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Online dating may not be new, but dating apps are still an underused advertising market with vast potential. Are marketers paying enough attention to dating apps?

Since it was founded in 2012, Tinder has taken off worldwide, reaching a record 3 billion swipes in one day in May 2020. Today around 66 million people use Tinder each month, putting Tinder in top place in the dating app scene with an impressive 53.8% market share.

Brands such as Dominos have blazed the trail, harnessing the marketing value of dating apps. But in general, it remains a fairly untapped marketing resource. Yet there are plenty of reasons for brands to take notice of this channel.

5 reasons to start advertising on dating apps

1. There are plenty of fish

If you want your ads in front of mobile users, there is no shortage of them on dating apps. Tinder users typically open the app around 11 times a day, spending an average time of 90 minutes total a day on Tinder.

And Tinder is by no means the only dating app on the scene. By 2020 there were 270 million users on dating apps worldwide, including apps such as Bumble, eHarmony, Match.com, Hinge and others.

2. High engagement

Dating app users physically interact with the ads they come across. A Tinder user can choose to swipe left or right on an advert, meaning they must engage with your content and make a decision on it.

And for users who swipe right, you have an opportunity to interact further with the user. You can tell the story of your brand, display offers and link to your site. Compared to simply viewing an ad banner on Facebook, swiping interacts more directly with your audience.

3. Contextualising your message

Unlike social media, where users are browsing for a vast range of reasons, people on dating apps have a more unified goal. They’ll be concerned about appearance - hair, make-up and clothing to make a good impression. And beyond that, users may be planning an upcoming date – the food, drink and location this might involve.

Armed with this baseline information on their audience, brands have an opportunity to contextualise their message, focussing on specifics. Whilst clothing brands can highlight aspirational date attire to a primed audience, beverage brands for example, might offer a discount code on your drinks to be redeemed that night- a time-sensitive, highly relevant offer.

4. A target audience

What’s more, dating apps – like social platforms - offer marketers a wealth of data on their users. Gender, age ranges and likes and interests are all logged on the apps, making it easy to segment your audience effectively.

For brands targeting the young male market for example, Tinder is the ad space of choice with around 72% of Tinder users being men. And according to Tinder over 50% of their users are Gen Z (18-25 years old).

By contrast, on Match.com 75% of members are over 30, with the 50+ age group being the fastest-growing demographic.

Beyond the big players, there is a range of more niche platforms that may be a better fit for brands with smaller marketing budgets. Kippo, for example, is targeted at helping gamers and tech geeks find like-minded partners, whilst Deep focuses on “conscious dating”, creating a more supportive, positive dating experience that goes beyond superficial swiping.

Finding a dating app in your brand’s niche is key to placing your ad in the best position.

5. Step away from the noise

Compared to the cluttered advertising space of the Facebook News Feed, Tinder only shows one ad every 30 profiles. This is a massive advantage for brands advertising in this space to increase the impact of their message. Adverts in this app, however, are reserved for brands with deep pockets, since advertising costs are high.

However, with a large proportion of paying users on many dating apps, brands can be reassured that their audience is one who is willing to pay for a product. Potential customers are therefore more likely to be willing to part with their cash, one might assume.

The future of dating apps

Whilst social media is now a long established marketing channel, perhaps the age of dating apps is still just beginning.

Online dating continues to evolve, with the latest Gen Z phenomenon combining the popularity of vlogging and gaming with online dating apps.

On MeetMe, users broadcast their dates live from their phones in a live vlog format, and interact with other users via chat. The Meet Group –owners of MeetMe and other similar dating apps – already have more than 15 million users worldwide, and an average of 180,000 dating games played every day.

Staying ahead of your competitors is key to standing out in a crowded market. So why not be an early adopter, hook up with one of these innovative new dating apps and get users to fall in love with your brand.