenn,

I do this to distinguish between advertising partners, but I have a second step in place. Basically, my forms all have hidden fields for the utm parameters, and they're set to grab the value based on querystring. Then, I have separate programs for each of my advertising partners (same concept could be applied to individual pieces of content, though), each which has a smart campaign that looks for a form submission event where the hidden field is populated with a particular value. So here's an example:

1. The form has a hidden field with whatever you call your utm_campaign field (we call ours "Ad Campaign"). 
2. Set that field to get it's value from a UTM parameter, in this case, UTM_campaign
3. Create a smart campaign in your content program that watches for that form to get submitted, and with the additonal filter of "ad campaign is 'this whitepaper'", and a flowstep of add to program

I've actually found that this setup is great because it saves a ton of time each time I add a new advertsing partner, or conversely, a new piece of content. Hope this helps!

[Jenn_DiMaria2]

Thanks for the breakdown, Jeff!  Do you think this could this also be applied without a form submission?  For example, if someone has already been cookied and is known to our database visits the page, could I then add them to the program with a Status of "Clicked Link" without them having completed a form?

At least now I know it'll work for the inquiries.  Getting the "Clicked Link" to work would just be an added bonus 🙂

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Yes, though I'm not sure about if it could be leveraged with querystrings, as I've never tried it.

Here's how I do it with content. I, like you, have dedicated programs for each piece of content, such as a whitepaper. In that program are all the frequently used assets that go along with it: emails, gated landing pages, online advertising landing pages, etc. I also identified a need for an un-gated landing page, that is, a page that has the resource available without a form submission required. I basically wanted to create a way for my sales team to share resources with prospects without an unnecessary form in front of it, yet still be able to track it accurately. 

So, I have an ungated landing page with a link to the asset download. I then have a smart campaign in the program that watches for that link to be clicked on that landing page (trigger = clicks link). This then causes their program status to change, in the same way a form submission would. 

The one caveat is that the smart campaign builder has a hard time dealing with non-landing page links. It tends to kick back an error when you try to put in a link like http://www.yourdomain.com/yourasset.pdf, so I've learned you need to ditch the http://www. prefix. I've also only ever tried the linking when it's to something I've uploaded to Marketo (so it's stored under the same subdomain). No idea if it works when pointed to some other link on your main website, for instance. 

Hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

Jeff sorry to bump this thread - but just curious, if every lead is coming in to the landing page(s) in the content program, won't the acquisition program always be set to the content, and NOT the ad campaign that brought the lead in? Is this ok for your reporting? 

[Jenn_DiMaria2]

Hi Naor! Not sure if this helps or not, but I have an additional field set up called "Lead Source Additional Info". This is the field that pulls in the Campaign querystring. Based on the querystring, I've created a listening campaign to assign the Acquisition Program (if not already set), as opposed to automatically assigning it based on the content.

When I look at the Program Members, I also pull in that Lead Source Additional Info field for further clarification.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Jenn. But if a new lead comes in, won't Marketo automatically assign the acquisition program to whatever program the form resides in? What does that listening campaign look like, if you don't me asking? 

[Jenn_DiMaria2]

Hi Naor! Here's an image of what the Smart List looks like:



The querystring is the campaign code entered using the Google URL builder.

Then the flow would be:



Hope that makes sense!

[Anonymous]

Jenn thanks for the screenshots! I was away so apologies for the delayed response. I'm still stuck on one issue regarding acquisition program. I understand the ability to change the progression status in the Online Advertising program of choice using the Fills Out Form trigger and the querystring, but in your flow you are changing the acquisition program without any other rules.....What if the acquisition program was already set, or if the lead was responding to your online ads but is an existing lead with an existing acquisition program. These are the little bits that trip me up on whether I want to use a single form or simply clone the LP/form into the online ad program itself.