What Is Dark Social?

You probably haven’t heard of the term Dark Social, but if you’re involved in any form of marketing – it’s one you should take note of. Although it sounds like a knock-off Harry Potter movie, it’s actually a term to describe content being shared in private (Whatsapp for example).

So what? Why do we care what happens behind closed doors?

Well, as it turns out, up to 84% of sharing happens in private social channels, leaving a huge gap in knowledge for marketers. If you’re thinking the answer is in the analytics, unfortunately not, I mean imagine the GDPR impact! That’s what makes the topic of Dark Social so intriguing, analytics cannot accurately track this content – simply because it’s private.

Dark social refers to private and untrackable content that is shared by users. For example, dropping a link into a WhatsApp group, forwarding an email to a colleague, or messaging a friend on Messenger about an article.

The term itself comes from journalist Alexis C. Madrigal in The Atlantic, back in 2012; He noticed a large amount of web traffic coming from sources that analytics couldn’t track, and Dark Social was the term created to describe the ‘hidden’ sharing.

Some of the most common Dark Social channels include:

Messaging apps: like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Signal.
Email forwarding: think sharing a blog post or product link with a simple ‘FYI.’
Private groups: on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Slack.

To be absolutely clear, Dark Social isn’t a bad thing. It’s not about illegal activity or social on the dark web. It’s just the normal, everyday ways people connect and share online in spaces that can’t be tracked. While it’s a nightmare for marketers, it’s also a goldmine of opportunity – if you know how to tap into it.

Dark Social is reported to drive as much as 95% of web traffic. This is a huge percentage and as a marketer, not having visibility on this can impact marketing efforts down the line, especially if the attribution is incorrect. After all, knowledge is power; if you can understand where your sources of traffic are coming from and what is driving that traffic, you can optimize marketing efforts towards it.

What you have to consider is that pretty much everyone is active on dark social channels. If you think about it, how many times have you used Dark Social today? Whether it’s sending a text message to a friend, sharing links in Facebook groups, or even sending a voice note about a new product, everyone does it.

These are some of the reasons why Dark Social is important:

People Trust Personal Networks

People are more likely to trust people in their network than any other form of recommendation. Where 92% of buyers trust recommendations and suggestions from friends and family more than advertising. And where do you think the majority of these recommendations happen? Through dark social channels.

To Understand Your Analytics Better

What’s important to note is that you will never be able to track Dark Social completely or accurately – the whole point is that it’s private sharing and if companies started allowing monitoring/tracking of conversations in private, I think the whole world would kick up a storm. But that doesn’t mean you can’t identify a portion of this data and come to logical conclusions – which I will cover further down in the article.

Gaps in Attribution Models

Ignoring Dark Social leaves your marketing data incomplete, making it harder to understand the full customer journey or measure ROI accurately. When someone clicks a link shared through a private channel like WhatsApp or email, it usually becomes attributed to ‘direct traffic’ or gets missed entirely. This means your attribution models, those fancy paths that tell you how users discovered and converted, are incomplete.

Learn About Your Audience

Dark social is important for learning about your audience away from the typical channels/platforms – if you know where to look. For example, if you were doing market research and joined some private Facebook groups or Slack Channels – it’s a great way to not only understand the way your content is being shared or your brand is being spoken about, but also the demographic of the audience. You can discover niche audiences which can help to develop more personalised marketing strategies.

Increases Brand Awareness

Although you can’t see it, Dark Social helps to build brand awareness. When people share your content privately, it’s typically with their inner circle, people they trust and whose opinions carry weight. This unseen brand advocacy is supporting your brand-building efforts without you knowing – but remember it could also be damaging your brand if what’s being shared is negative.

Large Volume of Traffic

It’s no exaggeration to say that Dark Social channels drive the majority of web traffic. Studies show that up to 84% of content sharing happens in private spaces like messaging apps or email (see image below). This huge number is mostly invisible to analytics too. This hidden traffic can severely impact marketing campaigns, especially when it’s misattributed to other sources. Acknowledging its volume helps you to understand the true scale of audience engagement.

