How has Tinder Lit The World of Mobile Apps on Fire?

by Steve Buzinski, Director of Marketing + BD | Twitter | LinkedIn

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There’s no doubt that mobile technology continues to creep into every corner of our lives – with mobile apps being a significant driving force. From photo sharing and event management, to unlocking car doors and paying for coffee, the things we can do with our mobile devices seem more fantastic than ever. These devices seem to know us so well. But can mobile apps lead us to find out next romantic match?

Los Angeles startup Tinder thinks so and they have harnessed the power of social, geolocation and the human desire for affection in their hot new mobile dating application. Tinder pulls in over 10,000-20,000 new users a day (with an average of 5-6 usages a day) and has amassed over 3 billion “matches.”As this app continues to gain in popularity it’s certainly time to give our two cents!

There are a number of dating services and mobile apps out there so the space was certainly not uncharted. Being backed by IAC also gave the application founders a great set of learnings that I believe they were able to harness into the nimble, lightweight dating application it is today.

How does it work exactly? Bearing in mind I think you should all try it for yourself – I think Business Insider explained it best in their article.

“[Tinder] anonymously finds out who likes your looks nearby. If you happen to think the other person is good looking too, it offers an intro. If not, the person never knows you weren’t a fan.

It’s basically a new-age version of Hot or Not that also allows you to meet people.

You have to connect the app to your Facebook profile but don’t worry, Tinder say it will never post anything to your wall.

Here’s more on how Tinder works:

1. Tinder shows you someone nearby it thinks you should know, who’s single and about your age.

2. You can anonymously like this person or skip to the next suggestion.

3. If someone you like happens to like you back, then Tinder makes an introduction & lets you chat within the app.”

With the likes of Plenty of Fish, OKCupid, Match and eHarmony Tinder has taken the best portions of the applications and amassed them into one. I believe Tinder’s success can be broken down into three major differentiation points – These help get over the negative stigma of online dating and contribute wholeheartedly to their success. (punny, I know).

Superior UI

Tinder has taken the application UI and made it completely simple, intuitive and light. These mobile apps are a big commitment when you consider how much personal information you typically have to input to find your match. By keeping the profiles limited in pictures, characters and utilizing geolocation, the tinder UI is simple and light enough to give all the necessary information with no excess weight.

Secondly when you’re actually scrolling through individuals that are options for you, you can flick users left or right to mark them as a “like” or a “nope” – with a simple heart and an x as your options, Tinder has also taken similarities of the like button and installed the similar mentality to selecting your match on their service.

Facebook Integration and Tone of Voice

With all of the negativity around fake user profiles on dating sites and the world of catfishing, it’s imperative that the application legitimized users by having them log in with their personal Facebook. Not only does this legitimize matches by seeing which friends and likes you have in common, it also proves that your potential match is an actual person (not to say there isn’t fake accounts but it’s much less likely). Simply put, I think this is one of Tinder’s biggest success points.

Moreover, by seeing that you have friends on the site (from scrolling through potential matches), it takes away some of the negative stigma of being on an online dating service. Most importantly, Tinder positions itself is as more of a game than a dating service. The more individuals you go through, the more game pieces you have laid. All of the sudden, Tinder has become the acceptable place where “Normals” can explore the online dating space with very little commitment.

Tapping Into Our Vain Nature

Tinder hit on a major point that few other dating applications have been able to address. Arguably, the first portion of successful online relationships seems to be a physical attraction – so naturally Tinder has focused on presenting photos paired with age (location is automatic). This taps into a real insight that frankly, people are vain and need to be attracted to their potential partner before they really care about how lovely they are otherwise. Somewhat shallow, but it’s a fair human insight.

By flicking a photo to the left you reject and essentially block a user and by flicking their picture to the right you announce to Tinder you have an interest. From there, Tinder presents your profile and if you’re a match, game on.

If nothing else, Tinder is a confidence boost. Whether it’s seeing that the person in the front of class thinks you’re cute or someone that’s connected through friends does, there’s no doubt that it feels great as a user for someone to say “yes, I think you’re cute” — without having to actually say it! An article on Huffington Post said it best:

“That deeply personal, useful and instantly gratifying information makes Tinder an addictive experience, with each match fueling a kind of emotional high. Research has shown “likes” on Facebook and retweets and Twitter can release a dopamine surge that, in some cases, lead to social media addiction. Now imagine the chemical effect of immediate e-feedback that’s even more personal: While Facebook tells you if someone liked your status update, Tinder tells you if someone likes you. How soon will it be before people go from enjoying that feeling to craving it?”

In conclusion, I think Tinder is really onto something here. Simple, personal and local online dating through a mobile platform. What better way to engage a young tech-savvy audience that is always salivating for status and attention in digital realms? That audience are the influential users that services like Match, Plenty of Fish, eHarmony and OKCupid haven’t quite been able to tap into. And hey, on the search for love it might as well be fun too.

Check out the application here and let us know your thoughts on Twitter – what do you think of the application and the service in total?