The ramifications of ‘dark social’ for marketers
Digital marketing budgets have become too skewed towards social media platforms to the point that brands are missing out on creating more “intimate connections” with consumers, the South East Asia director of digital marketing agency RadiumOne has claimed.
Speaking at MediaCom’s Blink conference in Singapore today, Charlie Baillie said that marketers needed to capitalise on the content sharing seen on apps like Whats App and WeChat as a way of tapping into “word-of-mouth” potential.
Describing messenger apps as “dark content”, Baillie said: “What we’re also seeing is a huge disconnect between the amount of sharing taking place on instant messenger and digital media spend. We’re seeing 84 per cent of sharing taking place on apps like WhatsApp and WeChat, while 90 per cent of spend is going on social channels like Facebook.
“There needs to be a rebalancing act of how marketers go about reaching their audience in the most efficient way.
“We all know that word-of-mouth is much more powerful than any marketing, and in a digital sense instant messaging apps are the most pronounced word-of-mouth out there because of how it’s sharing content in a one-to-one basis.”
One way of leveraging that connection is to include a coded hashtag in a web URL that allows brands and publishers to track when a link has been shared between two people, and therefore target them more effectively, Baillie said. Brands such as Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore were among those using it in South East Asia, he added.
“Dark social has a higher penetration in South East Asia than in any other region because instant messengers are very much part of the fabric of our society,” he added. “In Singapore, apps like WhatsApp are as much used for business as well as personal.
“Brands like Marina Bay Sands do see a significant uplift [of traffic] with dark social, because there is a stronger intent in the act of sharing. You share things you know that particular person has a genuine interest in so [the brand] can continue to engage them.”
He added: “The broadcast nature of social media and the lack of intimacy it has created has led to a disconnect between people. And that’s why we are seeing the growth of these instant messenger platforms like WhatsApp and WeChat – people wanting a more intimate connection.”
“And that’s why we are seeing the growth of these instant messenger platforms like WhatsApp and WeChat – people wanting a more intimate connection.”
yes…with each other…not with brands and the crap they’re selling.
get real please.
Replysuch garbage. yet again. where do you think people are finding all that stuff to share on fb messenger wechat and whatsapp on? plucking it out of the air?
they find it on social networks and spread the word on their messaging apps. reduce / minimize your marketing spend on fb and see how that impacts your dark social traffic too.
ppl just like talking about dark social because its the “new thing” like big data was a year ago and they get free clicks and impressions on that. idiotic rambling – so sick of this. agree with ardy – get real, and mumbrella – you can do better.
Reply@ardy and @sickofthis do you people even work in advertising or did you just fail to launch?
ReplyDo you think because you don’t like it then it isn’t happening?
O dear.
Imagine people who actually work in marketing and advertising stimulating conversations about what’s actually happening rather than what they wished was happening..crazy stuff.
Don’t you think that regardless of the source the fact I’ve shared something with you adds a level of intimacy and weight to the communication?
“Don’t you think that regardless of the source the fact I’ve shared something with you adds a level of intimacy and weight to the communication?”
Not really, tokyo bird….depends on what you’re sharing.
Digital gurus make me a little wary because they’re always making sketchy assumptions that are cherry picked to suit their business interests.
Look at the description ‘dark social’…wtf does it even mean?
Why is it being made to sound like some sort of clandestine underground channel? It’s just a bunch of private networks that have gained enormous traction because you can actually talk to those you want without the rest of the nut jobs on Facebook listening in.
Wheres the data that shows what content people share on these private channels? Im not buying the theory that people are sharing ads there because its a more intimate connection.
Working in advertising is one thing…but like most digital folks you seem to be living in a fantasy world of your own imagining.
ReplyHave your say