Infographic: Sharing Through Dark Social Media | Statista

Source: Statista

Content Amplification

Content shared through Dark Social often goes further than anything shared publicly. Why? Because it’s personal. A recommendation in a private chat feels more authentic than a generic post on social media. This kind of sharing has the power to really drive your content’s reach. Think of it like this, people often have private WhatsApp groups with all their friends, one person shares a link to something, and then 40 people see it. Now those 40 people share with their other friend networks, and so on.

Why It’s Difficult to Track

You might be thinking of ideas right now on how you will track Dark Social, but it’s not as easy as it may seem. It’s difficult to track for many reasons:

Lack of Referral Data

When someone copies a URL and pastes it into a private channel like a WhatsApp chat or an email, that link loses its referral data. Without the correct tracking parameters, analytics will understand the resulting traffic as ‘direct’ because there’s no clear source attached. This creates a blind spot in your data, where you know traffic exists but can’t see where it’s coming from.

Data Protection & Encryption

Private messaging apps like WhatsApp use end-to-end encryption for user privacy. While this is great for security, it also means that these platforms don’t share data – especially on content sharing or engagement. Also, private groups on platforms like Facebook or Slack often don’t provide the kind of insights available from public posts.

Complex Journeys

Users interact with brands across multiple channels, often jumping from public feeds to talk in private messages and back again, and so on. For instance: A user might see a product ad on Instagram, discuss it with friends in a WhatsApp group, and finally make a purchase through the brand’s website. Analytics tools struggle to connect these dots, leaving marketers with gaps in their data and a lack of understanding of how private conversations influence public actions.

Common Attribution Errors

Dark Social traffic generally appears as ‘direct’ in analytics platforms, causing marketers to misinterpret the data – by no fault of their own. Direct traffic isn’t just users typing URLs into their browsers, it’s also where untracked Dark Social shares end up. This can lead to marketers:

Overestimating the impact of website visits.
Missing opportunities to optimize content for private sharing.
Misallocating budgets by ignoring the channels that drive conversations leading to conversions.

Just because you can’t access all of the data for Dark Social, it doesn’t mean you can’t use it effectively in your marketing efforts. There are several things you can do:

Optimize UTM Parameters

UTM parameters help you track the performance of specific campaigns and links. When someone shares a link privately, whether via a messaging app, email, or text message, the UTM tag embedded in that link registers with your campaign. It’s recommended to include these links on your ‘share’ buttons too – the buttons on your website that allow people to share directly to Dark Social.

Here’s how to create a UTM parameter (or just use an online tool):

Start with Your Base URL
This is the original URL of the page you want to track. For example:https://www.example.com/
Add a Question Mark (?)
This indicates the start of the UTM parameters: https://www.example.com/?
Append UTM Parameters
- utm_source: Specifies where the traffic originates (e.g., email, Facebook).
  Example: utm_source=email
- utm_medium: Identifies the type of traffic (e.g., direct, social, paid).
  Example: utm_medium=social
- utm_campaign: Names the specific campaign.
  Example: utm_campaign=holiday_sale
Separate Parameters with an Ampersand (&)
For multiple parameters, use & to join them together:https://www.example.com/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=holiday_sale

Example of a Full UTM Link:

https://www.example.com/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=holiday_sale

Deep Links for Apps

It’s also worth considering using deep links if you have apps. Users often move between apps, such as clicking on a product ad on Instagram and then sharing it with friends on WhatsApp. Deep-linking tools like Adjust and Branch help track these transitions by ensuring that UTM tags or tracking data persist across platforms. This is especially important for e-commerce brands where a significant portion of Dark Social traffic originates from mobile app use.

