Navigate the Hidden Side of Social Sharing and Use it for Your PR Strategy
If your brand regularly posts content online and tracks traffic via analytics, you may have noticed something puzzling: a large chunk of your web traffic comes from “direct” sources. The platform can’t identify where the visitor came from.
It wasn’t from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or search engines. It just… showed up.
Welcome to the world of dark social.
It’s a fast-growing phenomenon that marketers and PR professionals in the Philippines can no longer afford to ignore.
What Is Dark Social?
Dark social refers to online content that is shared through private, usually encrypted, channels where traditional analytics tools can’t track the source. These include:
- Facebook Messenger
- Viber
- SMS
- Private Telegram groups
- Closed Facebook or Reddit groups
When someone copies a link from your website and sends it to a friend via Messenger or a family Viber group chat, it doesn’t show up as “social” traffic—it shows up as “direct.” As a result, your analytics miss the full picture of what content is actually resonating.
In the Philippine context, this is especially important. Filipinos are among the world’s heaviest users of messaging apps, and family and barkada group chats are often where product recommendations, forwarded articles, memes, and even crisis information circulate.
Why Does It Matter for PR?
Public relations is all about shaping perception and driving conversations. But if your audience is discussing your brand in group chats instead of public posts, and you’re not aware of it, you’re missing valuable insights.
Dark social is:
- Organic: Shares via messaging apps often mean someone really wanted their friend to see it. Think about how many reels you send your friends in a day!
- Trust-based: What people send in DMs is usually more trusted than a random ad.
- Unfiltered: You get a glimpse into what your audience values enough to share, even in private.
For PR professionals and brand communicators, this opens up both a challenge and an opportunity.
How to Monitor Dark Social (Even If You Can’t Track It Directly)
Since dark social is, well, “dark” or ultimately unknown to you short of asking your audience once by one, you won’t find a single tool that gives a neat report of who shared what via Messenger or Viber. But there are smart ways to observe, estimate, and react.
1. Use UTM Parameters in Every Shared Link
When sharing articles, campaign pages, or press releases on social media, use custom UTM-tagged URLs.
Example:
www.brandname.ph/promo?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=june_sale
If someone copies and pastes the link without the tags and traffic appears as “direct,” you can infer it likely came from dark social.
Tools like Google Analytics, Bit.ly, or Google’s Campaign URL Builder help track this.
2. Check Engagement Gaps in Analytics
If a blog post has few Facebook shares but thousands of pageviews—and much of the traffic is listed as “direct”—that’s a hint it’s being circulated via private messaging.
Look at:
- Time on page (long stays = engaged readers)
- Bounce rate
- Regional data (e.g., high activity in certain regions, but no ad or post targeting in that specific area)
3. Monitor Messenger and Viber Public Channels
Some Messenger bots and Viber business accounts allow public replies. Monitor those conversations. Also, join relevant public Viber communities or Facebook groups and observe which links and brands people are posting or discussing.
4. Ask Users Directly
Just like we said: short of asking them directly, there’s not many ways to find out about your audience’s private messages. So ask!
In feedback forms, email surveys, or customer polls, include the question: “How did you find out about us?”
Then, include “Messenger / Viber group” as a specific choice.
You’d be surprised how often that’s the real answer.
5. Social Listening + Manual Scanning
Tools like BrandMentions, BuzzSumo, or even Google Alerts won’t detect private chats, but they can spot sudden spikes in public chatter, indicating something may be spreading behind the scenes.
How to Use Dark Social in Your PR Strategy
1. Design for Shareability
If you know content may be shared in DMs, make it easy to copy, skim, and forward.
Tips:
- Use clear headlines and preview images (what appears when links are pasted)
- Include quick “TL;DR” (Too Long; Didn’t Read) summaries
- Add mobile-first formatting for pages that open via links in Messenger or IG DMs
2. Use Messaging Apps as Official Channels
Instead of just guessing what’s happening in chats, be present in them.
- Start a Viber business channel for updates and promos
- Offer customer service via Facebook Messenger bots
- Encourage signups to exclusive WhatsApp groups for VIP offers
Once you’re in the space, you can listen and engage more directly.
3. Seed Content Strategically
Want something to go viral privately? Seed it where dark social lives:
- Ask micro-influencers to share links in closed communities
- Partner with community admins to send promos to group chats
- Create “share with a friend” moments in your call to action. As in: “Know someone who needs this tip? Forward this link to your team group chat!”
4. Use Word-of-Mouth Metrics in Your Reports
Traditional PR metrics like media mileage and AVE (advertising value equivalent) don’t capture private sharing.
Instead, track:
- Spike in direct traffic
- Engagement per region
- Referral purchases (i.e., customers referred by friends)
- Screenshots or mentions from private groups (if available)
5. Prepare for Crisis Situations
During community crises or product issues, misinformation spreads fastest in dark social.
Having pre-written FAQ links, ready-to-share infographics, and responsive Messenger teams can help steer the narrative in real time.
How a PR Agency Can Help
A PR agency with digital experience can:
- Design campaigns built for private sharing
- Monitor multi-channel buzz beyond public posts
- Set up UTM-tracked content for clearer reporting
- Develop dark social-friendly content (PDFs, cheat sheets, SMS-friendly links)
- Respond quickly to private chatter that may grow into public concern
In the Philippine setting, where tsismis (gossip) spreads fast and family group chats are more influential than news outlets, your agency’s insight into dark social could be your brand’s secret weapon.
Go Dark or Go Home
Dark social isn’t a threat—it’s a hidden force of influence.
It’s where Filipinos talk, share, and decide what brands to trust and what issues to care about.
The brands that win in this space aren’t the loudest—they’re the ones that create content worth sharing behind the scenes.
So track what you can, design for what you can’t see, and consider tapping a PR partner like NGP IMC to help navigate the invisible side of your brand’s reputation.