Dark Social
Dark social is the sharing of content through private channels like messaging apps, DMs, or emails that don’t pass referral data.
What Does Dark Social Mean?
Dark social refers to traffic and engagement that comes from private sharing spaces - such as WhatsApp, Messenger, or email - where traditional referral data is missing. As a result, marketers have difficulty tracking where the traffic originates, even if their content is being widely shared.
This concept highlights a major challenge in social media marketing, where content spreads "in the dark," outside of public timelines, feeds, or platforms.
Example
"I found this article hilarious, had to send it to my friend on WhatsApp - pure dark social."
How Is Dark Social Used in Social Media Strategy?
Understanding dark social helps brands go beyond visible metrics and recognize the hidden flow of content sharing. It encourages marketers to create highly shareable content and to use tracking tools like UTM parameters to better capture private engagement data.
Pro Tip
Add visible social sharing buttons embedded with UTM tags to your articles, blog posts, or resources to capture and analyze more dark social engagement accurately.
