While establishing your e-commerce business, you need to be open to all sorts of marketing strategies to gain more leads. Everyone knows the importance of having your identity on public social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. But what really turns potential buyers into actual customers is the dark social campaign.
The private sharing of your products linked by customers in their WhatsApp, Facebook message, email, or any other platform comes under dark social marketing. The traditional web analytics cannot track this traffic and its source, which is why it is termed as dark. Despite being difficult to analyse, businesses need to leverage this strategy for maximum conversions.
Let’s get more details about dark social marketing strategy and how it works for online businesses.
Role of Dark Social Marketing Strategy in Lead Generation
Private communication spaces, such as messaging apps and email, are part of dark socialization, where people feel more confident recommending products. In private messaging, you often see discussions on the pros and cons of any product. Likewise, people also rely on the positive remarks and experiences shared in such groups. Here are some of the key perks that demand marketers to adapt their marketing campaign according to such private sharing:
- People prefer to share product links in private groups over public ones.
- Instead of public recommendations, customers trust private recommendations
- The impact of word of mouth from a close social circle is more substantial than that of the general public.
- Private sharings give rise to high conversion rates.
Dark Social Platforms Behind Higher Sales Volume
There are various channels that allow potential customers to communicate and provide recommendations. Here are the top three sources of dark socialization:
- Messaging Apps: This is the most widely used source for product sharing. WhatsApp groups and Facebook Messenger are actively involved in generating leads and traffic to any online store.
- Email: Emails are still highly effective in generating leads. Not just companies can communicate directly with the customers, people also share product links with their social circle through it.
- Online communities: Private forums where people with the same interests come together. They share their thoughts in intimate settings.
Limitations of Dark Social Campaign
At present, there are no such analytical tools to track the private sharing of your products. How much does a business get from private sharing? You cannot find out just like you can track your website traffic, click ratio, etc.
However, soon it is expected that AI will aid in getting insight into private sharing platforms without invading the privacy of the users. How much are your sales boosted by clicking on product links shared in the messaging apps? This insight will help marketers shape their future promotional activities accordingly.
Bottom Line
The importance of dark social marketing strategy is evident, giving e-commerce businesses an edge over competitors. To utilize this strategy, ensure you establish private sharing groups where potential customers can communicate with some privacy. Moreover, easy sharing options and freedom to share your marketing content in private groups serve as a base for dark socialization.
