Track Customer Behavior Through Dark Social

When it comes to social media, many marketers focus on tracking public shares and interactions. However, there is a growing trend of social media shares occurring through private channels, such as messaging apps and email. This is known as dark social, and it can provide valuable insights into customer behavior.

What is Dark Social?

Dark social refers to social media shares that occur through private channels, such as messaging apps, email, and other private communication channels. These shares are not always trackable through traditional social media analytics tools, as they do not show up as public shares or interactions.

Why is Dark Social Important?

Dark social is important because it represents a significant portion of social media shares and interactions. In fact, according to some estimates, up to 80% of social media shares occur through dark social channels. This means that traditional social media analytics tools may be missing a large portion of customer behavior and interactions.

Tracking and Analyzing Dark Social

While dark social may be difficult to track and analyze, there are several strategies that marketers can use to shed light on this important channel:

• Use shortened URLs: By using shortened URLs with tracking codes, marketers can track clicks and shares that occur through private channels.
• Implement sharing buttons: Adding sharing buttons to content can make it easier for customers to share content through private channels, and can provide better tracking data.
• Monitor referral traffic: Monitoring referral traffic from private domains can provide insights into the source of private shares.
• Use analytics tools: There are several analytics tools available that can help to track dark social shares and interactions, such as GetSocial, ShareThis, and Po.st.

Benefits of Tracking Dark Social

One of the main benefits of tracking dark social is the ability to gain a more complete view of customer behavior and interactions. You can track shares and interactions that occur through private channels. Then, as a marketer, you can gain insights into customer preferences, interests, and behaviors that may not be apparent through traditional social media analytics.

Another benefit of tracking dark social is the ability to optimize content and marketing strategies for private sharing. But, you need to understand how customers are sharing content through private channels. Then, you can optimize content and marketing strategies to better reach and engage customers through these channels.

Conclusion

Dark social represents a significant portion of social media shares and interactions. Tracking and analyzing this channel can provide valuable insights into customer behavior. This is by using shortened URLs, implementing sharing buttons, monitoring referral traffic, and using analytics tools. Marketers, then, can shed light on this important channel and gain a more complete view of customer behavior and interactions. As the use of private social sharing continues to grow, tracking and analyzing dark social is likely to become an increasingly important part of social media marketing strategies.