Dark Social—private shares on platforms like WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Slack—is driving untrackable, high-value B2B leads. Are your marketing strategies ready to thrive in the shadows?

Every day, I estimate I share 5-10 articles with friends, colleagues, and clients—covering everything from industry trends to the latest AI tool to new cigar releases to travel tips. But here’s the thing: when I spot this info, I rarely post or repost content in public links. Instead, I’m cutting and pasting them into WhatsApp or LinkedIn group chats, email, etc. The result? These shares are virtually untraceable by the brands, content creators, and marketers who originated them. And I’m not alone.

This hidden phenomenon, known as Dark Social, refers to private, untrackable interactions on platforms like WhatsApp, LinkedIn messaging, Slack, and even email. It’s where recommendations are shared, decisions are influenced, and leads are generated—but traditional analytics tools can’t see it.

Now imagine receiving a dozen articles daily via private group chats or DMs, as I often do. That’s a lot of hidden conversations and untrackable leads driving business decisions. For marketers, this is both a challenge and an opportunity: how do you adapt your strategies to thrive in a world where buying decisions happen in the shadows?

What Is Dark Social?
Dark Social was first coined in 2012 by The Atlantic’s Alexis Madrigal to describe the traffic generated by private link sharing. Today, it has evolved into a dominant force in marketing, in B2B marketing in particular, encompassing:
• LinkedIn messages and group chats
• WhatsApp conversations
• Slack channels
• Email threads
• Direct text messaging
• Closed forums

This isn’t just a niche trend. Radically Digital’s 2023 report found that over 80% of B2B buyers rely on private referrals from colleagues or peers during the decision-making process. These conversations rarely take place in public forums but are instead tucked away in private.

Why Dark Social Matters for B2B Marketing

B2B buying decisions often involve multiple stakeholders who trust peers and colleagues more than advertisements or sponsored content. Recommendations shared privately are perceived as more credible and are more likely to drive action.
LinkedIn’s 2023 report on workplace collaboration revealed that 86% of B2B professionals said peer recommendations directly influence their purchase decisions.

B2B purchases typically involve committees, with input from multiple team members. These stakeholders discuss products and services in private LinkedIn or Slack chats, sharing links, case studies, and product reviews.

Dark Social isn’t captured in referral traffic or standard analytics dashboards. A spike in direct traffic? That might be because your white paper was shared in a WhatsApp group of procurement officers, but there’s no way to confirm it.

Real-World Examples of Dark Social in Action

At my agency, I’ve seen how Dark Social plays out firsthand—whether it’s a prospective client mentioning they received one of our stories in a LinkedIn DM or a colleague spotting an article from our newsletter shared in a private WhatsApp group. These hidden exchanges often spark some of the highest-value leads we encounter.

Consider how this might play out at your company:

1. LinkedIn Messages and Group Chats
   A management consultancy recently traced an influx of demo requests to conversations in LinkedIn group chats. Members were privately sharing links to its leadership development workshops after discussing organizational pain points. This helps explain why LinkedIn usage for private messaging has surged by 20% since 2022, according to their Q2 2023 Earnings Report.
2. WhatsApp Business and Group Conversations
   A SaaS company providing inventory management tools noticed an increase in sign-ups from small businesses in Southeast Asia. The source? WhatsApp group chats among regional retailers, where users were sharing trial links with testimonials. According to Statista, WhatsApp had over 2.8 billion users globally by mid-2024, with heavy adoption in regions like Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, making it a hotbed for B2B interactions.
3. Slack and Industry-Specific Communities
   An AI solutions provider found its case study links repeatedly surfacing in a Slack group for data scientists. Members were privately endorsing the company as a trusted vendor, leading to a 15% increase in qualified leads from that audience. It’s no surprise that Gartner’s 2024 B2B Tech Trends Report indicates that 63% of B2B professionals participate in private industry-specific digital communities.

How to Optimize for Dark Social
While you can’t track every WhatsApp share or LinkedIn DM, there are strategies to harness the power of Dark Social:

1. Create Shareable, High-Value Content
   B2B professionals love content they can forward—think concise white papers, infographics, case studies, and demo videos. Make sure your materials address industry pain points, as these resonate most in private conversations. For example, HubSpot’s library of free templates is designed for easy sharing among teams, driving traffic through word-of-mouth referrals.
2. Make Your Links Work Harder
   Tag all links with UTM parameters (tags added to URLs to track the source, medium, and campaign of traffic in analytics tools like Google Analytics) to uncover indirect traffic. For example, a spike in direct traffic to a specific case study might suggest private sharing. While it’s not a complete solution, it helps identify trends.
3. Ask “How Did You Hear About Us?”
   Here’s an obvious one: incorporate this question into your all your forms or onboarding surveys. You’ll often uncover references to WhatsApp or LinkedIn conversations that analytics can’t track.
4. Join the Conversation
   We always advise our clients that, as an extension of their content marketing and social media strategy, they participate in industry LinkedIn groups and WhatsApp communities. You don’t need to hard-sell—sharing valuable insights builds trust and positions your brand as a go-to resource. For example, Salesforce actively contributes to LinkedIn discussions around digital transformation, driving private shares of its content.
5. Equip Advocates with Shareable Resources
   Encourage happy customers to share branded content with their teams. This could be a demo video, a PDF case study, or a customer success story. This is critical since, according to Nielsen’s 2023 Trust in Advertising Study, 92% of people trust peer recommendations, making internal advocacy a powerful tool.

Why You Can’t Ignore Dark Social

Dark Social is another fundamental method by which professionals (and consumers) communicate, collaborate, and decide. With tools like WhatsApp and LinkedIn increasingly dominating professional interactions, marketing teams must pivot from obsessing over trackable data to creating quality (rather than trivial or rehashed) content that thrives in these invisible channels.

I’ve seen firsthand how private sharing drives action—every WhatsApp group chat, LinkedIn DM, and forwarded email is a potential conversion moment, even if no analytics tool can prove it. The real question isn’t whether Dark Social is happening; it’s whether your brand is ready to shine in the shadows.