Let's talk about the "dark funnel." We sponsor a podcast and people talk about us on Slack. How are you even attempting to attribute value to stuff that's untrackable?

Analytics & Insights
1

This is driving me nuts. We’re spending decent money on podcast sponsorships and I know people are talking about our app in private channels.

But when someone converts three weeks later, good luck proving that connection. What’s your approach here?

2

Run branded search reports during sponsorships. I’ve seen 20-30% spikes when podcast ads go live.

Ask new users “how’d you hear about us?” during onboarding. Sure, some will lie or forget, but you’ll spot patterns. When I ran campaigns for a productivity app, way more people mentioned podcasts during active sponsorship months.

For Slack and word of mouth, watch your organic install lift. If you normally get 100 daily organic installs but you’re hitting 130-140 during campaigns, that’s your dark funnel at work.

3

Track metrics before and after. Not perfect, but you’ll get a rough idea of the impact.

4

Just ask customers directly on calls. Way more honest than surveys.

5

Set up UTM tracking for podcast links and compare conversion rates month to month. Check your baseline traffic from direct visits and organic search before sponsorship kicks off. For Slack mentions, make a unique promo code or landing page that’s only shared in those chats. Watch usage patterns - you’ll see spikes after big feature releases or when your team’s active in communities.