59% of all Content Sharing activity occurs via ‘Dark Social’ [REPORT]

RadiumOne released new research on Dark Social sharing which polled the opinions of 9,027 consumers in North America, the UK, Europe, Australia and France. The research, conducted by intelligence market researcher Tpoll, revealed that 59% of all online sharing activity in the US takes place via ‘Dark Social’ channels, compared to just 31% via Facebook and 10% on all other social channels combined. Additionally, 36% of ‘Dark Social’ sharing globally occurs via mobile devices illustrating their increasingly pivotal role in consumers’ daily shopping and sharing habits.

‘Dark Social’ refers to any inbound web traffic coming from sources that web analytics are unable to track. It typically occurs when online content is shared by copying a URL and pasting it into messaging platforms such as email, forums, or instant message rather than sharing it via established social networks.

The study, titled ‘The Light and Dark of Social Sharing – Harnessing the Power of Consumer Connections’ reveals an untapped marketing opportunity for brands to engage more closely with consumers:

•     91% of US consumers regularly use Dark Social channels alongside social channels when sharing information online (93% globally).
•     27% only share in the dark, meaning brands with no Dark Social strategy in place know nothing about a more than a quarter of US consumers online – this rises to almost a third globally (32%).
•     The topics discussed most often via Dark Social channels are typically more one-to-one in nature such as Arts & Entertainment (80%), Careers (78%) and Travel (78%).
•     Conversely, the topics most discussed via social channels are more one-to-many such as Pets (84%), Family & Parenting (63%) and Real Estate (55%).

The study is the first to provide a comprehensive picture of online data sharing habits across all social networks and other messaging platforms. The findings illustrate how brands and publishers are overlooking their audiences by limiting social and marketing investment to activities that take place on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Case studies from Time, Inc.’s Marie Claire Magazine and Universal Music Group’s portfolio website for Ellie Goulding highlight how RadiumOne helps marketers and publishers reach and convert new audiences with its data sharing tools, integrated data management and advertising platform, and the globally patented ShareGraphTM technology.

 “Web analytics programs miss much of the social sharing outside of the major networks, but we are able to track this “Dark Social” activity and it’s one of the most valuable sources of data insights with the potential to give brands a huge competitive edge,” said Bill Lonergan, CEO of RadiumOne. “Our new research shows that vastly large, engaged audiences are demonstrating brand affinities by sharing content through popular channels like email and instant messaging. RadiumOne can activate the data from those sharing behaviors to drive outstanding campaign performance for our clients.”

To download report CLICK HERE.