The Rise of Dark Social: Why the Most Valuable Shares Are the Ones You Can’t See

Check your brand’s analytics dashboard. Impressions are up, likes are steady, saves spike after a campaign—but then there’s a black box. Where did those DMs go? Who dropped your post in a group chat? Why did a WhatsApp link spark a run of sales that public comments never predicted?

Welcome to dark social.
Coined in 2012 by The Atlantic, “dark social” refers to any online sharing that happens outside public feeds and comment threads—think private DMs, encrypted messaging, group chats, or even the old-fashioned “copy link, paste in iMessage.” In 2025, dark social isn’t a niche—it’s the main event. According to both Forrester and GWI, a majority of online content sharing now happens in private, untrackable channels.

But while the public feed still gets the likes, it’s often in the shadows where decisions are made, loyalty is built, and brands actually grow.

What Actually Counts as Dark Social?

• DMs on Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat
• WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Discord, Slack, Facebook Messenger
• Private Reddit threads, close friends’ Stories, invite-only forums
• “Copy link” shares, screenshots sent via text or email
• Any interaction you can’t see or directly track in analytics

Dark social isn’t anti-social; it’s just invisible to the public eye—and, for most marketers, to their data dashboards. But it’s where real recommendations, trust, and intent pass from person to person.

Why Is Dark Social Dominant Now?

1. Private, Trust-Based Networks

Public feeds are noisy and performative. Private channels are where real opinions and recommendations travel, trusted by friends, family, and communities.

2. Algorithm Fatigue

As platforms become more algorithm-driven, people turn to DMs and group chats for authentic sharing, away from the chaos of public feeds.

3. The Privacy Revolution

Encrypted and ephemeral messaging has become mainstream. Users value control and intimacy, creating even more activity in dark social channels.

The Role of the “Living” Automated Brand Feed

Here’s the paradox: most dark social sharing starts with something a brand posts publicly—but only if it feels alive and “share-worthy.”

• Automated feeds that show rhythm, variety, behind-the-scenes, humor, and real culture (not just polished campaigns) become the “raw material” for private sharing.
• Think of your routine brand content as an “ambient signal”—the steady hum in the background of your audience’s digital life, always ready to be screen-shotted or dropped into a group chat.
• The best-performing brand feeds in 2025 are rarely those that look the most “automated.” They feel organic, consistent, and present—even if they’re orchestrated by AI.

Should Automation Look More Organic?

Absolutely.
When your feed is too robotic or transparently sales-driven, fans are less likely to share your content in private. But when your automation creates a presence that feels natural, human, and sometimes even playful, sharing happens organically, in both public and private spheres.

Presence vs. Engagement

In the public feed, engagement (likes, comments) is visible but surface-level. In dark social, presence—how often your brand is quietly shared, referenced, or discussed out of view—is the real currency. Conversions often come from these unseen shares, sometimes long after the initial post.

Analytics in the Shadows: What You Can—and Can’t—Measure

You can’t see most dark social events directly. But there are ways to infer their impact:

• Copy Link/Share: Most platforms now let you track how often your content is copied or shared, even if you can’t see where it goes.
• Direct Traffic: Spikes in website visits with no clear source often signal a burst of private sharing.
• Correlation: A jump in brand search volume or “unexplained” sales can follow a surge of sharing in group chats or DMs.
• Listening and Surveys: Asking customers “How did you hear about us?” or tracking branded keyword searches can surface the role of dark social.

Smart brands now look for patterns rather than absolute numbers—seeing dark social as a force multiplier, not just a missing report.

How Leading Brands Navigate and Leverage Dark Social

1. Build for Shareability, Not Just for Likes

• Focus on posts that spark “this is so us” reactions—content meant to be screenshotted, DMed, or dropped in a group chat.
• UGC prompts, relatable memes, and behind-the-scenes content work best.

2. Orchestrate Consistent, “Alive” Presence

• Automated posts create a rhythm, ensuring your brand is never absent from the conversation.
• Synchronize content drops across platforms so there’s always something new for fans to share—publicly and privately.

3. Watch for Indirect Signals

• Track “copy link” metrics and direct traffic to spot when your content is traveling privately.
• Use social listening to surface UGC born in private channels.

Final Thoughts

Dark social isn’t a threat—it’s the new default.
The future of brand growth isn’t about just counting likes or comments, but about building a living presence that people want to share, trust, and talk about—wherever that conversation happens.

Automate with care. Show up consistently. Make your brand the one people want to share in the dark.

Read our articles Brat Summer: Inside the Messy, Maximalist Trend of the Year and Reposts, Reels ‘Friends’ Tab, and Friend Map: Where is Instagram Headed? to get the full picture of how brand marketing is shifting into friend marketing.

And check out Rkive AI for Editing to learn how to produce high-frequency low-artifice content that aligns with this trend.

Sources

• Forrester. “Are You in the Dark About Dark Social?” https://www.forrester.com/blogs/are-you-in-the-dark-about-dark-social/
• GWI. “How brands are capitalizing on the rise of dark social.” https://www.gwi.com/blog/brands-capitalizing-on-the-rise-of-dark-social
• Mobilise Agency. “Dark social: the blind spot in marketing attribution.” https://mobilise.agency/2025/03/dark-social-the-blind-spot-in-marketing-attribution/
• Wikipedia. “Dark social media.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_social_media

About the author

Alberto Luengo is the founder and CEO of Rkive AI, a leading expert in AI for content automation and growth. He shares real-world insights on technology, strategy, and the future of the creator economy.