Dark Social: The Unknown Social Media

It’s estimated that dark social makeup as much as 97% of all internet activity. That means that most of the things you do on the internet, from reading articles to sending links to friends via Facebook, Twitter, or Gmail are dark social. It also means there’s a lot we don’t know about dark social. What does dark social mean for businesses? How should they approach it? And how can marketers make use of dark social in their strategies? These questions and more will be answered in this article which explores what dark social is and why it matters so much.

What is dark social and why should businesses care about it

Dark social makeup as much as 97% of all internet activity, meaning that most of the things you do on the internet, from reading articles to sending links to friends via Facebook, Twitter, or Gmail are dark social dark-social isn’t something where marketers can see how many people engage with their content dark social has a number of different types: private messages email other channels dark social is important because there’s so much we don’t know about it dark social means that brands need to start using creative strategies to reach audiences dark social gives us an idea of what customers want and shows where businesses should focus their efforts.

The different types of dark social

Dark social has a number of different types: dark email dark P2P dark instant messaging dark social media dark forms dark blogs

1. Dark email when you share links via email but don’t copy the URL into your browser, it’s a dark email when you include a link in an offline email that you send to someone it’s also dark email.
2. Dark P2P people can share links through privately-hosted sites or even through direct messages on various platforms.
3. Dark instant messaging includes direct messages on Facebook and WhatsApp
4. Dark social media sharing content on closed networks like LinkedIn is dark social.
5. Dark forms including links in any kind of web form are considered to be part of the dark Social 6. dark blogs typing out long blog posts on dark blogs isn’t tracked dark blogging is becoming increasingly popular.

How to measure dark social activity

How to measure dark social activity dark social can only be measured by looking at the indirect effects it has dark email is hard to track dark instant messaging is done offline dark forms are private dark blogs are hosted privately dark social media happens on closed platforms so it’s harder to track there are some ways businesses can measure their dark social activity but most of them rely on educated guesses.

Why dark social is important for businesses

Dark social is important for businesses marketers need to understand that the vast majority of customer interactions happen in places they don’t have access to marketers need to improve their strategies because most of what people do happens in the dark marketers need to think about creative ways to engage with customers without being intrusive or spammy dark social is especially important for marketers because other types of marketing, like TV ads, are on the decline.

How to make use of dark social in marketing strategies

Dark social can be used in various ways dark email can be used by sending out links to your content dark instant messaging can be used by getting people to share links via direct messages dark forms can be used by placing links within web forms dark blogs can be used by promoting blog posts across dark blogs dark social media should only be done when you have a large following that you want to reward with exclusive access so they’ll promote your content dark forms should not be overused but if you have an opt-in form it’s fine.

Examples of successful dark social campaigns

Udemy sends dark social emails to the people they promote dark social forms are used by Harry’s dark social media is what Ryanair has done dark blogging has helped BuzzFeed with their growth dark instant messaging is how Stripe communicates with their user’s dark email was used successfully by Lululemon dark P2P is what Snapchat did with their referral program.

The future of dark social

Dark social will become more important as private message apps grow dark social will be used more in the future dark email and dark instant messaging are becoming more popular dark social forms, dark blogs, and dark social media are all growing in use dark forms will be used to gather more information about consumers dark blogs will continue to grow as a way to promote content.

Whether you’re a marketer or just someone who’s curious about dark social, it’s important to understand what it is and how it’s being used. dark social is a term that refers to the social media activity that can’t be measured. This includes activity that takes place in private messages, email, and other channels that can’t be tracked. While dark social can’t be measured, it’s still an important part of social media, and businesses should be thinking about creative ways to engage with their customers and make the most of dark social. Some examples of successful dark social campaigns include Udemy’s dark emails and Lululemon’s dark P2P. As dark social continues to grow in popularity, marketers will need to adapt their strategies in order to make the most of it. Whether you’re looking for ways to use dark social in your own marketing efforts or simply curious about this emerging trend, it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in dark social.

Key points – Dark social can’t be measured marketers need to focus on creative strategies dark email, dark P2P, dark instant messaging, dark blogs, and dark forms are all types of dark Social marketers should use data from other metrics like direct traffic or offline marketing to make educated guesses about their content’s performance

Conclusion

While it’s impossible to measure the true number of interactions consumers are having in the dark you can take other data into consideration dark social is becoming more important as more people turn to private messaging dark forms should not be overused dark instant messaging can be used by getting people to share links dark blogging has been successful for BuzzFeed dark email can be a good strategy for businesses dark P2P helped Snapchat with their referral program dark social media was a smart move on Ryanair’s part udemy sends out emails but they use dark emails dark forms have been used by Harry’s dark blogs have been helpful for BuzzFeed the future of dark social will combine creative strategies and data from other metrics.