Your intent data only tells half the story—it’s time to embrace Dark Social.

Your intent data only tells half the story—it’s time to embrace Dark Social.

These days, it’s impossible for marketers to escape discussions of “intent data.” But what is it really, and is that all there is to marketing now? Let’s run through intent data first, and then explore the part of the story you’ll only find hidden in Dark Social. 

Depending on who you ask, intent data has slightly different definitions. But all you really need to know, is that intent data is used by marketing and sales teams to determine how to interact with customers and prospects based on observed behaviors and actions.  

I like to think of it as the signals generated mostly—but not exclusively—by online activity, that indicate a person or company’s interest in a product or service. In other words, everyone’s leaving behind a breadcrumb trail for companies to follow and engage with them.  

I’ve seen intent data being successfully applied in all sorts of ways, including account prioritization, sales account mapping and planning, sales enablement, tailoring of strategy and messaging for email nurture, and ABM planning.   

Sounds pretty useful, right? It certainly can be, which is why it feels like every vendor I speak to today claims they could provide you with all the intent data you’d ever need. But the reality is—at least in my opinion—this isn’t possible. To use intent data most effectively, it needs to come from multiple, carefully chosen sources. 

Not all intent data is created equal 

As a buyer, you need to look past the spin. You need to do your research and ask questions. Knowing as much about the source of the intent data you’re evaluating is crucial.  

According to Anton Consulting, there are four commonly accepted types of intent data sources:

· Bidstream: captures intent by scraping programmatic advertising data

· Partner networks: captures intent via a pixel on sites within the partner network

· Lead-based: captures intent via customer lead-generation programs

· Proprietary publisher: captures intent via user registration and log-in credentials

There’s no right or wrong place to get your data—so long as you weigh up each source’s benefits and limitations. Ideally, you should have at least two sources of data. They’ll validate one another, and you’ll get a deeper view of your markets.

Intent data isn’t a silver bullet

Once you have your data, what you do with it is ultimately up to you. But you do need to understand that intent data is only a guide, not a silver bullet. And it needs to be part of a solid strategy. Here are some important questions to ask yourself and your team before you get started:

· What are you expecting to achieve?

· What’s your level of maturity with the application of intent data?

· Do you have the technology or infrastructure to apply it in a meaningful way?

· Is there alignment and agreement between marketing and sales teams on strategy, education, and expected outcomes?

So far, we’ve talked about all the signals we generate when we do certain stuff online. But what about all the activities that don’t create any data that can be seen or captured via established methods?

What your intent data isn’t showing you—Dark Social

Let’s say I download an eBook from a website. That company then knows I showed some interest in it. But what happens when I share it with 40 of my colleagues on Microsoft Teams? Those people all benefit from the content too, but only my details are “captured” as a lead in that company’s marketing campaign.

This scenario falls under “Dark Social,” a concept gaining popularity in B2B marketing that highlights a vulnerability in our reliance on intent data and other software-based measurement and attribution metrics.

A well-known advocate and thought leader on Dark Social, Chris Walker, defines it roughly as: online engagements or touchpoints that scale advocacy, content sharing, and other forms of word-of-mouth, but don’t create intent data or get tracked by attribution software.

Why is this a problem? Because when one of my colleagues, who I shared the eBook with, Googles the vendor and lands on the website via organic search to request a demo, the lead will be captured via SEO as the last touch before conversion. But what drove my colleague to search in the first place is lost.

And then next quarter, what happens when budgets are being planned? That’s right, SEO gets a greater share of marketing investment because it’s been deemed to drive more leads.

By relying solely on the metrics we can see, we’re missing a crucial part of the journey and how we’re truly engaging an account.

So, how can you get Dark Social working for you?

1. Know your buyers

If you don’t have a sufficient understanding of their needs, pain points, and expectations, how can you expect to engage them in a meaningful way?

2. Publish content people want to share

Create content that’s so good potential buyers feel like others in their organization will benefit from it or enjoy it—that they just need to check it out.

3. Be where your buyers are

Sounds basic, but with so many unorthodox channels nowadays, you need to be able to speak to your buyers where they’re ready to receive your message. For example, I see a lot of marketers reluctant to invest in podcasts, because they can’t effectively track who’s listening—yet there are tons of podcast listeners out there who rely on the content to make purchase decisions.

4. Be consistent

According to LinkedIn, only 5% of your buyers are in-market today. If you want buyers to come to you when they have a need, you must be willing to engage them with content when they need it, not just when you’re running campaigns.

Why we need to embrace Dark Social

When you think about it, marketing technology is pretty damn amazing. By tapping into intent data, we can do all sorts of incredible things that let us better understand our audiences and meet their needs.

But we can’t ever afford to remove the human element from B2B. By embracing and learning from Dark Social, we become better marketers because we put more focus on the customer and rely less on the tech. And anything that delays the robots and AI taking over our jobs is a good thing in my book!

I’d love to hear your thoughts, so get in touch for a chat on how MOI can help you tap into the opportunities of Dark Social.