Let's face it: we're all getting bombarded with ads nowadays. Whether we're scrolling through our Facebook feed, watching our favorite TV show, or just walking down the street, it seems like everywhere we turn, there's an ad trying to sell us something.
And when it comes to dating apps and websites, there's no shortage of competing brands vying for our attention. So how can you, an advertiser, affiliate, or brand marketer, make sure that the dating app or website you are promoting stands out from the crowd? If you own a dating website or you are an affiliate marketer who wants to focus on the dating vertical, this article is for you.
One way to promote dating apps effectively is by using native advertising. By definition, native advertising is a form of advertising that blends in with the rest of the content on a website or app. In the context of promoting dating offers, this means creating ads that look and feel like they belong alongside the content that users are seeing.
Not only does this make your ad more likely to be seen and clicked on, but it also helps to build trust with your target audience. After all, if they see your ad and think, "this looks like something I'd actually be interested in," they're more likely to download your app or sign up for your site.
Benefits of Using Native Advertising for Promoting Dating Sites
In the context of online advertising, native ads are placed on websites or apps and often take the form of article placements, video placements, or product recommendations. These ad units are designed to blend in with the surrounding content, making them more effective than traditional banner ads at capturing users' attention and driving conversions.
And when it comes to online dating, there are some clear benefits to using native advertising.
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Native ads can show your ads to the right people
For one thing, native advertising is highly targeted. When you use native ads to promote your dating site or app, you can target potential users based on their interests, devices, websites they view, and even location. This ensures that your ad reaches the right people, and that you're not wasting your time and money on ads that no one will see.
Some native ad networks even offer contextual targeting, which allows you to display your ads on websites that fall under a certain category.
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Native ads are proven to be more effective than display ads
Native advertising is very effective. Because they blend in, they are less intrusive and therefore more difficult to ignore. They're not the "in-your-face" type of ads that are not just pushy, but are also cringe-worthy.
Studies have shown that people are more likely to pay attention to and engage with native ads than with traditional banner ads. So if you're looking for a way to get more people to notice your dating site or app, native advertising is definitely the way to go.
Several big-name dating brands are already spending thousands, if not millions of dollars in native ads. This is proof enough that this advertising strategy really works for this niche.
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Native ads are less intrusive than typical ads
This ad format is less intrusive than other forms of advertising, such as pop-ups or banner ads. Because native ads blend in with the content of the site or app on which they appear, they are less likely to annoy users or cause them to leave the site. This means that you can keep your readers engaged for longer, which can lead to more conversions.
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Native ads are cost-effective.
Finally, native advertising is relatively cost-effective. Because you only pay when someone clicks on your ad (CPC payment model), you can avoid wasting money on impression-based advertising that may not even be seen by your target audience. This makes it a great option for small businesses and startups that are working with a limited budget.
So if you're looking for a way to give your dating site or app an edge, native advertising is definitely worth considering. With its high level of targeting and low cost, it's a great way to get more eyes on your business and attract new users.
Challenges of Native Advertising for Dating Sites and Apps
Of course, as with any form of advertising, there are also some challenges associated with native advertising. These are:
1. Ensuring that the ad is actually seen by the target audience.
With so many ads bombarding people from all sides, it can be difficult to break through the noise and get noticed. This is especially true for dating sites and apps, which are often competing for attention against a wide range of other products and services.
So aside from the audience filtering options, you can do campaign-wise, you should utilize pre-qualifying techniques to get the perfect audience for your offer.
2. Creating an ad that is effective in promoting the site or app.
A native ad must be carefully crafted in order to achieve its purpose. It needs to be relevant and interesting to the target audience, and it should also provide a clear call to action.
3. Measuring the effectiveness of the ad.
Once a native ad has been created, it is important to track its performance in order to determine whether or not it is achieving its objectives. This can be challenging, as there are many factors that can affect how people respond to an ad.
Using comprehensive data analytics tools are necessary for running native advertising, and that's what we're here for. Brax tracks everything from ad views to conversions, so you can be sure that your campaigns are running smoothly and efficiently.
