Dark Social: how to use it to optimize your marketing strategy?
In the digital age, marketing professionals need to understand new tools to reach their target audience. New trends include dark social is emerging as a phenomenon both intriguing and inescapable.
But what makes dark social so essential for today's marketers? Discover with us how this innovative concept can transform your digital marketing strategy and give you a competitive edge.
What is Dark Social?
Dark social, also known as obscure social media or hidden social sharing, refers to social interactions that occur outside the traditional, measurable channels of social networks. According to HubSpot, this mainly refers to content sharing via private messaging, email or SMS.
This term was coined by Alexis C. Madrigal, an American journalist, who observed that a large proportion of web traffic comes from sources unidentifiable by traditional analysis tools. In fact, according to Digimind, up to 84% of all web and social content shares are private, escaping the radar of marketers.
Example : Imagine you discover an interesting article on new trends in digital marketing. Instead of sharing it on your LinkedIn profile, you decide to send the link directly to a colleague via WhatsApp. This sharing, while generating traffic to the website, will not be attributed to a specific source in conventional analysis tools. This is a typical example of dark social traffic.
Dark social: what impact for companies?
The importance of dark social for marketers cannot be underestimated. Here's why:
Impact on web traffic measurement
Dark social makes it difficult to accurately measure the reach and impact of your marketing campaigns. As Agorapulse points out, up to 80% of web traffic can be considered "dark", escaping traditional analysis tools.
This means you could be significantly underestimating the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and investments.
Influence on content strategy
Understanding dark social can help you refine your content strategy. Shares on dark social are often more personal and targeted, which can give you valuable insights into what really resonates with your audience.
By analyzing these shares, you can tailor your content so that it's more likely to be shared in these private channels.
Better engagement potential
Dark social interactions tend to be more authentic and engaging. Digimind reports that 97% of people believe that user-generated content (UGC) strongly influences their purchasing decisions.
What's more, according to a study by RadiumOne, clicks on links shared via dark social are 8.5 times more likely to generate a conversion than clicks on publicly shared links.
How to monitor and measure Dark Social?
Although dark social is by nature difficult to trace, there are techniques and tools to monitor and measure it:
Use of link tracking tools
HubSpot recommends using tools like Bitly or Ow.ly to create customized tracking links that can provide you with information on the source of traffic. Here's how to do it:
- Create an account on a URL shortening platform like Bitly
- Generate short links for each piece of content you wish to follow
- Use these short links in your communications
- Analyze click and share data provided by the tool
Setting up UTM codes
The UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) codes added to your URLs can help you track the origin of traffic, even when it comes from dark social sources. To set them up :
- Use a UTM code generator like Google Analytics.
- Create unique codes for each campaign or content type.
- Add these codes to your URLs before sharing them.
- Analyze the data in your web analytics tool.
Analysis of indirect data
Watch for unexplained spikes in direct traffic, which can be indicators of dark social sharing. Also examine the behavioral patterns of users arriving on your site via "direct" traffic to identify possible dark social sources.
Integrate Dark Social into your marketing strategy
To take advantage of dark social, here are a few strategies to consider:
Create highly shareable content
Focus on creating quality that people will naturally want to share with their friends and family. This can include informative infographics, how-to guides, or in-depth articles on hot topics in your field.
Facilitate private sharing
The Moderator's Blog suggests investing in private channels like broadcast channels on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Telegram to grow your community.
For example, you could create an exclusive WhatsApp group for your most loyal customers, where you share premium content and special offers.
Encourage user-generated content
Encourage your customers to create and share content related to your brand, which can boost dark social sharing. You could organize contests on social networks where participants have to share their experiences with your product.
A success story: the Glossier case
Cosmetics brand Glossier has successfully integrated dark social into its strategy by creating an engaged community on platforms like Slack.
Members of this community share beauty tips, discuss products and naturally become brand ambassadors, generating powerful digital word-of-mouth.
Recap: the challenges and opportunities of Dark Social
Understanding and mastering Dark Social enables companies to take advantage of it and reach their conversion targets more quickly.
The challenges of dark social :
- the difficulty of measuring and allocating traffic;
- Lack of visibility on the conversations around your brand;
- increased complexity in developing marketing strategies.
Dark social opportunities:
- access to a more engaged and receptive audience;
- organic growth potential through digital word-of-mouth ;
- the ability to create more authentic connections with customers.
While dark social presents challenges, it also offers the opportunity to rethink your marketing approach. By focusing on creating high-quality content and facilitating private sharing, you can turn these challenges into competitive advantages.
For example, a lack of visibility can be compensated for by a more advanced social listening strategy and the use of advanced analysis tools.
Integrating Dark Social into your marketing strategy not only allows you to improve your performance measurementbut also to create deeper, more authentic connections with your audience. As Breakcolddark social is an area of great potential for brandsand marketers should start taking advantage of it as soon as possible.
Don't wait any longer integrate dark social into your marketing strategy! Start by analyzing your direct traffic with the experts. The Bulldozer Collective team will help you to set up the right tracking tools and create content that encourages private sharing. Your brand could well be the next dark social success story. Contact us to find out more!
