Social Media
Dark Social
Dark social refers to the sharing of content through private channels like messaging apps, email, and SMS that are difficult to track with standard analytics. It represents a significant portion of social sharing activity.
Examples
A reader shares a news article link via a private WhatsApp group, making it impossible for the publisher to attribute the referral traffic.
Best Practices
Use UTM parameters and share buttons with tracking codes to capture as much dark social activity as possible.