Organisation-led engagement with consumers in hidden social spaces

Technological advances, the internet and social media provide consumers with instant means of communication where participants engage in the exchange of information about innumerable topics. Although most of these communications occur in the public domain within online groups and communities, some forms of communication are private and obscured from public view. Academics and practitioners refer to this supply of hidden social sharing and conversations that are invisible to most analytics programs as ‘dark social’. This conceptual paper explores these communications, with respect to instant messaging, and considers how organisations can lead conversations to engage consumers in hidden social spaces. This is particularly apt when hidden social conversations concern brands, products and services as the subject of the communication. When appropriate to engage with consumers in hidden social, organisations must be clear on their role in the process and approach their hidden social connections with mindfulness and consistency.