Dark social
What is dark social?
Dark social describes sharing that analytics cannot see well: links sent in WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, text messages, email or private groups. Visits from these channels often show up as "direct" traffic with no referrer.
A lot of word of mouth, especially in B2B and niche communities, happens this way.
Why dark social matters
If you only count trackable channels, you underestimate how people really hear about you. Asking "how did you hear about us?" at sign-up is a simple way to see some of it.
Related marketing terms
Word-of-mouth marketing is when customers recommend you to others, and the work a company does to make that more likely and easier.
Brand awareness is how familiar your target audience is with your brand: whether they recognise it, remember it and think of it when buying.
Community marketing is taking part in, or building, communities where customers gather, and earning attention by being genuinely helpful.