Advertising Question of the Week: What Is Dark Social?

It sounds sinister. Like someone lurking in a corner talking smack about you. (Popularly known as high school.)

But dark social refers to the social sharing of content that occurs outside of what web analytics programs are able to measure. And it often gets a bad rap. Especially from seasoned marketers. 

Dark Social Is Traffic That Comes from the Share of a URL 

Yet analytics tools like Google view it as direct traffic. So companies that are measuring their web traffic solely through old-school web analytics are missing key insights about how folks are really discovering their content and products.

Back in the dark ages of the internet, arriving at a site was predominantly a straight shot. If you wanted shoes, you went to Zappo’s site. If you wanted to start raising chickens or alligators (or both because you have issues), you went… to some other site. 

But now there are multiple ways one lands on a site:

Native Mobile Apps 

Mobile apps either fire up a browser instance in-app (such as Twitter), or force your current browser to open a new browser window with the URL in question in the browser. Either way, the browser goes directly to the site and looks like direct traffic to Google.

Email 

For the (perceived, at least) sake of privacy and security, most email-providers like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook don’t pass a referrer when a user clicks the link.

Chat 

Whether it’s web/desktop based chat, or through chat-based native mobile apps, chat clients of all kinds don’t pass referrers either, leaving Google in the dark about their true origin. 

Even texting is considered dark social.

Many estimates state that 84% of social shares are dark. And this is precisely why it falls out of favor with those of the marketing ilk who rely on analytical insights to structure their social media strategies.

As such, dark social is often given labels such as ‘challenging’,  ‘worrisome’ and ‘terrifyingly horrible’. The last one is an exaggeration. And frankly, all of these words are restrictive in their scope.  

Marketers who want to achieve success with their social media marketing are approaching dark social from a new - and necessary - angle. And it’s this:  

Dark Social Is An Opportunity

Dark social has a huge impact on traffic. It reaches unique demographics; particularly the 55+ crowd, over 40% of whom share only through dark social. Dark social is

everywhere. And we mean, everywhere. It’s especially prevalent in industries like personal finance, food and drink, travel and executive searches. 

It’s an amazing marketing opportunity in that its data gives a detailed representation of consumers’ genuine interests. Getting familiar with this information allows marketers to access a targeted audience of connections for their clients.

“How do I get the data though?” you might be asking. “Didn’t you just say that dark social can’t be measured by web analytics?”

Settle down. 

Dark Social Is Getting Integrated into Digital Marketing Tactics

So far it’s slow-going, because it’s relatively restricted. And it should be. Sharing is often private for a reason and it would be rather callous of brands to hunt for insights among private conversations between friends. Or alligator and chicken breeders. 

But there are some tactics and tools marketers are employing to tap into some of this valuable information. For instance, they’re:

• Shortening URLs for outbound links in content and emails, then tracking how many clicks those links receive.

• Making sharing easier with thoughtfully placed, sophisticated share buttons that match the quality of content. 

• Watching other social platforms by checking for a simultaneous spike in link traffic coming from sites like Reddit or Facebook.

• Using some of the newer tools that track dark social traffic origins and analyze their outcomes.

And as time marches on, the tools and tactics will become more defined and elaborate. But dark social will probably always defy algorithms. And as long as ethics are in play, there will be no way to game email or people’s instant messages or texts. 

Which, even as marketers, we see as a good thing. There really is such a thing as too much information. 

Creating Impactful Advertising in a World of Distractions

Terence Winter, the guy behind Boardwalk Empire, once said, “Any distraction tends to get in the way of being an effective gangster.”

So why are we citing Mr. Winter? 

Mostly because it sounds cool. But it’s also true. And not just for gangsters. While the wild world of digital has opened multiple doors for marketers and advertisers, the countless distractions that are part and parcel with this medium have made it more difficult to create impactful advertising. 

Your Target Market Is Surrounded By Distractions 

Some studies suggest that the average consumer is exposed to up to 10,000 brand messages per day. And that’s today. As marketers have increasing numbers of channels to reach their customers, that number will keep climbing.

