Tracking the origin of a Gift can be tricky without the right mechanisms in place to successfully do so. Fortunately, there is a feature in Virtuous CRM+ that can be implemented on Forms and in custom URLs to do just that. They are called Media Outlets.
Similar to how Segment codes track the origin (and also audience) of a Gift, Media Outlets track what media sources prompted a donor to make their donation such as TV, Radio, or Podcasts.
Table of Contents
- Segments vs Media Outlets
- Creating Media Outlets
- Add a Media Outlet to a Giving Form
- Embed a Media Outlet in a donation URL
Segments vs Media Outlets
Both Segments and Media Outlets in Virtuous CRM+ can help your organization understand the motivation of a gift. However, there are some key differences between the two:
1. Segments are not donor-facing. Segments can be included on gifts through default selections, custom URLs, or upon gift entry. Click here to learn more about custom URLs. Media Outlets are donor-facing, allowing a donor to choose the station, outlet, or source that motivated them to give.
2. Segment Codes are nested within a specific Campaign Communication and under an overall Campaign. They are required to be under the hierarchy of a Campaign. Click here to learn more about the Campaign hierarchy. A Media Outlet is a standalone source of data, not specifically tied to a Campaign.
To provide an example of using Media Outlets in addition to Segment Codes, let's say your organization runs Giving Tuesday Ads in a few different media sources. In Virtuous CRM+, you may create a Year End Campaign, Giving Tuesday Communication, and Sponsored Ads (YE1225TWV) as your Segment. You, then, could create the Media Outlets as the various stations where the Giving Tuesday Ad was placed (Local TV ad, Podcast ad, Radio ad, etc) as your Media Outlets. On your Giving Form, your donors are able to select which news source, or Media Outlet, prompted their gift, but the Segment (Sponsored ads) will not be visible.
Creating Media Outlets
In order to create a Media Outlet that will be used on a Giving Form or in a custom URL, navigate to Settings in the main menu and then "Data Management". Click on the "Media Outlets" option and then "Create a Media Outlet" in the top right corner.
Fill in the necessary details about your new Media Outlet, giving it a Name, and assigning a Code. The code is used to connect a Gift to the Media Outlet. Select a Media Type such as "Radio" or "TV" and if necessary add a Site URL to track a specific web address this Media Outlet is being used for. Add a Description to explain specific details your team needs to know, connect a related Premium, and then add a Price and Cost as internal reference points to track how much you spent to create this media outlet.
Below these details will display any custom fields created for Media Outlets. To learn about custom fields read more here.
Add a Media Outlet to a Giving Form
The ideal way to use a Media Outlet is on a Giving Form. By adding both a Default Media Outlet to a Giving Form and the Media Outlet field as well, you can then track what media source a donor came from when making their donation. Start by creating (or editing an existing) Giving Form through the Online Giving tool and filling in a Default Media Outlet to ensure that Gifts that came through this form at a minimum are connected to this Media Outlet. Otherwise, you will have to manually fill that in on the Gift later.
Then, when customizing the fields on your form, locate the Media Outlet field from the list on the left and drag it over to your Giving Form. After adding it to your form, make sure to click the icon to the right of the field to open a list of options to the right of the form. These Media Outlet Options include the ability to "Use all Media Outlet values" or "Select specific Media Outlet values" depending if you want to open up or limit donors' choices. Additionally, choose a default selection so that when a donor is filling out the form that Media Outlet will already be selected from the list. More options for changing the field label and help text and placeholder are also available as well. Finally, a toggle switch will allow you to make this field required in order for the donor to submit the form and make a donation.
When finished, click Done and then Save and Publish your Giving Form. Follow the necessary steps you would normally follow to begin collecting donations through this Form. Once, donors begin giving through this form, their Gifts will have the Media Outlet they selected attached to their Gift for your to report on the success of these media sources for bringing in donations. Simply create a Gift query and include the Media Outlet field on your export or create a custom Report and group the Gifts by Media Outlet to visually see the data in your dashboard.
Embed a Media Outlet in a donation URL
A Media Outlet's code can also be embedded in the URL address for a donation form. The same way a Segment code can be embedded on a URL to automatically track the origin of the Gift from your Campaign structure, a Media Outlet can be embedded as well. The pattern string to add to the end of your donation form's URL is ?mediaOutlet= with the Media Outlet's code at the end of that. So the formula to follow is:
Your donation form's URL + ?mediaOutlet= + the Media Outlet's code
Below is an example of what this might look like. We'll use an example of a giving form located at www.example.org/give. (Make sure to use your own donation form's actual URL). Here's what ours will look like using the same Media Outlet code we created earlier in this article.
www.example.org/give?mediaOutlet=LTVAD2024