Consumers deserve the very best services. From mobile apps to web resources, target customers are looking for a valuable experience. Therefore, user engagement and retention must be the key aspects to consider while working on a new application.
How do dating apps get users engaged? Find out how to increase dating app retention rate and user engagement.
This article describes all helpful ways to keep users engaged and definitions of the main terms. Clarifying terminology is a must to have a comprehensive idea of how to increase user engagement and retention.
What Is App Engagement And User Retention?
When attracted, customers stick with the app and become loyal. A measurement of users’ time with such an app is called “user engagement.” When customers come back after the initial use of the app, it is called “user retention.”
What App Engagement Is
App engagement is a set of measures to track the level of interest, interaction, and loyalty users have to an app. It is the key contributor to app growth, customer advocacy, and LTV improvement. Consider the following insights to have an idea of how to increase user engagement on a dating app:
- The features needed for the app
- How the customers value the app
- The functions that drive the most common user behavior
- The ease of navigation and users
Keeping user behavior in mind, product developers can prioritize further development efforts or add helpful features for their target audience.
Attracting new users is one of many things necessary to make a dating app profitable and popular. However, making them stick to the app is far more critical because it makes them loyal customers of the product. When customers keep using the app after trying it for the first time, it is called “user retention.”
What User Retention Is
When users continue to interact with a given product over a particular period, it is called “user retention.” To discuss user retention in detail, two things should be considered:
- User retention is calculated over a defined period
For instance, an audit of user retention and churn rates can be based on a recurring schedule, such as quarterly, monthly, or any other period to examine.
- An app’s user retention rate can be calculated at large or focus on minor details.
Measuring the number of logins over a particular period is enough for measuring user retention for an overall product.
For details, focus on the number of people interacting with a specific feature over the defined timeframe. To avoid confusion, customer retention is different from user retention.
The difference between user retention and app engagement is clear, so discussing how to increase both these aspects in a dating app before launching new engagement strategies is a must.
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Contact us10 Ways to Increase Dating App Engagement And User Retention Rate
According to Business of Apps research, the dating app market’s revenue was estimated at $5.61 billion. With over 300 million dating app users worldwide, the market is expected to grow. Although the user base is expanding, dating apps should get new features to stay ahead of the global competition.
Due to implementing value-adding features, dating apps will have a sustainable boost in user engagement. In detail, let’s consider how to improve dating app engagement and user retention rates.
If you need to discover how to create a dating app, our in-depth article on how to make a dating app is a must-read.
1. Create A Flawless User Experience
A flawless onboarding experience reduces the abandonment rate. In addition, the more positive the experience users get using a dating app, the more likely they are to use it in the future.
Given that the first impression is more than critical, timely and proper onboarding can increase user engagement by half. Providing an excellent user experience is effective for increasing dating app engagement. So what makes a mobile app design flawless?
While all UX designers have their practices and views of making mobile app interfaces, it always helps attract new users. The introduction of mental models to the UX design of dating apps is necessary for meeting the expectations of these people.
2. Make Onboarding Process Smooth
When users open an app for the first time, they expect an enjoyable and smooth experience. Therefore, making your onboarding process engaging and quick is necessary for increasing a customer base.
If users’ first impression of the dating app is negative, they are likely to abandon it one day. Therefore, to increase the retention rate of the dating app, the following things can be implemented:
- Tutorial: Adding a tutorial to explain to users the features of the dating app.
- Quick Sign-up: Make a minimum number of steps in the sign-up process and include sign-up via Facebook or Google.
- Save User’s Time: Explain to users the core features of the dating app and allow them to learn more.
- Do Not Forget About a Call to Action: The onboarding process should end with a call to action.
3. Track User Data from the Beginning
The most effective way of increasing app retention on a dating app is to conduct a cohort analysis. This type of analytics means that multiple dating app users are grouped according to their behavior in a specific time frame.
The main idea here is to identify why users abandoned your dating app. When the reason is clarified, you should develop a dating app engagement strategy. For example, you can use heatmaps to illustrate users’ touch gestures while accessing your app. Creating videos and analyzing them is also necessary to understand how users access your dating app after downloading it.
4. Increase User Engagement with Gamification Techniques
Providing a tailor-made experience to the users is the best way to stand out in the overcrowded IT market. People waiting for a message about their potential matches will be glad to play chess against other users and participate in intellectual games or different kinds of online activity.
