An explosive growth in private sharing of content that cannot be easily tracked has given rise to a new term, Dark Social. As a result, beauty brands, including retailers such as Sephora, are adapting their marketing and views of social media ROI.

Blame Gen Z, the post-millennial generation who is more aware of privacy issues, and is increasingly shifting from sharing links and content on public social networks such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, to having two-way conversations in private on KIK, WhatsApp, Snapchat, WeChat and Facebook Messenger. The thing about the latter, a.k.a Dark Social, is that the sharing of content in private messaging channels lies beyond the scope of web analytics tools. And without a complete picture of social sharing, brands are realizing a need to adapt and broaden their view of social media ROI. The phenomenon is impacting all industries, none more so than beauty, where social media sharing is integral to brand building.

“Dark Social is forcing marketers to rethink how they measure success and how important attribution is for conversions and impressions,” said Cathy Choi, Senior Marketing Director, Social/Digital, for Kat Von D Beauty. “For brand building and all the concerns around privacy, Dark Social is actually an opportunity to build trust with consumers, even at the risk of losing measurability, which is worrisome but also potentially powerful.”

Of course, beauty brands follow where their users live. WhatsApp currently has more than one billion active users worldwide; KIK over 300 million; Snapchat more than 150 million.

“Kat Von D Beauty has always been a digital first and focused brand, and paying close attention to landscape shifts are a priority,” said Cathy. “We are making sure we stay on top of what platforms our fans are on, where they want to engage with us, and where they are most loyal.”

And it’s not all about trackability. There is a difference in content that people and brands share on Dark Social versus Light Social. Visible platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, are for public consumption, whereas private, and semi-private apps such as Snapchat are for limited, more personalized sharing.

For Nudestix Founder, Jenny Frankel, who launched a line of multi-tasking cosmetic crayons in 2014, delivering authentic content on the hottest messaging apps is a priority. In fact, Jenny’s 20-year old daughter, Taylor, is the brand’s content creator.

“Snapchat is raw, and allows us to build a very personal connection with our followers,” said Taylor. “It can also be quirky and weird, too. For example, if I make a mistake when I’m doing my makeup. There is no filter. It’s entertainment, the new reality TV. Instagram, on the other hand, is very curated: we have a marketing calendar, and our followers expect more high level content.”

Dark Social posts also allow for more personal content, with potentially greater impact and value. “Our followers are a part of the product development process. They are a part of our community, and a part of my life,” adds Taylor.

Sometimes Dark and Light Social can converge, especially when brands track the reach of Dark content. “While the easy metrics that Snapchat will allow you to measure are things like views and screenshots, we also pay attention to how far our message goes after we post to Snapchat,” said Kat Von D Beauty’s Cathy. “For instance, are our snaps getting mentioned on more traditional channels like Instagram and Twitter? Are our fans reacting positively to our Snapchat posts? For this reason, we have focused our Snapchat content on live events or product teases and releases. These types of posts are very shareable and entertaining, newsworthy content that doesn’t necessarily have to be picture-perfect.”

Aside from privacy, part of the brand shift from public to one-to-one interaction with consumers can be attributed to the success of branded chatbots within messaging apps. Although bots are still in their infancy, and don’t yet approximate human interaction, they are increasingly able to answer questions at all stages of the customer journey.

Last March, Sephora launched a chatbot on messaging app KIK, inviting ‘chats’ with users after they took a short quiz. From there, the bot delivered tailored content, such as how-to videos and recommendations for Sephora brands, including Kat Von D Beauty and Nudestix. While Sephora has not shared specific details of how its bot is performing on KIK, both Kat Von D and Nudestix value the opportunity to be a part of ‘conversational commerce’ of the future. “We feel it is an important and innovative test for Sephora to forge into chatbots with KIK,” said Cathy.

“We are inspired by Sephora’s move to understand the benefits as we launch in markets where messaging apps are popular and growing. Bots, in particular, are of interest to the brand as we grow our capacity for customer service and education.Bot messaging has the potential for massive growth in marketing/social media.” She continued, “Numbers are of course important, but how our fans feel about the brand is how we know we are doing the right thing,” said Cathy.