You run an ad on Instagram, another on Google, share the link in a WhatsApp group, and enquiries start coming in. At the end of the month you have to decide where to keep spending, and the answer usually comes from the impression the last few conversations left. With two pieces of data recorded at the right moment, that decision can be made with numbers.
Here is why "they message me on WhatsApp" doesn't tell you where anyone came from, what a UTM is and how to use it, how to make your form save the source of each enquiry, and the minimum record you need to know which ad brings you clients.
Why "they message me on WhatsApp" isn't measuring
WhatsApp tells you how someone reached you, not what brought them. The same message can come from a paid ad, a post someone shared, Google or a recommendation. If everything arrives in the same chat and nobody writes down the source, by the end of the month there's no way to separate what came from where.
Asking "how did you hear about us?" helps, but it depends on the client's memory and on someone writing it down. It works as a complement; what really works is having the source recorded on its own.
What a UTM is, without jargon
A UTM is a tag added to the end of a link so your analytics tool knows where that visit came from. The link still goes to the same page; the only thing that changes is the data that travels with it.
An example for an Instagram ad in the September campaign:
https://yourbusiness.com/?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=ad&utm_campaign=september
According to Google Analytics help, there are three parameters worth always including:
utm_source: where the visit comes from (instagram, google, facebook, newsletter).utm_medium: the type of channel (ad, email, post).utm_campaign: the campaign name (september, store-launch).
Two details that save confusion:
- Capital letters matter. For Google Analytics,
instagramandInstagramare different sources. Pick one form, in lowercase, and always use it. - Don't type it by hand every time. Google has a campaign URL builder: fill in the fields and copy the link.
Make the form save the source
UTMs tell you in Google Analytics where visits come from. To know where enquiries come from, the source has to travel with the form.
It's done with a hidden field: the page reads the UTM from the address the person arrived with and sends it along with their name and message, without them typing anything. The email you receive no longer just says "New enquiry from María"; it also says "Came from: instagram, september campaign".
It's a small change to the website, and from then on every enquiry arrives with its source attached.
And WhatsApp, with its own message
If your ads lead straight to WhatsApp, use a different prefilled message for each one. A WhatsApp link can carry the first message already written, and the person only has to send it:
- The Instagram ad opens "Hi, I saw the September promotion on Instagram".
- The Google one opens "Hi, I found your page on Google and would like a quote".
When the message arrives, you already know what brought it. It's the same idea as the hidden field, applied to the chat. This website works that way: each WhatsApp button opens a different message depending on the page it's tapped from.
The minimum record
You don't need a complicated system. A spreadsheet with four columns is enough to start:
| Date | Source | Campaign | Bought? |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2 | september | yes | |
| October 2 | (none) | no | |
| October 3 | referral | (none) | yes |
One row per enquiry. At the end of the month, filter by source and count how many enquiries and how many sales came from each. If you also note how much you spent on each ad, you know what each client cost you.
The most important column is the last one. An ad that brings many enquiries and few sales can turn out worse than one that brings few but good ones.
What you can do this week
- Decide your source and campaign names, in lowercase, and write them down so everyone uses the same ones.
- Add UTMs to your ad links with Google's builder.
- Use a different prefilled WhatsApp message for each ad that leads to the chat.
- Open the four column sheet and log every enquiry from today.
- Check the numbers at the end of the month before deciding which ad to keep paying for.
Once the source is marked, the next step is answering fast: that's in the five minute window. And if you're launching a campaign, our landing pages ship with Google Analytics measuring clicks to WhatsApp and the form, and with the Meta Pixel set up for your ads.