Do you know that you can do marketing on Tinder? And we are not talking about the announcement between one swipe and another, but about real creative communication campaigns to engage users!
We assume that one of my best phrases of 2017 is “ I finished Tinder ”, which would be that sad moment when you open the application and see your avatar in complete solitude. A little below appears an inscription: “ No new people nearby . Use the passport function to choose a new position ”. Let’s say that I have experience on the playground of this app, in short. But that’s another story, today I’ll tell you about something much more interesting, specifically you will read:
- how Tinder works ;
- Tinder marketing best practices ;
- suggestions on why / how to do a communication campaign on the app;
- the epic fail to learn from.
In this article you will not find:
- tips on how to match everyone on Tinder
- personal experiences of the writer (perhaps)
Are you curious to know how you can do marketing on the most famous “dating” app in the world ? Ready go!
How does Tinder work?
When you mention Tinder , your thoughts turn to more or less successful selfies and more or less interesting bio with which the 50 million subscribers hope to break into the hearts of those who are swiping, to get a like and make a match. The target? Start a chat (more or less provocative) and arrange an appointment as soon as possible.
By registering (via Facebook Login or on the app) you create your profile which means writing a mini bio, upload a few photos, declare if you are looking for males or females, in what radius km from you and in what age range and … start the game. When you open the app you will directly see the photos of the people who match your preferences and you can swipe!
By the way, little Tinder glossary :
- Swipe : literally means “swipe on the screen”; in practice, every time you see a person’s profile, you swipe to the right if you like it (it corresponds to a like) and to the left if you don’t like it (it corresponds to a “but also no”).
- Match : when you like a person and the like is returned, the match takes place (it’s a match!) And you can start chatting!
Rollout Update: Tinder is testing a new feature in New Zealand, Canada and Australia that applies to people you’ve already matched with. It’s called ” Feed ” and it’s a timeline where you can see all the updates (photos posted on Tinder or Instagram, Spotify’s favorite artists and other content), with the ability to comment on them. “Feed takes you beyond the match, helping you make real connections in real time,” reads a post published on the official blog.
Tinder marketing: the winning conditions
And at this point the question is: “So?” Let’s make the profile of baked pasta and after the match you find yourself having dinner with a plate of lasagna? No … or rather yes, this is a great idea so if you steal it from me I will instigate you behind the Pastafarians!
The fundamental prerequisites for choosing to do marketing on Tinder are two (and winning):
- It is a still unexplored platform . Few companies work on the app so there is a greater chance that the target will interact;
- In general , advertising is present on Tinder . In this case it is a totally different experience from what we have been used to, which spreads on a wider level than usual.
Let’s find out how it’s done!
Communication campaigns on Tinder: best practices
Do you remember when we thought that it was not possible to advertise on Snapchat , then we turned around for a moment and we found all the filters in the world sponsored and promotions of all kinds at all hours of the day of the night … here it is. The same is happening on Tinder !
Ex machina: have you ever chatted with Ava?
South by Southwest is a music and film festival that has been held every spring in Austin, Texas since 1987. It has become famous for some experimentation, such as the one in which a few years ago the homeless acted as a wi-fi “hotspot”.
In 2015 they came up with the first example of marketing on Tinder . On the occasion of the premiere of the film Exmachina , a fake profile of Ava (the protagonist of the film) was created, with which one could interact “as if she were real” thanks to a Tinder Bot .
At the end of the conversation, the link to the Instagram profile of the film appeared where you could find preview images and clips. She was a genius (albeit a bit diabolical) gimmick: the plot of Ex Machina is about an artificial intelligence trying to understand what it means to be human … and what is Tinder if not a microcosm of human behavior?
Suits: Want to hang out with the hottest lawyers in TV series?
One moment you thought you were going out with any girl and the next moment you find Rachel from Suits among the women nearby.
No, it is not a joke. In 2013 scrolling through the possible women to match with you could have met Meghan Maerkle, the future princess (yes you also know that she will marry Harry) or, scrolling through the men, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). The campaign was intended to guide viewers to the show’s premiere. The target was that of millennials, which coincidentally corresponds to the main users of the app. Users who swiped with one of the two protagonists had access to exclusive content from the series .
