Dark social is an essential sharing factor — but it’s hidden.
Alexis Madrigal, a senior editor at The Atlantic, coined what might prove to be a very much-discussed term amongst social media naturals for some time to come:
Behold the dark social of online sharing.
Here we go:
Dark Social: What We Can’t Measure
Dark Social
We’re impressed with the sharing numbers from various social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
But how much is socially shared beyond measure, beyond what we can see? How much is shared via email, instant messages and direct messages? How much is shared on darknets, BBS networks and untraceable forums?
According to Alexis Madrigal, senior editor at The Atlantic, quite a lot.
Here’s a tl;dr summary of dark social from The Atlantic:
“1. The sharing you see on sites like Facebook and Twitter is the tip of the ‘social’ iceberg. We are impressed by its scale because it’s easy to measure.
2. But most sharing is done via dark social means like email and IM which are difficult to measure.
3. According to new data on many media sites, 69% of social referrals came from dark social. 20% came from Facebook.
4. Facebook and Twitter do shift the paradigm from private sharing to open publishing. They structure, archive, and monetize your publications.”
When calculating reach numbers for your PR campaigns, are you taking dark social into account?
Read also: Dark Social: The Online Interaction We Can’t See
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Thanks for reading. Please consider sharing my public relations blog with other communication and marketing professionals. If you have questions (or want to retain my PR services), please contact me at jerry@spinfactory.com.
PR Resource: Types of Social Objects
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Types of Social Objects
I’m proposing a specific classification of social object types to map word-of-mouth for different PR activities.
Types of social objects:
1. Curiosity Objects. Is your PR object a curiosity worthy of getting people to talk about it with each other?
“Have you heard about Elon Musk sending a Tesla Roadster into space?”
2. Fear Objects. Is your PR object reflecting a fear or anxiety notable enough to get people talking about it with each other?
“Have you heard how Elon Musk isn’t expecting everyone on the first Mars expedition to survive?”
3. Gap Objects. Is your PR object filling some form of a gap that will make it easier for people to talk about the object with each other?
“Have you heard about Elon Musk launching Neuralink to connect human brains with technology?”
4. Mystery Objects. Is your PR object stimulating conversation between people due to its intriguing nature?
“Have you heard about Elon Musk sleeping on the floor in one of his Tesla factories?”
5. Inspirational Objects. Is your PR object enough of a general interest milestone or inspiration to get people talking to each other about it?
“Have you heard about Elon Musk building a whole city, Solar City, based on renewable energy?”
6. Envy Objects. Is your PR object reflecting something that will make people talk to each other about ambitions and aspirations?
“Have you heard about Elon Musk being nearly broke but still managing to build incredible companies?”
7. Conflict Objects. Is your PR object part of a relevant conflict that engages people enough to discuss it with each other?
“Have you heard about Elon Musk taking on the whole car industry with his electric Teslas?”
8. Ego Objects. Is your PR object usable as a token of self-identification when talking to others?
“Have you heard about Elon Musk practising First Principle thinking?”
9. Anger Objects. Is your PR object provocative enough to evoke an emotional response worthy of discussing with other people?
“Have you heard about Elon Musk smoking weed on the Joe Rogan podcast?”
Learn more: Social Objects and Public Relations
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PR Resource: Social Media PR Issues
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List of Social Media Issues
Social media isn’t just sunshine and rainbows. With massive change come new social media issues we must deal with.
Here are a few examples of social media issues:
Read also: Social Media: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
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PR Resource: How To Measure Attitudes
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How To Measure Public Relations
How do you measure public relations (PR)? I recommend measuring attitudes and behaviours using questionnaires, rating scales, interviews, reports (logs, journals, diaries, etc.), and observations.
My recommendation: I recommend the Sociological Method for getting valuable and actionable results from measuring public relations. This means measuring attitudes and behaviours. 1Silfwer, J. (2021, March 4). Methods of Measuring Public Relations. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://doctorspin.net/measuring-public-relations/
There are a few things to think about to measure attitudes and behaviours correctly. 2Educational Communications and Technology. (2001, August 3). 34.5 Measuring Attitudes. The Handbook of Research for Educational Communications and Technology. … Continue reading
Attitude Measurements in PR
An attitude measurement should meet the following criteria:
There are four main types of attitude measurement approaches:
There are four main types of attitude measurement methods:
I recommend using questionnaires and standardised interviews for public relations measurements:
Validity. Attitudes are psychological, so I strive to clarify what I want to measure, nothing more, nothing less. And I never add any unnecessary complexity.
Reliability. People experience the world differently. But even if attitude measurements aren’t exact, their usefulness for PR more than makes up for it.
Learn more: How To Measure Public Relations
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PR Resource: The Golden Rule of Measuring PR
“What gets measured, gets done.”
— Peter Drucker
Spin Academy | Online PR Courses
The Golden Rule of Measuring PR
If an organisation focuses on the wrong metrics, it might establish, maintain, or develop the wrong long-term relationships. 3The insight is based on 18+ years of practical consulting experience.
The Golden Rule of Measuring PR: Your choice of PR measurement method and trackable PR objectives will impact your organisation more than the resulting measurements ever will.
Choosing the measurement method and objectives for public relations is more critical than getting the actual data from those trackings.
Learn more: The Golden Rule of Measuring PR
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ANNOTATIONS
| 1 | Silfwer, J. (2021, March 4). Methods of Measuring Public Relations. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://doctorspin.net/measuring-public-relations/ |
|---|---|
| 2 | Educational Communications and Technology. (2001, August 3). 34.5 Measuring Attitudes. The Handbook of Research for Educational Communications and Technology. https://members.aect.org/edtech/ed1/34/34 – 05.html |
| 3 | The insight is based on 18+ years of practical consulting experience. |
