Dark social is the new social media – insights from BBM’s Adam Pattison

Pattison made the statement when he visited South Africa to increase BBM’s profile and presence here. BBM is investing in its South African business to serve the three million monthly active local users and grow its community.

Pattison told attendees of an event hosted by the Mobile Marketing Association SA that messaging apps are now bigger than social networks. He went on to explore the concept of dark social media in his presentation.

media update’s Nikita Geldenhuys caught up with him to find out what opportunities dark social media can offer brands.

What is ‘dark social’ and how is it different from social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter?

Dark social can be defined as the digital sharing of content that occurs under the radar of traditional social content measurement technology platforms.

However, it is probably easier to picture it as the sharing of content via messaging platforms; email, SMS, and forum posts.

Where it is different to the sharing of content on Facebook or Twitter, is that it tends towards a more niche or personal group of people. [It is] one-to-one sharing or small group messaging, where the participants are close friends or colleagues with a shared and personal interest in the content.

Facebook and Twitter, however well targeted and backed by data, tend towards broadcast and a larger, more impersonal group.

Your presentation showed messaging apps are growing faster in monthly active users than social networking apps. How fast is it growing and why?

The figures vary from source to source, but there seems to be an acceptance that the big four messaging apps [WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and Viber] overtook the big four social media apps [Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram] in 2015 and now have well over three billion users globally.

I will caveat this by saying that social platforms like Facebook also run messaging solutions, so it is not as if there is not substantial crossover in the numbers. That being said, the numbers are indicative of the shift in usage trend and how social media has evolved, particularly now that these messaging platforms have morphed into social platforms in and of themselves.

A lot of [the growth] is down to the fact that Facebook and Twitter are so successful and had so many users to begin with. When you already have so much of the connected society on your platform, then there is, by definition, lower opportunity for dramatic growth.

However, it is well documented that Facebook has encountered a challenge among younger users. They are reducing their time spent within the platform, or switching off entirely, in favour of newer messaging platforms like Snapchat, Line, BBM etc.

And remember, younger users see [newer messaging platforms]   as “their” platform – populated and run by millennials who understand them. But, ultimately, Facebook has extensively adapted their platforms to this change, so I am sure that they are not losing any sleep quite yet.

Messaging apps are different from social media apps in that users choose who they want to see content from. Is this bad news for brands, especially with regards to social media advertising?

Not at all, the opposite, in fact. Previously, yes, it was dangerous for a brand to attempt to insert themselves into the private discussions between users. It could be seen as intrusive and be detrimental to the image of the brand, thus having the opposite effect as intended.

However, the developers in charge of messaging platforms have upped their game considerably to [create] more viable advertising platforms. As an example, at BBM, we introduced a content feed several years ago that forms the backbone of our native ads platform and have since then developed branded and sponsored sticker packs and video advertising insertion points.

As it all occurs outside of the chat environment, it no longer appears to be an invasion of privacy and is, instead, simply a part of the decades-long pact between consumer, publisher, and advertiser around the consumption of content.

As it stands, the challenge is around perception and education. No marketing manager or agency buyer ever lost their job by putting Facebook on a media plan. I believe that within the next 12 to 24 months it will be the same for messaging platforms and that it will become uncommon if a brand doesn’t incorporate the medium in some way on their schedules.

What does BBM’s presence in South Africa look like at the moment? Is it growing and what initiatives can we expect to see?

BBM has a very loyal user base in South Africa and this is exactly why we have targeted this market for investment and growth. Since we moved onto all Android and iOS devices in 2013, we have added millions of registered users to the platform.

We moved out of Blackberry management and the license for the brand is now owned by Creative Media Works, a wholly owned entity of KMK Online, which is part of the Emtek media portfolio. This has allowed us access to considerable investment from both a product and marketing perspective.

The platform is now as much about content and services as it is about messaging and we are actively working on introducing video, music, e-commerce, and payment services. In fact, we will shortly be launching BBM Stage 360, a platform where new, talented, and undiscovered South African urban music talent can showcase their talent within the platform, generate a following, and attract a mentor.

The best will be given opportunities to perform at Stage 360 events and festivals around South Africa. This will be exclusive to BBM and will form part of our ecosystem of content that will generate further growth and possibilities both here in South Africa and, across Africa, in our other key market, Nigeria.

Connect with Pattison on LinkedIn.

Interested in dark social media for your brand? Snapchat is one way to get started. Read expert advice in our article, Five things South African brands need to know about Snapchat.