Dark Matters- Illuminating the 'Dark Side of Your SaaS Demand Gen Journey

Last week, we wrote a blog on The Wise Idiot’s website. It concerns demand gen in SaaS and details a step-by-step plan to build a program that actually works. (We’re really proud of it, can you tell?)

That’s not the point of this newsletter, though.?

The point is that when we wrote that 3000-word piece, we ended up with a lot of outtakes from the main document- bits and pieces of info that got removed in the ruthless rounds of editing.?

Our first draft was 5351 words for context, so we had about two thousand words’ worth of information ??.

Once that blog was done and published, I turned to that document of half-formed paragraphs and ideas for this newsletter.

I initially thought we managed to give the reader a comprehensive view of SaaS demand generation.?

This doc, though, showed me how many gaps we still needed to address.?

Even if we did that, this strategy wouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all for all SaaS brands. However, it could be our attempt to simplify a really, really difficult-sounding process.?

This newsletter is another stab at that aim by talking about the importance of dark social interactions in SaaS demand gen.

Dark Social? What’s That??

The ‘dark’ in ‘dark social’ is literal- all those interactions among a SaaS brand’s customers happening on channels you cannot see, hear or perceive. Consequently, you cannot track them.?

This can include anything which does not generate trackable URL parameters-?

• Messages on WhatsApp/Slack;?
• DMs on Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn;?
• Word-of-mouth like Zoom webinars or conferences;?
• Even communities like Discord, Reddit, and FaceBook groups!

Incidentally, this influences customer behavior early on in the journey, even before they know your SaaS brand. (The figures vary from 21% to 85%, but one thing is clear- significant shares happen via dark social.)

Think about it. How often have you shared a product recommendation or an interesting article with a friend through a private message or a group chat??

You’re not the only ones- SaaS customers, particularly of products with a high ACV, prefer finding solutions to their problems from peers.?

They wouldn’t want to type their query into Google and be led to a business- instead, they’ll ask for information from like-minded people they know and act on their recommendations.?

This means that key steps of their buyer journey have already been completed without a marketer’s direct involvement.?

In other words- they’re already being led away from your SaaS product if you’re not leveraging these channels.?

Why Dark Social Is Important

While most SaaS marketing can be quantified and tracked within an inch of its life, dark social exchanges are hidden from the prying eyes of analytics tools.?

Yet, they profoundly impact shaping opinions, influencing purchase decisions, and ultimately driving demand for SaaS products.

Dark social interactions possess a unique authenticity and trustworthiness that is often lacking in more overt marketing channels.?

Consider- when someone shares a link to your SaaS solution in a private message, does it not carry a personal, genuine endorsement??

This peer-to-peer recommendation can hold far more weight than an impersonal advertisement or sponsored post.

Dark Social and Demand Gen

The first step to incorporating dark social interactions into your demand gen program is acknowledging that you cannot track every interaction.?

Marketers are obsessed with covering every metric, but some things cannot be overtly measured.?

Having said this, they’re not completely untraceable. We cannot figure out if it’s an elephant, but we can tell you it’s a mammal with four legs, a trunk, and giant ears.

In other words, we can make calculated guesses and assumptions based on the presence/absence of certain factors.

• You run a social media management platform and notice something interesting: your website traffic suddenly increases, but you can't figure out where it's coming from.?

After digging deeper, you realize that private Facebook groups and WhatsApp community users have been discussing your platform's unique features.?

Even though you can't directly track these conversations, the surge in website traffic suggests that dark social interactions drive demand for your platform.?

• Another way- as you browse through Twitter and Instagram, you notice a rise in brand mentions. However, you can't trace these mentions back to any specific links.?

A possible reason for this may be interactions on Discord and Facebook- where your brand was mentioned without trackable links.?

• The best way to figure out what’s driving people to your website is to ask them the right questions. Your feedback form should look like this-

1. How did you first learn about our website/platform?
2. Can you recall the source or channel that led you to us?
3. Did anyone recommend our website/platform to you? If yes, how did they recommend it (e.g., in person, private message, group chat)?
4. How often do you participate in private communities or groups where discussions related to our industry or niche take place?

• Most of all, create content worth sharing. Creativity in content might only sometimes hit the mark, but thoughtfulness and empathy are sure winners. Care about the end user in whatever you create; it’ll automatically create impact.??

I could go on and on about how content, be it brand-generated or user-generated, should be what the buyer needs to hear, not what your product offers. Value-adds over features, always.??

The Final Word

This is just one part of a demand gen strategy- frankly, this topic is so vast I doubt even a 10000-word guide could cover it all. However, we did go into a bit more detail in our blog (did I mention we’re really proud of it?).?

Let us know what you think. Let me know what can be improved as we grow and learn.?

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