By providing a unique user experience, you can effectively increase app retention on a dating app. Gamification is one of the ways to enhance interaction between people. Playing games allows breaking the ice between users and helps them form a connection. You can make a game out of romantic intentions. For example, making people ask various questions to the potential suitors and choose which person or answer they prefer. Encouraging users to experiment with their interactions can increase loyalty.
5. Add Smart Personalization
How can dating apps keep users engaged? Gone are the times when app marketers had a vague idea about their target audience. Now the caliber of digital marketing programs allows you to extract vital data and use it to target its audiences with personalized notifications. In particular, you can set your in-app marketing tools to collect information on personal attributes like height, weight, gender, age, race, and so on. Then with all such information, you can customize your user engagement.
Since the IT world is advancing, smart personalization is critical to any app engagement marketing strategy. Due to advances in artificial intelligence (AI), you have a lot of opportunities to provide a personalized experience to your users. Several of the most prominent trends in AI—from user privacy to personalization—have been thoroughly filtered into the digital dating industry. Impactful AI-based user experiences are now transformed into relevant information. Taking full advantage of it helps develop a strategy to keep dating app users engaged.
6. Provide More Incentives to Engaged Users
Consider providing users with a loyalty program or reward to increase their number. You should regularly offer loyalty points and reward programs as gifts to loyal users. For example, you repeatedly encourage people to visit your dating app by providing loyalty points. As a result, they feel more appreciated and valued.
Given the nature of your dating app, you can provide several incentives. For example, if your dating app has an in-app purchase model, you can offer time-sensitive discounts. If your dating app has a subscription-based model, you can initiate usage-based rewards instead of discounts. All of these things can be used to drive more conversions.
You can connect your dating app to international social trends with such incentives. For example, in 2023, the apps such as Hinge, Bumble, and Tinder offered various incentives to promote vaccination in their users. Using these apps, people could add a special badge of vaccination to their profiles and get some premium features.
7. Enable Two-Way Communication
Before launching your product, consider how to keep people engaged in a conversation dating app. Two-way communication is an excellent user engagement feature to keep communication negotiated.
It is an effective form of interactive mobile marketing where both receiver and the sender of the message can exchange voice messages in personal chat. Such interactive mobile marketing promotes user engagement in dating apps and helps build trust between people.
8. Update & Optimize Dating App Features
When you look at the dating app as you would look at your child, you will give it as much respect and care as possible. Furthermore, you will update its functionalities and features from time to time to provide a sophisticated personalized experience to all users. When you update your app regularly, it becomes efficient and fast. Hence, it enhances user engagement and retention.
The best strategy to keep your dating app is to track user reviews and behavioral patterns to get an idea about user expectations. Based on such analysis, you will be able to make necessary improvements in each version of the dating app.
Another way to get an advantage is to look at your competitors’ offer and compare it to yours. In particular, check out the features of Tinder. Then, after discovering your competitors’ innovative features, you can integrate them into your product or develop new unique features based on new knowledge.
9. Protect User Data by Offering Better Security
For individuals looking for romantic relationships, high-level personal data protection plays a vital role. Dating apps keep their users’ private information anonymous so that they can pursue different leads without accessing other app users. In case of a user data breach, people will lose their trust in your dating app.
When a secure and safe data experience is provided to the users, they will feel safe using your dating app. This will increase the retention rate of your dating app.
The following things should be considered to enhance user data protection:
- Scam-free Platform: Users should have a technical opportunity to report suspicious activity on their profile.
- Account Verification: Before allowing users to look for a match.
- No Abuse: Automatic moderation of user-generated content and real-time technical support are necessary.
- Profile Privacy: Allowing users to make their profile invisible for a certain period.
You can increase user engagement and retention by providing proper security to your dating app.
10. Ensure Better Support to Users
Remember that your app should have a Help or Support section where there will be an answer to any question users could have about your app. If users face some issues or need a guide on how to use premium services, for example, you must ensure that users will always be able to contact your support team. This will undoubtedly contribute to better user engagement.
Summing up, the development of a dating app should have advantages not only for your customer but also for your profit. You should choose an appropriate dating app revenue model; our relevant article will spell everything out for you.
Drawing The Line
This article lists the primary tips and ways to increase dating app retention for users and keep them engaged. Binerals is a software development company with vast experience in dating app development and knows how to make your app user-friendly and intuitive.
Furthermore, our company creates an individual approach to each client. We build a strategy for every app development to consider all the nuances and meet all client’s requirements and expectations. Therefore, our skilled developers will convert your idea into a fully-functional app.
