SOP: A UTM Naming Convention That Never Breaks

SOP: A UTM Naming Convention That Never Breaks

Problem: free-text UTMs turn your reports into garbage. Fix it once.

Rule 1 — Lock the five parameters.
— source = the platform (instagram, youtube, tiktok)
— medium = always 'creator' for this program
— campaign = offer + month (summerbonus_2026q3)
— content = the specific asset (reel1, story_swipe)
— term = the creator handle

Rule 2 — Formatting laws.
— lowercase only
— underscores inside a value, never spaces
— no dates in source/medium, only in campaign
— pick one spelling per platform forever (youtube, not yt/YouTube)

Rule 3 — Generate, don't type. Keep a spreadsheet builder with dropdowns. Creators copy the finished link; they never assemble UTMs.

Phase: rollout
— Build the template tab.
— Backfill 2 active campaigns to test reporting.
— Add a validation column flagging any uppercase or space.

Definition of done: every live link maps to exactly one creator, one asset, one campaign with zero manual typing.