You can find which ads are performing best and which placements should be cut off, and so on. Try us out for 14 days for free!
4. Managing expectations.
It is important to remember that native advertising is just one tool that can be used to promote a dating site or app. It is not a magic bullet that will guarantee success, and it should be used as part of a larger marketing strategy. Expecting too much from a native ad can lead to disappointment, so it is important to set realistic expectations before launching any campaign.
As you may have noticed, these challenges have corresponding solutions — what's important is that you learn how you navigate your way around native ads to make it work for the Dating Vertical.
How to Promote Dating Offers Using Native Ads
In order to promote dating offers effectively using native ads, it is important to consider several factors. Before we discuss some of them here and provide real-life examples, let us first talk about how you can research your competitor's native ads.
Researching the Competition
Before launching a native advertising campaign for dating offers, It's critical to study how your competition is doing it. This will help you understand what's working well for them and what opportunities exist for you to differentiate your own campaigns.
Here are a few tips for conducting effective competitive research:
1. Start with a Google search or use an ad spy tool.
By using a spy tool to search for how other advertisers are promoting dating offers through native ads, you can get a better understanding of what's working and what's not.
You can also see which headlines and images are being used most frequently, and use this information to create your own winning native ad campaign.
2. Take a look at their ad spend.
Use tools like AdBeat, Anstrex, or SpyFu to estimate how much they're spending on native advertising. This will give you an idea of how much competition there is in the market.
3. Analyze their ad placements.
Look at where they're running their ads and identify any potential placements that you could target that they're not currently using. In short, instead of competing with them head-on, why not find the gap?
4. Study their creative approach.
Pay attention to the copy, images, and overall tone of their ads to get an idea of what's resonating with users. Then, use this information to inform the creation of your own ads.
By taking the time to research the competition, you'll be in a much better position to launch a successful native advertising campaign for dating offers.
Choosing The Source
When we say source, these are the websites where your ads will be placed. We can also call them placements and publishing apps or websites.
Native ads should be sourced from high-quality websites and apps that are relevant to your target audience. When choosing a source for your dating offer ad, look for sites that have a large audience of singles or those interested in dating.
You can also look into your target market's interests when choosing publisher websites to focus on. For instance, the older male demographic tends to frequent business and finance-related websites, so these areas may be a good place to start your native ad campaigns.
Since working directly with websites to place your native ads is not ideal if you don't already have the data, it would be best to work with native advertising providers. If you don't know where to start, have a look at our Ultimate List of Native Ads Providers for a comprehensive list.
These native ads platforms work with thousands of websites and publishers and you can choose which ones to show your ads in, or you can at least remove from your options select websites where you don't want your ads to show.
Based on a quick search on Anstrex Native, we found that the most popular traffic network choice for dating ads are Google Ads, Outbrain, RevContent, Taboola, and MSN.
Dating Brands and Their Major Placements
To give you an idea of what's possible with native advertising for dating offers, here are a few top dating brands and some of their placements:
eHarmony
- The Wall Street Journal
- Cosmopolitan
- Yahoo! Finance
Match.com
- Huffington Post
- People
- TIME
- Classmates.com
Zoosk
- USA Today
- Forbes
- CNBC
- Mingle2.com
Selecting The Format
Native ads come in many different formats, from article placements to content recommendations to in-feed ads. When selecting a format for your dating offer ad, choose one that will be most effective at capturing the attention of your target audience.
For example, if you're targeting millennials or younger, a video placement may be more effective than a static native ad placement.
Nevertheless, the most popular ad format is still the recommended content widget usually placed at the bottom of every article.
For a complete list of native ad formats that you can choose from, have a look at this guide.
Crafting The Message
The message of your native ad should be clear and concise since this type of ad allow up to 60 to 75 characters only (the exact max length is dependent on the network you are working with).
When crafting the message for your dating offer ad, focus on what makes your offer unique and appealing to potential customers.