Add to that how often people switch between screens. That figure currently stands at around 21 times. No, not per day. Per hour. Short attention spans are seriously trending. #WaitWhat

And it turns out that the short attention span is the perfect petri dish for growing that marketing bacteria strain known as click bait. Honestly, click bait is gross. Like bacteria. Plus it rarely offers any real value. Like bacteria. It’s a desperate attempt to get attention and is devoid of anything of value to a potential customer.

So Consider What the Customer Needs Vs. What You Wish to Achieve

When marketers understand precisely who the customer is, they are better equipped to create attention-grabbing campaigns that also add value. A tall order these days.

To shoot through the distractions, companies need to create simpler messages. And they need to communicate them in a sharper way. But not in the repeated stabbing manner of click bait. Rather, companies should be sharpening their focus on what we’ll call the Three Es of Impactful Advertising: 

• Entertain
• Emote
• Engage

(Humor helps too. But the "Three Es and An H of Impactful Advertising" doesn’t deliver the same punch. So we’ll blend it in with Emote.)

That’s why it’s essential that your company understands its customers. For example, let’s say you run a funeral home. Most see this as a somber business. You don’t agree because, well, you went into the business. And it doesn’t seem all that dark to you. So in an effort to make things more light-hearted, you decide your advertising needs to be humorous. Put the “fun” back in funeral.  

Super bad idea. It would be akin to running a toy company

and employing a knife-wielding clown as your spokesperson. Or any clown. Because they’re just plain frightening. To nutshell it, marketing will have more impact if it elicits the right emotions for your target market. 

Once you’ve got some solid content that’s entertaining, emotional and/or engaging, consider this:

You Can Also Take Advantage of the Distractions

Though this applies across all forms of advertising, it’s particularly relevant to advertising on social. 

Once again, using distractions to your advantage requires you to know, first and foremost, the specific audience segment you wish to target. Of course, there will be multiple segments. But trying to go for all of them at once is a waste of resources. So focus on audience that’s most likely to be moved by your message and then blanket the social sites they frequent with advertising that doesn’t look or feel like advertising. This is also known as native advertising. 

Native advertising isn’t about earning clicks. Rather, it serves to provide value through the above-mentioned relevant content. Now, pay attention. Ask yourself, what’s catching your audience’s attention while they’re crawling around online with 13 tabs open at the same time? What, pray tell, is the buzz?

Know What’s Trending 

Get familiar with what’s relevant on every platform and channel your audience is reading. Then adjust your campaign to focus on what’s in demand. Most platforms offer some sort of tool that indicates what’s trending. Some can even give you measurements of the engagement levels of certain articles and topics. 

Check in with Reddit, who brand themselves “the front page of the internet.” Cuz they sorta are. You’re bound to get some juicy trending nuggets there. You can also use tools that are devoted specifically to scouring and sharing top headlines - some of which are free, while others charge a fee.

Streamline Your Execution

Trends happen fast. So forget about over-planning. You have to take action. 

That means if your spirit animal is a manatee or a sloth, then turn things over to those guided by the hummingbird or the ferret. Start streamlining that execution. Set some ground rules - like avoiding any topics of a political or traumatic nature. That’s just good practice. And be sure everyone’s on board with a brand persona that defines how your brand positions itself and why. Be clear about your values. 

Then get on it. While using trends to your advantage, it’s best to tweak timely campaigns in motion and learn as you go. Consider outsourcing the ad buy portion so you can keep

your focus on creative reworking as needed. And plan on having someone specifically monitoring your campaigns regularly so they can keep pace with trends rather than just analyzing the facts and watching your competitors grab your audience. 

The ultimate goal? Your company is trending. Or course, for all the right reasons… 

Is Your Content up to Snuff?

Whether you’re cutting through the distractions or using them to your advantage, it don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that swing. And that swing is content.

Yes, you’ll need to fine-tune your strategy to find the most timely placement so you’ll be popping up multiple times. But what’s the point of getting premium real estate if you don’t have anything to to put on it? Or, even worse, populating it with false or misleading content. 

Know your audience. Know what they want and what they need. Know those important touch points so you - and NOTHING else - will be at the top of the their minds when the time comes to make a purchase. Distractions be damned.

