UTM Parameters - Setting Up Fields in Marketo & SFDC

[MoYostZahn]

Hi everyone,

I'm setting up fields to capture UTM parameters and sync to SFDC, much like this post. My SFDC admin just created the fields in our SF instance, and created them as text fields with a max of 255 characters which is how our parent company has them set up on their SF. 

The fields appearing successfully in Marketo as text fields - however, this post from 2014 recommends that these be set up as string instead of text. Which is the correct field type, string or text? Can I change the Marketo field type to string without changing the SFDC field type?

[Miray · Accepted solution]

Hi 

The main difference between string fields and text fields lies in the number of characters they can accommodate. A string field typically has a limit of 255 characters, while a text field can hold up to 30,000 characters.

A string field is ideal for storing concise data such as addresses, names, or simple custom data. On the other hand, a text field is better suited for storing longer pieces of information, like comments from a form or long text.

For UTM parameters, which should not be very long, a string field is usually the better choice. However, if you need to store historical UTM parameters, a text field would be more appropriate.

[bekkah]

Agreeing with the recommendation. I have UTM parameters set up in my instance. The fields in Marketo are set up as a string but we map the field to our SFDC field as a picklist. You may want to consider using picklists for some of your UTM parameters like the source or medium to prevent variations across users. i.e. paidsearch or paid_search.

[SanfordWhiteman]

Hmm, not sure a picklist is a good idea, because Marketo will not enforce it.

You end up with values that can’t be synced to SFDC, which overall is worse than having irregular values.

The picklist enforcement ultimately needs to be procedural, i.e. your UTM builder has a picklist and you copy from there.

[MoYostZahn]

Yeah, I'm currently using a UTM builder that has a picklist: my former Digital & Content manager and I have been using the same UTM builder for the last few years. He was using parameters for Google analytics, and I was mainly using them in Marketo for email link performance in lieu of a heat map.

For additional context, our company was acquired a few months ago, and our new parent company uses UTMs performance tracking. They have a central UTM builder that also has a picklist, with the medium, source, and campaign set up the same way we have ours set up - so basically, I'm not worried about irregular values.

So with that said, should I just keep these fields as text fields? I'm also planning to create an additional text field and a campaign to aggregate the historical UTM params - we do this anyway as a standard practice for other important data like MQL activity.

[SanfordWhiteman]

You’ll be fine with just a string field.

Again, Marketo itself doesn’t enforce picklist fields, even if a field is synced to an SFDC restricted picklist. A net new lead created on the Marketo side can have any values.