In this case, the campaign was also a success for a fundamental detail. In case you don’t know it, Suits is a TV series in which dating is a fundamental part of the plot, so the concept proved to be 100% suitable for the brand .
Domino’s pizza: who needs a companion for Valentine’s Day … if you can have a pizza?
Valentine’s Day is a very bad day for singles, I don’t believe you if you say no. And what is one of the foods that everyone likes and with which one gets too excited in moments of solitude? Pizza!
Domino created a “pizza” profile with a captivating image and started making matches with people. As fun and engaging conversations began, she gave away Valentine’s Day giveaways and specials .
Result? The campaign generated over 700 matches and a reach of over 200,000 users. Domino also created themed content on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to support the initiative and involve people in matching. In short, a success in which the tone of voice of the brand was decisive, perfectly suited to the context of the day, ironically playing with singles.
Social Tinder: Amnesty International Australia and Immigration Council of Ireland
Amnesty international Australia created a campaign for International Women’s Day in 2014. The aim was to raise awareness on the subject of forced marriages. Instead of profile photos, images were inserted with sentences that explained that all over the world there are women who have no choice over their life. The campaign linked to the Make a choice website, where a quiz was available in which users were asked to make choices on questions such as “ would you marry for money or just for love? “.
Immigration Council of Ireland in 2016 thought of a truly innovative way to raise awareness of the issue of sex trafficking and prostitution. The campaign involved the creation of a series of Tinder profiles with photos of women. The profiles were used to tell the stories of the victims of trafficking and ended with a call to action to contribute to the actions promoted by the organization. “Your options are left or right”, “Sex trafficking victims have no options. You have the option to help end it now. “
Two really unusual ways to use this app and perfectly in line with the target . Two successful campaigns that have brought good engagement and, let’s face it, light years away from the socially oriented advertising we are used to (especially in Italy).
Atlanta Hawks: Let’s meet at a game… on Tinder
Atlanta Hawks (NBA championship team) has created the Swipe Right Night dedicated to all basketball fans. The principle was simple: what better place to meet someone who loves basketball like you than at a game of your favorite team? The first appointment with the Swipe Right Night was in 2015, but they are still periodically organized. During the match singles are encouraged to swipe and can meet in dedicated “ love lounges” , where they have the chance to also meet some of Atlanta’s most desired singles (according to Jezebel magazine).
The matches work… and how! Just think that a couple who met during one of these Swipe Right Nights is about to get married and the Atlanta Hawks have agreed to pay the wedding expenses!
Bud Light: the first beer on Tinder
The first video campaign on Tinder was launched in 2015 by Bud Light to promote the “Whatever, USA” contest, the super exclusive party dedicated to 1,000 lucky fans. It worked like this: the commercial invited you to swipe to the right on Bud Light’s profile for a chance to win a trip to the “unknown location where the party takes place”.
The target of the event is exactly that of Tinder for which this initiative has proved to be perfectly calibrated. Clearly the profile was shown only to those over 21 years of age. A real success.
Epic fail on Tinder: GAP, you forgot to warn …
After all these examples, you definitely want to use Tinder to promote your company or your services … but here’s an important piece of advice learned from GAP’s epic fail . Remember to notify “Mr. Tinder” before creating a marketing campaign on the app. Because maybe he gets angry and deletes all your profiles and you don’t exactly make a good impression.
Let’s go in order. In 2015 GAP decided to do a rebranding based on particularly innovative guerrilla actions, including the #SpringIsWeird campaign on Instagram and Tinder . In the dating app he created a series of profiles featuring provocative and flirty phrases… but they forgot to tell Tinder! And so all the profiles were quickly deleted!
There was also a topical moment on Twitter that featured Garrett Sloane, the Adweek reporter who wrote the original story of GAP’s Tinder Ads and the app’s Head of Marketing & Communications , Rosette Pambakian. Garrett enthusiastically announced the new campaign and Pambakian clipped his wings and replied that they would immediately delete the profiles. Tinder is only for personal users . Or at least try to remember to have the approval of the garments before advertising on a social network.
