It’s that time of the year – “cuffing season”. A term often tossed around by Gen Zer’s referring to the comedown of summer flings to something more committed, hence the “cuff”. Surprisingly though, dating app usage and revenue peak during the summer months but this also varies on the targeted demographic. Here, the dating app developer faces a dilemma.
Through App Store Optimization (ASO), an app developer could effectively navigate their unique place in the market, what language yields most effective in driving conversion on a seasonal basis, and others. We’ll discuss them more in detail, but first, let’s explore the unique challenges facing both enterprise and indie dating app developers.
Targeting a dating app value proposition could be difficult, and some of the biggest players in the game like Hinge, Bumble, Tinder and Grindr have a stronghold on younger demographics – the most predominant generations being millennials and Gen Z’ers. Not to mention, positioning often takes on a life of its own.
Each of the major players in the dating app category have their own connotations and associations – Tinder is a great example. The User-generated contents of an app often make branding difficult. Tinder advertises that they help users “find love” but the public sentiment is undoubtedly different.
Ask any person on the street to name a dating app, they’ll probably give you a rundown of the biggest players – dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, Hinge, Match, and POF among a few others. However, there are thousands of dating apps on the app stores.
Smaller-scale dating app developers often have to run through difficult hoops to stand out. This includes massive organic and paid marketing campaigns both on and off the app stores. Even then, few users actually go out and try a different one out, even it if has “failed” them before.
Yes, dating app retention rates can be complicated, to say the least. In essence, these apps exist to eventually be deleted, so retention may be difficult to attain. For big players like Tinder, with massive troughs of new users and those leaving either because the app served a purpose or switching to a big competitor, retention is really less of a worry. Subscription revenue for competitors is high, and lots of them are now expanding into categories like networking – Bumble is especially prominent in this type of feature expansion.
These challenges are really just scratching the surface. For indie developers, the major hurdle facing app marketing operations is differentiation and strong value propositions. However, every successful marketing thereafter requires an organic backbone on the app stores. User search patterns for dating apps vary across different demographics so how can you capture them right off the bat? Through ASO, of course. Here are some best practices to follow:
Sure, finding your target audience largely depends on demographics. After all, dating apps are largely younger demographic-oriented. If they aren’t, there’s a better chance of being able to set your app up to be differentiated.
Painting with a broad demographic brush isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and some very unique value propositions can actually come out of them. Understand what your app offers, and what your users are looking for. Something casual? Politically driven? Find your niche that speaks to your audience most effectively.
We can’t talk about dating app marketing without the discussion of competitors, regardless of size and sub-category. ASO tools and technology like DATACUBE can help developers figure out what keywords their users search for. Additionally, ASO technology like this can also help see what your competitors rank for in the app stores.
This is invaluable information when putting together your app marketing strategy both on and off the app store. Arming yourself with a strong app metadata strategy can make a massive difference in your ability to get discovered on the app store organically and in paid campaigns.
Getting the right message at the right time is crucial in ASO. Even with seasonal dips in the fall, incorporating the right messaging in your screenshots and metadata is essential. This not only helps you drive conversions to your app but also carries relevancy when user search behaviors change or are in need of some repositioning. As summer flings transfer to “cuffing season”, it might be time to highlight more commitment-focused language to combat dips in usage. There are plenty of ways to spruce things up, and our ASO company has optimized dozens of dating apps both large and small.
Marketing app an app on the app stores is no easy feat. Dating apps are notoriously difficult to penetrate in the organic app marketing space, but through ASO you can better spearhead high competition – regardless of size. Organic ASO marketing even helps lower the cost of paid campaigns down the line as it serves as a backbone for mobile marketing success!
Want to learn more about App Store Optimization? Contact Gummicube and we’ll help get your strategy started.
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