Every day, people are talking about your business in places you can’t track. Welcome to dark social—the invisible but powerful force shaping business decisions behind the scenes.
A potential client might share your website link in a WhatsApp group, or a colleague could forward your Instagram post via DMs. None of this activity shows up in your social media analytics, yet it matters to the success of your business.
Ignoring dark social means missing out on valuable insights into how people actually discover and talk about you.
Let’s break down what dark social is, why dark social matters for design and building professionals, and how to use dark social to grow your business.
What is dark social?
Dark social refers to private, untraceable social media shares aka conversations about your brand that happen outside traditional analytics.
- Private social media messages
- Direct messages in workplace apps
- Text messages and emails
Note that dark social is more common among certain demographics (like people 55+) who do not post to their own timelines very often, preferring instead to share things directly with friends. Dark social is also called direct social.
There’s nothing shady about dark social, despite its ominous name. Coined in 2012 by journalist Alexis Madrigal, it just means that your content is being shared in ways that don’t leave a digital footprint you can easily follow.
With public posts, you see the shares and tags and comments pop up in your analytics. But with dark social, you don’t see anything register in your analytics—except maybe a spike in traffic with no clue about the source.
Why should design & building professionals care about dark social?
Word-of-mouth is crucial for industries like architecture, construction and design.
Imagine how your potential clients decide who to hire. They’re likely discussing options directly and privately with colleagues, partners, and trusted peers.
More often than not, consideration and pre-hiring conversations happen on dark social.
Here’s a potential scenario for the architect-selection process:
- A business owner wants to remodel their office space.
- They ask a colleague if they know any good firms.
- The colleague sends over a link to your website via LinkedIn DMs.
- The business owner clicks to your site, browses your work, and later reaches out.
In this scenario, you’ve landed a new project—but you have no idea dark social played a role.
This applies to contractors, interior designers, and builders, too.
While a well-designed website is essential, the reality is that personal recommendations and private shares have more influence than any ad campaign ever will. If you want to grow your business, you can’t ignore dark social—you have to work with it.
If your target audience includes:
- High-net-worth clients
- Corporate developers
- Industry professionals
…then there’s a good chance dark social is already influencing how people find and vet your firm.
Grow your business with dark social—don’t avoid it
Dark social may be hard to track, but you can still leverage it.
Here’s a tip: Instead of trying to control the conversation, control the content.
1. Create content that encourages private sharing.
People don’t share boring content. If you want to get passed around in DMs, you need posts that provide real value.
Your content should be bold, timely, and insightful:
- A game-changing industry insight
- Quick, digestible tips about construction or design trends
- Case studies that are engaging and full of expertise
2. Pay attention to website traffic spikes.
Dark social traffic usually appears as “direct traffic” in Google Analytics. If you see a sudden spike in visits to a specific page, it’s likely being shared privately.
Identify spikes in traffic and look at what content is driving them. Is a particular blog post or portfolio project getting traction? Double down on similar content. Then, repurpose popular posts into new formats—videos, infographics, or newsletters—to expand their reach.
3. Use UTM codes to track link sharing—measure as much as you can.
UTM codes can help you measure dark social’s impact by pointing to the source of your traffic.
For example, instead of sharing your generic homepage link, you could use:
👉 https://yourbiz.com?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=message&utm_campaign=referral
You can use unique UTM links for different social platforms. Then, you can see how much traffic comes from each link—even when they’re privately shared. This won’t solve dark social completely, but it helps piece together the puzzle.
4. Ask clients how they found you.
Just ask. It’s one of the simplest but most effective ways to track dark social.
- Add a “How did you hear about us?” field to your contact form.
- Referral sources should include: “Social Media,” “From a Friend,” or “Google Search.”
Keep notes in discovery calls, too. If a lead says, “I saw your work in a local moms Facebook group,” make a note of it. People may not remember the exact path they took to find you, but patterns will emerge over time.
5. Use formats optimized for private sharing.
Some content types are naturally easier to share in private channels:
- Short-form text posts with strong, thought-provoking insights
- Well-designed images and infographics that look good when pasted into a chat
- Natively posted videos (uploaded directly to platforms instead of linked)
Embrace the dark (social)
In the end, the best marketing isn’t what you post publicly—it’s what people say about you in private.
Instead of worrying about the data you can’t track, switch focus to what you can control.
Embrace dark social by creating valuable, shareable content that makes people want to spread the word. Your business depends on relationships, referrals, and reputation. The reality is that private sharing is already playing a role in your success—whether you see it or not.
We’re experts in our field. Reach out for a consultation and see what Projio can do for you.