Your Best Marketing Might Be Happening Where You Can’t Track It
Reader Question
Dear Dawn,
I keep seeing spikes in my website traffic, but I have no idea where they’re coming from. It’s not from social posts, ads, or emails. I know “dark social” is a thing, but how do I actually track what’s working?
I don’t want to waste time on content that’s getting shared in private if I can’t even measure it.
How do I make sense of it?
A Hidden Engine for Hospitality Visibility
A huge chunk of your marketing isn’t happening on your own channels. It’s happening in private conversations between guests, staff, influencers, and insiders.
In hospitality, this is amplified by how recommendations flow:
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DMs between friends planning where to stay
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WhatsApp threads for hen dos or group holidays
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Concierge teams copying links into emails
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Restaurant GMs forwarding menus via Slack
This is what we call dark social: content shared in places analytics can’t see.
And yet, nearly half of your web traffic might come from it.
If your best-performing guide, menu, or blog is being copied into a WhatsApp group or shared via Messenger, it might never register in your reports. But it still drives bookings.
Why This Matters for Hospitality
On Meta platforms like Instagram, Threads, and Facebook, private sharing is one of the most powerful signals that your content deserves reach.
If someone sends your room reveal Reel via DMs, Meta notices—even if you don’t.
More DMs = more algorithmic trust = more reach.
So this isn’t “invisible traffic.” Its influence, amplification, and being part of decision-making conversations you can’t see.
Next Steps
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Share insights guests want to send to friends: FAQs, hidden menu items, tips for the local area.
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Use “Send this to the team” or “Know someone who’d find this useful?” as CTAss
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Add UTM tags to links in menus, blogs, and staff comms.
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Compare how these visitors behave. Dark social traffic often lingers longer than ad clicks.
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Posts shared through Messenger or Threads get bonus reach from the algorithm.
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Even if you can’t track the DMs, Meta can, and rewards you.
- Join GM WhatsApp groups, revenue Slack circles, local F&B Discords.
- Create your own “insider” space, like a loyalty club with early drops or team-only previews
Remember, just because you can’t track it doesn’t mean it’s not working.
❓ Got a hospitality marketing question? Ask Dawn Gribble
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