Since you cannot select the demographics of the user when targeting your ads (such as age, gender, and civil status), you can utilize the ad copy to prequalify users.
Take a look at this ad for Stir:
It mentions "Single Parents."
If you're a user viewing this ad and you're not a single parent, you would likely not click on it since it's not meant for you, right? This allows the advertiser to receive only qualified traffic to their offer.
Here's another way to pre-qualify users, which DateMyAge.com is already applying to their ads:
Here, they mentioned the exact demographic that they are looking for:
- age: 40 and above
- civil status: singles
- location: Secunda
Now you are already narrowing your audience to the exact users that you want to sign up and join the network.
As for the location, Secunda, it is possible that the advertiser is using a dynamic token or macros for the city. This way, the same ad can be used in multiple locations, but the dynamic token makes it more relevant to the user currently viewing the ad.
Learn how to personalize your ads to increase viewer relevance through our article "Take It Personally: Making Irresistible Ads with Dynamic Data."
Improve The Landing Page
Your ad's landing page is just as important as the ad itself. This is where users will be taken after they click on your ad, so it's important to make sure that it provides a good user experience.
When creating a landing page for your dating offer ad, there are a few things to keep in mind:
1. The page should be relevant to the ad.
This seems like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how many advertisers fail to do this. Make sure that the landing page is relevant to the offer and the ad copy.
The best performing ads we've seen are those whose ad copy and landing pages are related to each other. So, for instance, if your ad copy talks about chatting with a person, the landing page should look like it will allow the user to chat. Some creative advertisers would even create a chat page with auto-replies. This will make your ad pretty convincing and will help increase your conversion rate.
Based on the 40+ Singles ad example above, let's have a look at the landing page:
As you can see, they used a professional-looking landing page, with the image of the guy having the same features as the ad:
- looks to be about the same age
- with beard
So, it matches the expectation of the user. You can expect a high subscription rate for this ad combination.
2. The page should have a strong call-to-action (CTA).
Your CTA should be clear and concise, and it should tell users what they need to do next. For example, if you're running a dating offer, your CTA could be something like " sign up now," or "chat," or "find your match."
3. The page should load quickly.
You only have a few seconds to make a good impression, so make sure your landing page loads quickly. If it doesn't, users will likely leave before they even have a chance to see your offer.
4. The page should be mobile-friendly.
Since more and more people are using their smartphones to access the internet, it's important to make sure that your landing page is mobile-friendly. This means that it should be easy to navigate and read on a small screen.
Furthermore, most users actually use their mobiles when using dating-oriented social networking apps or websites, so having a mobile-friendly bridge page is no longer just an option but a necessity.
5. The page can also be used to pre-qualify users.
As we mentioned earlier, you can use the landing page to pre-qualify users and ensure that they are the right fit for your offer. This can be done by including a form on the landing page where users can select the right information about themselves, such as age, gender, and location.
By doing this, you can make sure that only the users who match your target demographics will be able to see and sign up for your actual offer.
Here's an example of a survey-style landing page:
This pre-lander has a survey that asks users about their gender, age, location, dating preference, and more. Only users who match the target demographic will be able to proceed to the actual offer, the rest will be routed somewhere else.
Note: Sometimes, the landing page doesn't really pre-qualify; the advertiser's intent is just to keep the user's attention for longer. After all, the longer the time the user spends on the pre-lander, the more invested they become, and the easier it gets to encourage them to sign up. That's another nifty marketing technique!
Summing it Up
To sum it up, native advertising can be extremely effective for promoting dating offers. By using attractive visuals and compelling copy, advertisers can capture the attention of potential daters and encourage them to take action.
Additionally, native ads are less likely to be blocked by ad blockers, making them an even more effective tool for reachings users. With all of this in mind, it's clear that native advertising should be a key part of any dating site or app's marketing strategy.
Still need help in creating compelling and efficient dating ads? Send us a message! Our team at Brax are experts at native advertising — we can help you create and optimize your dating offer ads, so you can get the most out of your advertising campaigns.
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