Or just maybe, blessed. 

Advertising Question of the Week - How Do I Pick the Best Images for My Website?

When you meet someone, what’s the first thing you remember? 

Unless they have a particularly noteworthy voice (Fran Drescher), an unusual name (Umbrella McGillicuddy), or a strange odor (enchiladas), chances are when you meet someone for the first time, you remember something VISUAL.

Visuals are a big component of what makes up a first impression. So you might want to ponder this:

What Visual First Impression Does Your Website Make?

Unlike that drunk uncle at every family holiday gathering, your website does not have the luxury of making an impression by noisily kicking over a chair while running naked through the kitchen. Thus, it relies strongly on visuals to make that first impression. 

Yes, your website must stand on the power of its content. But if the images are shoddy, who’s gonna bother with the content? Are you going to buy a Tesla from a guy in a polyester leisure suit? 

Maybe you would. Especially if you have a fondness for leisure suits. Or polyester. But you get the point. The images you use on your website are going to be a reflection of your company, service, brand and product. They’re going to send out a message. 

So if you want that message to say, “I’m awesome,” rather than “I am so NOT awesome,” consider the following when picking out your images.

1. Be Sure They Can Relate

This basically means that your images should be relevant. But not to the point of hackneyed over-kill. 

We’re going to assume that if you’re at the point where you’re selling a product or service on your website, you’ve done the footwork to determine your audience. So now you want to be sure your images relate to them.

For example, if you’re selling hiking boots, you’re targeting the hearty woodsy types. Thus, you’re not going to have a photo of happy office dwellers high-fiving after winning that big account. 

OBVIOUSLY. 

But what might be less obvious is the need to avoid too many

clichés -  images of nothing but rugged trails, good looking people with big sweaters, mossy logs, log cabins, logs on fire -  and to focus on other details in your images that appeal to the different subgroups of your audience. What’s appealing to a man in terms of hiking boots is going to be different for a woman or a child. Even if it’s subtle.

So don’t ignore them.

2. Make Your Images Energetic

Not cheerleader energetic. That’s annoying. But generally speaking, you’ll want to choose active images over passive ones. Unless you’re selling sleep aids. Or harps.

So how do you know if an image is energetic? 

It’s going to have a vibrant and vital color scheme, sharp images and some sizzle. A little crackling. It’s going to inspire your visitor to take action rather than veg on the couch and contemplate their navels. 

And if you’re posting multiple images such as albums, slide shows or galleries, avoid overpopulating with every possible image. Stick with the active images.

3. Don’t Underestimate the Value of Uniqueness

Uniqueness may not have been something you wanted to be branded with in high school. This is not the case with your website images. 

By unique, we don’t mean campy high school movie weird and quirky. Napoleon Dynamite is probably not the best candidate to sell your goods. 

We’re talking images that aren’t likely to show up on a competitor’s website. Or even a non-competitor’s website. Ideally, it’s only on YOUR website.

Website designers are all too familiar with the S-word. Stock photo. 

And if stock photos are all that your budget allows, it’s not going to ruin you. But when conducting a search, dig deeper into the results rather than settling on an image on the first few pages. They’re much less likely to be used on other sites that way. 

Even better, use your smartphone to grab some of your own images. Or if you have the funds, employ the services of a professional photographer.  

4. They Need to Be A Rep for Your Brand

And one big consideration is color. 

Not only does color promote brand recognition, but color also has deep psychological connections. For example, red can illicit a sense of power and excitement (McDonald’s), while blue denotes determination, ambition, and goals (IBM). 

If you’ve got a highly recognizable logo and color palette, stick with the dominant colors in your brand for your website images. Every successful advertising firm knows the importance of consistency. Consistency builds trust. And trust sells.  

But your brand goes beyond your color palette and logo. It’s rather like a person. So just what kind of person is your brand?

Bold? Aggressive? Cheerful? Funny? Happy? Sleepy? Sneezy? Doc?

Think of your website as a person you want to introduce to the world. What images will best capture that person?  

5. And Yes, Size Does Matter

The most important thing to remember is that you can always decrease the size of large image and retain its quality. But try increasing the size of a smaller image and you won’t have the same luck. Eventually you’ll have a pixelated cryptic mess. 

