As dating goes digital, what’s in it for brands?
The generation accustomed to communicating at all times is coming of age and bringing the same attitude to their romantic lives!
“I think in the time I was in a relationship, all dating communication went exclusively to text. You can’t call anybody anymore. If you call someone, they’re like ‘What? Are you on fire? Then quit wasting my time. Text me that [stuff].’” – Aziz Ansari, Comedian
We heart mobile dating apps
Online dating services and apps are an increasingly common way to meet potential mates:
• 1 in 3 single Americans have used an online dating service
• 1 in 6 couples married in the last three years met online
- Dating apps moved to mobile as messaging apps began to proliferate
But it’s not just dating apps
Dating apps, social networks, and messaging apps are blurring as people seek, create, and document new relationships:
• Glimpse connects people based on their Instagram photos
• LinkedUp turns the professional site into a dating platform
• Kik users share usernames instead of digits on multiple platforms
What’s going on here?
Messaging platforms are fighting for consumers and introducing new features to increase audience engagement. People will continue to move to messaging apps to escape the pressure of social networks, so it’s only natural other human behaviours, like flirting, will emerge in these ecosystems.
Why is mobile dating so popular?
It’s how people normally communicate
•People are accustomed to using their mobiles to communicate whenever, wherever
•Their private nature (one-to-one communication) means people don’t have to feel they are performing for their whole social network
It’s easy
•No extensive questionnaires or quizzes; just photos and basic information to judge initial interest •Mutual liking requirement reduces spam
•Swiping motion to approve or reject suitors is almost effortless
It feels safe
•Exchanging usernames, rather than phone numbers, gives users more control
•The ability to block a user limits harassment
•Using photos and information pulled from other social media profiles gives users more credibility
How can brands connect with dating app users?
Where audiences go, brands follow, especially when those audiences are young and hard to find on traditional media. As a result, several brands are experimenting with the best ways to reach people on messaging apps. The combination of brands, messaging, and dating is creating some unusual results, as seen in the following examples.
TV characters look for (audience) love
In an effort to reach the 20- and 30-something audience, characters from televisions shows are showing up on dating apps. ‘The Mindy Project’ and ‘Suits’, have created profiles for their main characters and allow limited chat opportunities with users, while ‘The Walking Dead’ created Tinder profiles of women who slowly morphed into zombies. HBO’s ‘Girls’, meanwhile, joined Snapchat to promote its third season.
Politicians are canvassing for votes
Two Dutch politicians from the D66 party uploaded their profiles to Grindr (a dating app targeting gay and bisexual men) to get votes in the March 2014 elections. They made clear that they were only looking for votes, not dates, and the medium turned into an effective way to discuss political issues with their constituents. One of the candidates, Jan-Bert Vroege, claims to have received 35 to 40 messages a day during the campaign.
Retailers are also looking to get in on the action
Retailers and restaurants face a challenge in the dating app world, when they don’t have a ‘face’ — a recognisable spokesperson that people can connect to. Instead, they tend to rely on special offers. Valentine’s Day in particular is a popular day for brands to get attention on dating apps: both Domino’s and Australia’s General Pants Co. invited Tinder users to connect for discounts.
HowAboutWe Couples has taken a different tactic, expanding on their online offering: they offer special deals on activities and restaurants to users. Their new mobile app will allow them to offer more location-and time-specific offers to couples looking to change up their routine.
Brands make a connection with couples
HowAboutWe Couples has taken a different tactic, expanding on its online offering: the platform offers special deals on activities and restaurants to users. The company’s new mobile app will allow them to offer more location- and time-specific offers to couples looking to change up their routine.
How can a brand get involved?
1. Understand who the face of your company is
Messaging apps are typically used for communication between individuals, not between individuals and impersonal brands. As a result, brands with recognisable personalities—celebrities, bands, television characters, spokespeople—are a natural fit for messaging platforms. Brand consistency is also important: ideally, users should recognise the personality from the real world, rather than as an app-specific character. In ‘The Mindy Project’, for instance, Mindy’s character referenced using Tinder, making it appropriate that she would then appear in the app itself. If your brand doesn’t have a clear spokesperson or point of view, messaging apps may not be the best channel for reaching customers.
For consideration:
• What character or personality is readily identifiable with your brand?
• Why would it make sense for your spokesperson to appear on a messaging app?
• How can messaging app activities be reflected in other channels?
2. Determine the right interaction and the right platform
Once you’ve determined who will represent your brand on messaging apps, you must consider the response you want to elicit from users, as well as how your brand will respond. Most brands that have appeared on messaging apps have minimal, one-time interaction: either a reminder to watch their show (as in Suits) or a discount on a purchase (like Domino’s Valentine’s Day offer). What makes messaging apps exciting, though, is the opportunity to carry on a conversation over time: the Dutch politicians who appeared on Grindr, for example, actively encouraged people to start political conversations with them. Although this takes more planning, brands that move towards more personalized responses will be rewarded with more engaged users.
For consideration:
• What is the end goal of your brand appearing on messaging apps?
• What is the expected length of interaction?
• How much moderation or personalisation are you willing or able to dedicate to the app?
3. Keep it simple to avoid negative feedback
Messaging apps are a place for people to connect with friends. Since these apps are still relatively new, they are largely free of advertising, so any advertising is currently a novel, positive experience at best, and easy to ignore at worst. As more marketers join messaging apps—which they will, as most apps need advertiser support to make money—the “signal to noise” ratio will decrease. To maintain relevance, marketers must focus on the value exchange: offer people a discount, a sneak peek, or even a funny moment to reward people for their attention.
For consideration:
• What does your brand have to offer on messaging apps that people can’t get elsewhere?
• How can you minimise intrusion in the messaging experience?
• What will keep people excited to see your messages over time?
