Dark Social: What it Means for Content Creation

Messaging apps such as WhatsApp are at the forefront of the next phase of social media consumption, 77% of users now choose private over public exchanges of their favourite content and this figure is growing as people become more cautious of ‘over-sharing’. To note: this phenomenon hasn’t gone unnoticed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who bought WhatsApp for $19bn two years ago.

This shift in content sharing should be seen as an opportunity, not a problem for brands: when people share content directly with family or a few close friends it’s usually more relevant and more trusted. Digital innovators such as Burberry are now starting to experiment with ‘campaigns’ on these messaging apps which they are making easy to share among peers.

Burberry chose WeChat as the primary channel for its Chinese New Year campaign. Consumers could digitally unwrap the products and share digital New Year envelopes with friends and family (with the opportunity to win a real limited-edition New Year envelope as an inducement).

How can your brand embrace dark social media?
Dark channels are ideal for small-scale, personalised campaigns and intimate conversations. If you know who you are speaking to, you can target them with personalised messages and offers or discounts. 

Top Tip: If you use shortened URLs for outbound links in your content you can get a deeper analysis of the engagement rates. Shorter links also save your readers some characters if they intend to post it on a social network like Twitter.