Marketers estimate that nearly half of online conversations about their brand or offerings now occur on "dark" social media channels such as messaging apps and private groups, according to recent research from Capterra.

The report was based on data from a survey conducted in September 2023 among 396 marketing or advertising professionals based in the United States.

Respondents estimate that 47% of all online conversations about their brand or product occur on dark social media channels, on average, and 49% of their brand or product Web traffic can be attributed to dark social media channels, on average.

Some 60% of respondents say dark social media activity is not being tracked efficiently by marketers and 54% say their company does not take dark social media seriously enough.