Still, as we all know, bigger isn’t always better. Using too large an image can negatively impact your website’s performance by slowing it down. So you’ll have to find the balance.

Determining size also matters because you’ll need to find files that will work within those specifications. They’ll also need to work effectively across various devices and screen sizes. So think about it.

What Are Your Website Images Saying?

You don’t want them talking smack about you. That isn’t going to do wonders for your reputation. Or your revenue. 

But if you’re not sure what they’re saying, you can always seek help from experts in the field who can guide you in the right direction and get your website images doing what they need to be doing…

Talking you up. 

Question of the Week: How Will the Lack of Net Neutrality Impact Influencer Marketing?

That’s a good question. And if we had a crystal ball (or believed in them) we could answer it (or pretend to). 

As professional marketers, we can only guess what the impact will be on influencer marketing at this point. What we can say for certain is that there WILL be an impact.

And it might happen sooner than later.

What Was the Benefit of Net Neutrality?

Those who favored the now halcyon days of net neutrality are concerned that Internet providers will start giving preferential treatment to sites that pay them or that they own. And if history has anything to say about it, that sounds about right. 

Furthermore, without net neutrality, those same providers are able to legally discriminate against sites that they don’t like. And they can choose to not like them for any reason at all. 

It doesn’t even have to be a good reason. They may simply not like the cut of the site’s jib. As such, they will make it much harder and SLOWER for people to access those sites.

Now, since influencer marketers rely on their websites,

content, and audience engagement to grow, they’re obviously concerned that without those fair access principles in place, their presence will be weakened. (Like going from a triple shot espresso to a cup of diner coffee.) 

Especially if the ISP Grand Poobahs - like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast - start placing commercial interests  first. 

So what does this all mean?

The Loss of Net Neutrality Will Change Influencer Marketing

And while several ISPs have publicly vowed to maintain neutrality, not all of them have. Over time, this is bound to have some repercussions.

1. Say Good-Bye to Unlimited Data

The repeal of net neutrality will likely be felt on the mobile level first. Broadband companies - if they so choose - could put the kibosh on streaming services and choose pay-by-play data packages instead. 

Influencers who rely on Instagram and Snapchat will probably see a reduction in the streaming content these platforms produce. Again, to keep data usage costs down.

2. Influencers Will Have to Charge More to Brands and Agencies

With net neutrality, audiences became accustomed to getting their content quickly. But as this starts to change, influencers and influencer networks will have to start paying out to the ISPs to get speed. (Sounds vaguely like a drug deal.) This cost will then be passed down to the agencies and brands who hire influencers.

Which leads us to point #3.

3. All Hail the Micro-Influencer

It could potentially become more and more expensive for brands to work with high-tier influencers. So rather than use a well-known influencer (think Beyoncé), they may have to leverage several micro-influencers (think The Backstreet Boys) across a campaign to get the word out. 

For the money they’re paying, these agencies will need to squeeze as much out of those micro-influencers as possible. And those Backstreet Boys are just not the chipper upstarts they once were. 

4. “You Can’t Put a Price on Knowledge”

Unless you’re an ISP.  

The thing is, most Americans get their news and info from search platforms and web-based encyclopedias. The sheer volume of content and the archival nature of the data on these sites makes them more expensive to host. As ISPs are now free to charge these “heavy-hitter” sites, the sites are then forced to charge users a subscription fee to offset those costs. 

And don’t believe for a minute that you can just get all your information from the “Uncle Larry’s Cavalcade of Interesting Facts” website. If the ISP feels that Uncle Larry wronged them, they’ll make it really difficult to see Uncle Larry. Or make him “disappear.” 

While this last point on paying for knowledge has a less direct impact on influencer marketing, it is a scary thought overall.

The Loss of Net Neutrality May Not Be That Bad

Again, we just don’t know.

It would be nice to believe that these ISP empires will recognize they don’t need to make any more money. It would also be nice to believe that nobody ever suffers. Especially puppies.

The bottom line of the loss of net neutrality could very well mean higher prices for the end user. At first, it may not seem like much. But who knows what it says for the long run?  

