Liana Pavane - entrepreneur, NYU marketing grad

My girlfriend sent me this link the other day with the note, “What are you thoughts on this? Sounds like a cool premise!” While I was hosting my podcast 🎙️, Ghosts of Dates Past, I was very immersed in the dating space and knew everything happening in the industry. As I closed my podcast a couple of years ago, I have seen an immense shift happening away from the dating apps and towards innovative in-person dating events (aka what life was like before apps existed).

There seems to be a general negative connotation towards dating apps these days due to the frustration around being ghosted 👻, the apps increasing their point of entry, and the ‘grass is always greener’ syndrome that creates swiping fatigue. I myself have had a mainly positive relationship to the apps until recently. When I was a Senior in college, the apps were popping. When I graduated, I had so many date options I sometimes had to choose between three in one night!💋Life was good, dating was easy. However, as the allure of the dating apps wore off over the years, the consensus became—swiping to meet someone just wasn’t cutting it.

I met my recent ex on Hinge. After a year and a half relationship ensued, I redownloaded the app. While I’ve found the app’s algorithm to take its sweet time, I was shocked when one month in I had barely matched with anybody or received messages back to meet IRL. I also noticed multiple changes to the app including a multitude of payment plan 🤑 options to increase my chances of receiving a match, which would have been the case if I paid according to The Everygirl. Personally, paying for dating seems ridiculous and I tend to meet people in-person anyways, so the app that’s, ‘designed to be deleted,’ was indeed deleted once more.

While marketing for the dating apps have recently been top-notch, in my humble opinion, people are still veering away. Gen Z, the only generation to grow up with dating apps, are also exhausted and choosing to find love elsewhere. In this blog, I’ll dive into dating apps and unique dating experiences that are currently shaping the future of this industry.

Hinge, Bumble, Tinder, Oh My!

Hinge

Last semester, I dove into Hinge’s marketing campaign, ‘Designed to Be Deleted,’ which has since taken on many iterations featuring their adorable mascot ‘Hingie.’ (If I could buy him in stuffie form, I would 🤗). The company focuses on limiting likes per day, transparent likes, and utilizing a scrolling versus swiping method. While these methods do reduce time spent on the app, there’s still a pull to constantly check if you received any messages. Their new audio feature is also cringe-worthy to many female users as men’s voice notes are notorious on the internet.

Hinge has been open about including AI into their algorithm as a way to strengthen matches and they also have a wonderful initiative to battle the loneliness epidemic. My suggestions were to push IRL events, create a matchmaking service with 1:1 coaching, and expand to offer business and friend modes as other forms of connection. As mentioned in the beginning of this post, IRL dating events are huge right now. Thursday dating app was founded on the concept of in-person events every Thursday. They also recently launched a running club🏃‍♀️with a social mixer afterwards🍻(although I personally don’t want to meet cute guys when I’m sweaty af).

Bumble

Bumble🐝 offers date, bizz, and bff modes, is mainly known as the app where women initiate the conversation first, and they only give you 24 hours to do so. While that feature originally played to the apps strength as it enforces users to check the app often, it’s also a weakness as many users don’t want to check the app at a frequent cadence. Unfortunately, they recently had a marketing misstep in their recent campaign supporting anti-celibacy for all the wrong reasons. Their apology showcased the brand’s strength and resilience as a forward-thinking company that listens to its target audience, however, the damage had already been done. The app has certainly been around for long enough that they were overdo for new features as well, which have a lot of mixed reviews from Gen Z.

Tinder

Lastly, Tinder, the notorious hookup app, has had tons of innovative marketing campaigns on and off their app over the years. Online, they are bringing awareness to fake accounts, partnering with brands, and focusing on events. Offline, they have rebranded to cater to Gen Z—a smart move, yet perhaps a failed one as this generation veers away from apps altogether. During the pandemic, the brand successfully created campaigns targeting different global markets as a way to stay relevant during a time of isolation, which led it to have 3 billion swipes in a day 😱! The app is still the most popular today and has certainly caught the attention of users with their marketing, however, their notorious reputation still remains. Time will tell if their user base will change alongside their efforts.

#Trending

While the majority of individuals are still meeting on dating apps, 44.9% overall to be exact, the next categories (below video games) include concerts/festivals, speed dating, hobbies, at the gym, through work, etc. The common theme? IRL! We love to see it. I’m known in my friend group for meeting guys in the wild—I recently met a guy at the airport and another at a dancing event—and they always ask me how I do it. I tell them you have to be open and willing to go to things alone, which I know is not everyone’s cup of tea 🫖 (although you might end up with some good tea if you know what I mean 😉). Below I’ll touch on innovative ways the IRL dating space is expanding to offer alternative ways to meet your next SO.

Events Through Dating Apps

Going to an event where you immediately know everyone is single takes the pressure off everyone in the room. No longer are you glancing over your shoulder to not seem obvious while you drool 🤤 over that guy in the corner, you have full permission to lock eyes 👁️ with any stranger you find attractive. As mentioned above, Thursday’s innovative approach when they launched a couple of years ago really changed the game. Fourplay, a dating app where ‘single friends go on double dates,’ have also introduced monthly single mixers in different bars around NYC.

Speed Dating

Speed dating events have been around for quite some time and they don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The issue with these is they often include a wide age range and you are automatically paired up, forced to proceed through an uncomfortable 10-15 minute conversation with someone you aren’t remotely interested in. But, if you want to get to know eligible singles on a one-to-one basis rather than a large group setting, these events are worth a trial run.

Social Clubs

In a post-COVID world, we’re all craving and appreciating connection more than ever. Membership social clubs are the answer. From Closer, 222, Parlor Social Club, and even tons of exclusive private clubs with high entry fees, these clubs are bringing people together 👩‍❤️‍👨 in unique ways through intimate gatherings with conversation starters to large-scale happy hours. Many people are using these clubs as the new dating apps because you’re instantly welcomed into a community where many people are single, and you also have support from others if things go awry. I’ve gone to a few of these and I can say while it attracts a lot of new to the city folks, everyone is lovely and inviting.

Other Types of Dating Events

A few years ago, the West Side Highway was named THE spot to see all the hotties in NYC running. Today, if you’re single and ready to mingle, you can join those people in a running club🏃‍♀️where the finish line is a bar. To me, that sounds like a sticky situation, but maybe that’s the point. ‘They’ often say, finding love happens when you’re not looking for it and you’re certainly not looking for it when you’re a sweaty mess 🥵!

Another fun, unique concept is UpDating, a comedy show of sorts where two singles are blindfolded onstage in front of a live audience for a literal blind date. The audience also has the opportunity to ‘shoot their shot’ with one of the individuals onstage to pitch themselves as a potential match. You definitely have to have guts to do that, but you can laugh along with the audience and go to a bar nearby with everyone after the event.

While it’s clear dating app users are still prominent in a post-pandemic world, it will be interesting to see how the apps combat trends such as in-person events and social clubs.

What are your thoughts? Do you think dating apps will make a comeback? Comment below!

Liana ✨ 🦋 🪩

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams - Eleanor Roosevelt

Dating Apps: Are They Ok?