Google Analytics: Setting Up Segments

Google Analytics is the main platform marketers use to understand traffic, and it can provide valuable insights into Dark Social when used correctly. While tracking Dark Social perfectly isn’t possible, GA4 allows you to create advanced segments that help separate direct traffic from other sources and refine the data – you will still have to form some conclusions on your own.

Using segments won’t give you perfect answers, but it can provide insights into Dark Social traffic patterns to:

Spot trends in content that is popular with private audiences.
Identify campaigns or pages that perform well via private sharing.
Gain a better understanding of which social channels might be driving traffic indirectly.

Setting Up Your Segment in GA4

Access Advanced Segments: In your GA4 account, go to Explore → Segments and click on ‘+ Custom Segment.’
Name Your Segment: Give your segment a descriptive name, such as ‘Potential Dark Social.’ A clear name will help you identify it later for reports and analysis.
Include Conditions: Under the ‘Condition’ section, focus on including landing pages that are likely shared privately but are less likely to be bookmarked or manually typed. For instance:
- Product detail pages (/product-name).
- Blog posts with long URLs (/how-to-improve-marketing-strategy-2024).
- Specific campaign landing pages (/exclusive-offer-2024).
Exclude Common Direct Sources: Use the ‘Exclude’ condition to filter out URLs that people are likely to type manually or bookmark. These typically include:
- Homepages (/).
- Simple URLs like /about-us, /contact, or /blog.
Exclude Returning Visitors: To refine your date further, exclude Returning Visitors under ‘User Type.’ This means the segment focuses on new users who are more likely to arrive via Dark Social rather than revisiting directly.

Optimize Shareable Content

As a marketer, it’s your job to make content so appealing that sharing becomes second nature. You also need to make your content easy to share – like adding buttons to instantly share content on different channels. You can also experiment with different CTAs on shareable content, telling users to share on Dark Social and use a tracking link, this could perhaps narrow down your traffic sources.

People are more likely to share things that offer direct value, spark curiosity, or trigger an emotional response. Consider content like:

Interactive tools: Quizzes, calculators, or checklists that provide personalized results or outcomes at the end.
Exclusive offers: Discounts or early access deals that encourage users to share with their friends for added benefits.
Engaging content: Video clips, memes, or infographics that are easy to consume and are funny to pass on.

Engage with Private Communities

Some Dark Social channels you will never have access to, but private communities you can gain access to. If you do, they can work wonders for your marketing efforts. The key is to not treat private groups as marketing channels. Instead, be a passive member or provide value to the community. Especially on Reddit, as any form of promotion usually results in the user being kicked out unless they provide regular value.

Another great way to make an impact in private communities is through your existing customers/followers. Encourage or incentivize them to share their positive experiences in Dark Social channels – which can lead to further engagement and activity.

Analyze Your Traffic

Although you can’t fully identify Dark social traffic, you can draw some useful conclusions if you understand how to read your data. This will require testing and the use of many UTM tracking links to understand what’s happening, but even if that leads to a ballpark percentage you can attribute to Dark Social, it’s better than nothing.

For example, a sudden spike in ‘direct’ traffic to a specific product or blog page can often indicate Dark Social activity. By looking at when and where these spikes occur, you can start to identify patterns in private sharing.

Another simple way to understand your traffic is to just ask… Include a brief survey in your thank-you emails or on post-purchase pages, asking customers how they found you. This can help you understand the role of private sharing in your marketing funnel.

Create Your Own Channels

If you can’t beat ’em join ’em! If you have the capacity/resources, why not create and manage your own Dark Social channels? You can create private social groups or Subreddits, and even have a custom WhatsApp group. It all depends on your brand, but setting up these channels gives you new access to audience insights and engagement. Don’t treat these channels as marketing opportunities in terms of promotion – treat them more as research where you can understand and learn about your audience.

Dark Social might be hidden from plain sight, but its impact on digital marketing is impossible to ignore. Marketers should take the time to drill down into their analytics and understand what percentage of traffic can be attributed to Dark Social, allowing them to run more optimized marketing campaigns.

What Is Dark Social?