Use hidden fields to capture query string parameters with Form CTAs

If you use query string parameters when sharing links to your Hub, here's how you can capture that data in your Marketing Automation Platform whenever a lead submits a Form CTA.

Before you begin

• To do this, you need to be an Account Admin or Content Manager.
• You will also need to have set up at least one Form CTA in your Hub.

About query string parameters and Form CTAs

If you use query strings when you share links to your Hub content (e.g. for things like campaigns, social media platforms, etc.), you can set up your Form CTAs to send the values of these query string parameters to your Marketing Automation Platform (MAP) each time a Form CTA is submitted.

To do this, you can use hidden fields on your Form CTAs to capture the values of a specified query string parameters. For example, say you use the query string parameter ?campaign= to track your campaigns. Here's how it would work:

1. First, create a new hidden field on a Form CTA.
2. Next, specify the field in your MAP where you want to record the query string data. This will depend on the specific query string parameter you're capturing: in this case, the appropriate MAP field might be something like Campaign Source (or similar).
3. Then, configure the hidden field to look for the query string parameter ?campaign=. This sets up the hidden field to capture the value of that query string parameter if it is present in the visitor's URL when they enter your Hub.
4. Finally, add the hidden field to the Form CTA.

Now, anytime a visitor enters your hub using a link with the query string parameter ?campaign= and submits a Form CTA, Uberflip will capture the value of that query string parameter (i.e. the campaign name) and store it in the Campaign Name field in that visitor's lead profile in your MAP.

A few things to note:

• This works even if the visitor moves between different pages in your Hub before submitting a Form CTA: When a visitor uses a URL with query strings to enter your Hub, Uberflip saves the query string parameters and values in the cache. That way they can still be captured by Form CTAs, even if the visitor moves between pages (which strips away the query strings from the URL).
• You need to set up individual hidden fields for each separate query string parameter: Because you have to specify the individual MAP field where query string data is recorded, you need to create a different hidden field for each query string parameter you want to capture.
• A Form CTA will only capture query string data if it contains the appropriate hidden field: If a visitor enters your Hub with a query string, but only submits a Form CTA to which you have not added a hidden field for that query string parameter, the query string data will not be recorded. You have to separately add hidden fields to each Form CTA on which you want to use them (or clone a CTA on which you set up the hidden fields and modify it).

When you're ready to get started, see below for instructions on how to set this up.

Prerequisite: Identify query string data and MAP field names

Before you can begin creating hidden fields to capture query string data, there are a few things you need to do:

First, determine which query string parameters you want to capture. Note that you need to specify the exact field(s) in your MAP where this data will be recorded, so you'll need to decide what kind of information you'll be capturing in order to choose the correct fields in your MAP.

Next, identify the field (or fields) in your MAP where the query string data will be captured. Your MAP contains a variety of data fields, and each is intended to store a specific type of data. Based on the query string data you've chosen, you will need to determine the appropriate field(s) in your MAP to store it. This will depend on your MAP, and how your organization uses it. If you're not sure which field to use, check with the administrator of your MAP.

Finally, find the unique field name for each field you've identified. Every field in your MAP has a special "name" that uniquely identifies it. When you set up your Form CTA in Uberflip, you will need to use this unique field name to tell Uberflip where to send data captured from the query string.

See below for instructions on where to find these unique field names in your MAP:

Set up Form CTA hidden fields to capture query string data

To capture query string parameter data each time a Form CTA is submitted, you'll use a hidden field. This is exactly what it sounds like: a field that is not visible to the visitors who fill out a Form CTA, and which invisibly passes data of your choice to the connected MAP each time the CTA is submitted.

1. Open the CTA Editor for the Form CTA on which you want to use the hidden field.
2. Click on Layout, then click on Manage next to Form Fields to open the Manage Fields menu.
3. Click on the Add New button to add a new field.
4. In the Search box, type in the field label/name for the MAP field where you want to record the query string data. Make sure to use the regular field label when searching, not the unique field name you identified earlier. See below for what this label is called in the various MAPs:
   
   • HubSpot: Label
   • Marketo: Friendly Label
   • Oracle Eloqua: Display name
   • Pardot: NAME
5. When you have the field you want, click on Apply. This will populate the API Name and Field Label fields in the Field Settings section. Make sure the API Name matches the unique field name you identified earlier to verify that you have the correct field:
   
   • Note: If you want, you can also change the Field label text. This is the label that Uberflip will use to identify this hidden field in the CTA Editor. Since this is a hidden field, the label will not be visible to your visitors.
6. Under Field type, use the dropdown to select Hidden:
   
7. You'll now see some additional options appear. Don't type anything into the Hidden value field. Instead, check the box next to Allow query string values to populate this field:
   
8. A new field called Param name will appear. In this field, type in the name of the query string parameter you want to capture with this hidden field:
   • What you need to enter here is the part of the query string that's between the ? and the =. For example, if the query string is ?campaign=examplecampaign, then you would enter campaign into the Param name field (as shown in the image above).
   • By default, this field will be automatically pre-filled using the value from the API Name field above. However, these two values do not need to match. The query string parameter can be whatever you want — you just need to make sure that what you type into the Param name field matches the actual query string parameter you put in your links.
9. Click on the Save button to create the field and return to the Manage Fields menu. The newly created field will be shown under the Existing Fields list:
   
10. If necessary, repeat steps 3-9 to create additional hidden fields for any other query string parameters you want to capture.
11. When you're done, close the Manage Fields menu to return to the CTA Editor. Here, make sure to check the boxes next to the new hidden fields (under the Form Fields section) to add them to the Form CTA:
    
12. You're done! Your changes will be saved automatically, and will take effect immediately on this Form CTA. Remember: form fields are specific to each Form CTA, so you have to create and add the new hidden field(s) to every CTA separately. You can either repeat the steps above for any other Form CTAs on which you want to capture query string data, or simply copy this CTA and modify it as needed.