You know the meme, viral video, or inside joke you texted to your friend? There’s actually a name for this phenomenon: dark social.

Messaging apps are now bigger than social networks — which means more people are sharing content through private channels including messaging apps, text messages, and emails. Sharing content privately is referred to as “dark” social — dark being the challenge that marketers face trying to measure the ROI and traffic of these private messages.

Do you ever see an ad, commercial, or social post and think, “How did they read my mind?”

While reading people’s minds is a questionable superpower, it’s likely that the brand that produced that content engages in social listening — the practice of monitoring online channels to understand what people are saying about your brand. Through social listening, brands gain a holistic snapshot of how consumers perceive their brands.