We sure don’t. But we can guess.

3 Ways for Marketers to Incorporate a Customer-Centered Mindset

In any business, a customer-centric mindset is essential. Because, with all due respect to mama, the refrigerator magnet should actually say, “If the customer ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” 

That’s the reality.

But another reality is how easy it is to forget the customer-centered mindset when the work really starts flowing. Especially for marketers who tend to have less client-facing time than the folks in sales and support. 

The irony is that it’s the many clients that create the work flow that keeps you so busy that causes you lose to focus on those very clients that live in the house that Jack built. 

It’s certainly something of a quagmire. 

So How Do You Maintain That One-Pointed Focus on the Customer?

Keep your eye on the prize. Not that we’re in the business of objectifying your customers, but they’re the “prize” in this case. 

To help campaigns resonate with prospects and customers, it’s absolutely necessary to employ a customer-centric mindset. This, in turn, will lead to increased sales and happier, more engaged clients. Put all of this together, and it’s going to differentiate you from your competitors. And by differentiate, we mean in a good way. A shiny way. A winning way. And what are you going to win?

More customers, i.e. the “prize.” So let’s begin.

#1. Take A Strategic Approach to Technology

How personalized is your correspondence with your clients? 

Get personal. And we don’t mean addressing emails with

“Hey there friend o’mine” rather than “To whom it may concern.” They’re both inauthentic. Especially the former, which borders on insultingly so.

But keeping it real with a high level of personalization takes time and effort. We get it.  

This is where technology steps in. You can scale using marketing automation. All sorts of marketing software can help you to automate those time-sucking tasks like prospecting emails, creating invitations to events or formulating on-boarding communications. 

This will free up more time for you to focus on delivering a personalized experience to customers while mastering Level 3,461 on Candy Crush. Ah, technology.

But wait! Here’s the caveat. You must be clear about your goals to develop a strategy with technology. Because with all of that smooth automation, your internal goals could quickly become your main focus - and at the cost of the customer experience. So don’t scale a task if there’s the risk it’s going to frustrate your customer. It’s not worth it.   

Which brings us to step #2. 

# 2. Communicate on a Human Level

With the convenience of texting and emails, nobody ever has to talk on the phone again. But that doesn’t mean nobody WANTS to. There are plenty of people who still want to do precisely that.

As we’ve moved into deeper into the digital age, we’ve had to start making sense of when and how certain types of conversations need to  happen. So with each interaction, ask

yourself, “Does this response warrant a personal touch, or can it be automated?”

When you get down to bare bones, business is still about human engagement. No existing technology can offer up the intuition and experience of a human. It doesn’t understand the competitive landscape. And it sure can’t forge emotional connections. 

When it makes sense, take the extra time for in-person meetings and phone calls to maintain those pathways of human connection.

#3. Remember That Your Customers Change

We all do.

But if you have long-standing clients for whom you’ve done the exact same service year after year because it’s what’s worked in the past, you can’t just write them off. They might not be as satisfied as you think.

It’s like that aunt who continues to buy you an airplane-themed gift every year for your birthday because you loved airplanes when you were, like, seven. You’ve even mentioned that airplanes don’t really do it for you anymore, but she just won’t listen. And frankly, you’re feeling pretty unvalidated.

Do you really want to weight down your clients with metaphorical airplanes?

Not only have you stopped listening to their needs, but you’re operating in the dark. You’ve also missed an important opportunity to validate who they are. You’ve essentially forgotten them. 

This is another reason you want to keep interacting with you customers. It’ll help you avoid turning them into categories. 

Consider customer focus groups. They can help you understand what clients need and which messages are hitting home.

Taking the Customer First Approach Is Not Limited to Marketers

And it shouldn’t be. We all gotta get along.

Project managers and creatives need to work together. Sales and marketing execs need to work together. CFOs and CEOs need to work together. There’s this whole working together theme here. 

But ultimately, success is achieved when EVERYONE works together to put the real people who matter first. 

And that would be, ahem, the customers. You know, the prize.  

So listen to them. Do the necessary work to solicit their input. Then bring that input to life. 

That’s the ultimate job of the marketer.