Dark social: a new door for marketing
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 10:45 am
Dark social refers to those unknown “visits” whose origins we do not know. It is a kind of invisible traffic whose origin we do not know.
In inbound marketing , measurements are essential, since with them we can get to know the user in depth, test the actions we carry out to generate impact and know how they reach our brand. Knowing where the user who new zealand mobile database interacted with us comes from is essential to successfully complete our strategy. When we do not know where the user comes from, we are facing a case of dark social.
What is dark social and what does it consist of?
Users of a website of unknown origin are part of dark social. For example, content that is sent by email from one user to another, chats that are generated between users or text messages. The traffic generated by this type of user, depending on several factors, can reach up to 50%. In addition to its volume, which is a lot, this unknown traffic can come from a recommendation or mention.
In dark social traffic, it is very difficult to determine where these URLs are referenced or linked from, since they are untraceable links due to the absence of “metadata.”
Who is the Dark Social audience?
We all participate in dark social in some way in our daily lives, as we share content with our friends via WhatsApp, Twitter or Instagram direct messages, or through email. How many times have we shared a link to an article we liked with a colleague or friend, via WhatsApp or email? Probably many times, so we are part of dark social, as well as thousands more.
Why make dark social part of your strategy
Although it is difficult to measure, dark social must become part of the strategy for several reasons:
It has a huge impact on your website traffic. As we said, it could account for up to 50% of your total traffic.
It is closely related to mobile traffic. Most of the “dark clicks” in recent years come from mobile devices. And it continues to grow.
It serves to reach new segments: consumers aged 55 and over only share content through dark social, so it can be a great opportunity to reach the public that is less adept at social media.
Great opportunity for “one-to-one” marketing. Almost all visits to dark social come from direct recommendations, through “word of mouth”, and this is one of the most valuable sources of traffic, as it envelops the brand with credibility and trust. It means that it is recommended, mentioned.
Boost your website by being on the side of Dark Social. How to do it?
Include sharing buttons on all of your page's content , as clearly and prominently as possible. Make sure the “follow” and “share” buttons are clearly visible.
Shorten URLs: the simpler and more intuitive they are, the better. This way, users who want to use them don't have to copy a bunch of characters.
Create segments in Analytics: web analytics has a lot of options to segment and identify traffic. Consult an expert to help you with this topic and achieve results.
Conclusion
When it comes to marketing strategies, they are so dynamic that sometimes we have no other choice but to adapt to these changes quickly in order not to generate losses for the company, and act accordingly. Always being flexible and providing value through content will help to have better feedback from users.
In inbound marketing , measurements are essential, since with them we can get to know the user in depth, test the actions we carry out to generate impact and know how they reach our brand. Knowing where the user who new zealand mobile database interacted with us comes from is essential to successfully complete our strategy. When we do not know where the user comes from, we are facing a case of dark social.
What is dark social and what does it consist of?
Users of a website of unknown origin are part of dark social. For example, content that is sent by email from one user to another, chats that are generated between users or text messages. The traffic generated by this type of user, depending on several factors, can reach up to 50%. In addition to its volume, which is a lot, this unknown traffic can come from a recommendation or mention.
In dark social traffic, it is very difficult to determine where these URLs are referenced or linked from, since they are untraceable links due to the absence of “metadata.”
Who is the Dark Social audience?
We all participate in dark social in some way in our daily lives, as we share content with our friends via WhatsApp, Twitter or Instagram direct messages, or through email. How many times have we shared a link to an article we liked with a colleague or friend, via WhatsApp or email? Probably many times, so we are part of dark social, as well as thousands more.
Why make dark social part of your strategy
Although it is difficult to measure, dark social must become part of the strategy for several reasons:
It has a huge impact on your website traffic. As we said, it could account for up to 50% of your total traffic.
It is closely related to mobile traffic. Most of the “dark clicks” in recent years come from mobile devices. And it continues to grow.
It serves to reach new segments: consumers aged 55 and over only share content through dark social, so it can be a great opportunity to reach the public that is less adept at social media.
Great opportunity for “one-to-one” marketing. Almost all visits to dark social come from direct recommendations, through “word of mouth”, and this is one of the most valuable sources of traffic, as it envelops the brand with credibility and trust. It means that it is recommended, mentioned.
Boost your website by being on the side of Dark Social. How to do it?
Include sharing buttons on all of your page's content , as clearly and prominently as possible. Make sure the “follow” and “share” buttons are clearly visible.
Shorten URLs: the simpler and more intuitive they are, the better. This way, users who want to use them don't have to copy a bunch of characters.
Create segments in Analytics: web analytics has a lot of options to segment and identify traffic. Consult an expert to help you with this topic and achieve results.
Conclusion
When it comes to marketing strategies, they are so dynamic that sometimes we have no other choice but to adapt to these changes quickly in order not to generate losses for the company, and act accordingly. Always being flexible and providing value through content will help to have better feedback from users.