Dating apps have seen astonishing growth over the past few years. Dating app participation by those aged 18 to 24 has nearly tripled since 2013. As expected, an array of dating apps have emerged to accommodate the growing demand. From brands like Tinder to Coffee meets Bagel, multiple platforms with different approaches and features are available in the app stores, to cater to your partner selection style. In such a saturated market, making sure your dating app stands out is a big challenge. The mobile marketing experts at Yodel Mobile have compiled three steps to make sure you lay the groundwork needed for app marketing success.
Get yourself out there
A top priority for your dating app is optimising it so that it can be found by quality users. App Store Optimisation is something that you can’t avoid if you want to ensure the success of your app. This is particularly crucial in an over-crowded marketplace such as online dating. Optimising various elements on your app store listing can improve the overall discoverability of your app. This includes various on-page and off-page elements such as your title and keywords, your screenshots, your descriptions, your reviews and more.
As there are plenty of niche dating apps, take Christian Mingle or Black people Meet as an example, the keyword optimisation for search queries within the app store becomes even more important. You should also consider adding a video to your app store listing, to visually demonstrate the features of your dating app. A new study shows video is crucial to app store success and can increase conversions by 60%. If you want to know more about ASO and its benefits, make sure to watch our ASO video here.
Be open
In such a competitive environment with lots of options, innovative functionality will be appreciated by your users. Be open to new developments. A good example of this is the creative use of cross-app connection that is emerging on the dating app scene. Cross-app connection means that one app can share data with another without launching. You may have seen apps use cross-app connection to verify a newly created profile by connecting to a social account, for example. Some apps are taking this opportunity to be a little more creative.
Tinder is a great example: they recently matched with Spotify to integrate music into the swiping experience. Users can now see artists that they have in common with each other, and pick an anthem that best represents them to display on their profile. By be gathering information about their users’ music preferences, they’ve enriched their app experience. Being open to developing your product will help create a more tailored experience for your users.
Get personal
Great news. Your user has found your app, and they’re intrigued by its innovative nature. Keeping them in the app is a whole new challenge. Time to get personal. Statistics show that 23 percent of users abandon an app after one use, and 80% of all app users churn within 90 days. These stark figures only reiterate the importance of having an engagement strategy in place. You need to do all you can to keep users coming back to your app through your push strategy.
Conveniently, there are endless possibilities for personalised push messages based on the users’ interactions for dating apps. Who can resist returning to the app if they’re alerted in real time when they’ve received a message for example, or if they’ve been matched. Some dating apps use this behaviour to their advantage, even putting time limits on messages to be read (Bumble is an example here) to ensure users come back to the app.
Apps like Tinder monitor when there is a spike in engagement in a certain location, and sends a segmented push to notify users in that area. Users who have accepted push notifications are retained at nearly 2x the rate of those who have not. Want to know more about the importance of having an mCRM strategy? Watch our latest Mastering Mobile Marketing video here.
Want to find out more about optimising your app and keeping up with the latest OS capabilities? Make sure to subscribe to our Mastering Mobile Marketing video series. You can also get in touch by visiting the Contact Us page. Follow us on LinkedIn, chat with us on Twitter @yodelmobile, and join our #mobilemarketingUK LinkedIn group.
