Online dating services attract you through video chat games and other new products

Online dating has long been at the top of the list of ways to meet new people, make friends, or find love. Today, no one will argue with the statement that web dating has fundamentally changed the way people look for their soulmates. In the future, this fact will become more pronounced for sure.

Offline dating has not gone away either; through mutual friends, at work, in clubs, etc. However, the share of such dating is much smaller than it was 5-10 years ago. Why is that happening? How do modern online dating services attract their audience? This is exactly what we will talk about in this article.

Top ways through which dating platforms engage and keep users

Firstly, let’s take a quick look at history. In 1995, the first modern dating site, Match.com, was launched. Users could answer a series of questions, after which the answers were entered into the database, subsequently, the system tried to find the most suitable matches for them. However, users were not too attracted by the matching algorithm, but by the opportunity to meet people they wouldn’t have met in real life. Almost 30 years ago, Match.com proved that online dating was a new trend with a great future and so it happened.

Over time, so many sites and applications appeared that it became more difficult for the average user to choose the exact platform that suits them. Competition in the niche has grown greatly. Therefore, developers began to introduce additional functionality and special features to attract more users.

We propose to consider several atypical functional and other features of modern sites and applications for dating that developers are using right now.

1. Smart matching algorithms: Although this will not surprise anyone today, the presence of one or another “smart” algorithm arouses more trust and interest among clients even if these algorithms do not work perfectly.
2. Elements of gamification: One of the most common elements is swiping on dating apps like Tinder. The user sees a photo of a potential partner and can swipe it left or right depending on whether they like this person or not. If the liking matches, the application offers to chat.
3. Mini-games in the app: For example, Bumble recently introduced the “Question Game.” You can start the game from any screen of the app, after which the app will start asking you different questions that you can answer. You can write and answer your own questions. The point is that your potential partner will need to answer these questions before you can start communicating. In addition, Bumble recently added virtual games in video chat. You and your interlocutor can find a virtual room or rooms for yourselves and begin to participate in a quiz with various interesting questions. In this way, you can diversify your communication very well, and express yourself, and your erudition. And therefore, get to know your chat partner better. Bumble plans to expand the list of games and other activities in the future.
4. Built-in video chats: During the COVID-19 pandemic, when millions of people experienced a severe lack of communication, random video chats (Chatroulette) became popular. Among them are Tinychat: — a video streaming service for hosting and watching live broadcasts; Liveme — a combination of online video chat and video streaming service with convenient smartphone applications; CooMeet official — an online video chat with gender filters, a built-in message translator, and excellent moderation. Most traditional dating sites and apps have introduced video chat functionality to continue to compete effectively with the popularity of Chatroulette.
5. Improved search filter systems: For example, the dating service OkCupid recently added the Stack function, which allows you to search for potential partners more accurately, based on your preferences, as well as answering additional questions. The system conducts a deep analysis of the user’s profile and actions to select potential partners for them more accurately. Additionally, it shows the percentage of compatibility. However, there is no perfectly accurate algorithm, but overall, Stack works well.

Some developers offer users money for dating using their application. For example, couples who met on Muzz can win $20,000, which can be spent on anything they want; on a wedding, honeymoon, or shopping. Money is always a good motivation. According to the owners of Muzz, more than 500,000 new couples have been formed, thanks to their platform.

Why is it so important for dating services to build an audience?

The competition for users’ attention is becoming more fierce every year even though online dating is becoming more popular. Today, there are more than 8,000 online dating services in the world and this does not take into account social networks, instant messengers, and online video chats. Due to such competition, developers have to look for new ways to engage and keep their audience; there are several reasons for this:

• Network effect: The more users there are on a service, the more valuable it becomes for each user. People want more choices of potential partners for dates.
• Monetization: A large audience allows dating services to earn more from advertising, premium subscriptions, and other paid services. Most often, this is the main business model of such services.
• Data: Collecting and analyzing data about the preferences and behavior of a large number of users can be used to improve recommendation algorithms, audience segmentation for advertisers, and other purposes.
• Networking: A more widespread service attracts ordinary users, celebrities, influencers, and other public figures. Also, this enhances its value in the eyes of the audience.

At the same time, in the last few years, there has been an unpleasant tendency for the owners of dating services; the younger generation of Zoomers are not very active in using such platforms. Also, those who use it are usually limited to free accounts and do not pay for a premium package. Millennials remain the main source of income for dating sites and apps today but their number is gradually decreasing. Many people find a soulmate and never return to the dating site or app, or they switch to online video chats as a more convenient dating format. Therefore, it is vital for web dating services to actively engage new users and keep/maintain existing ones. Probably, in the near future, we will see more new functions and additional features that have one fundamental goal, which is to attract as many users as possible. What kind of functions will these be? How well will they cope with the task? Time will tell!