Introduce Paid App Promotion 
When it comes to heavy guns, a paid ad could be a serious weapon in your fight for the audience. Whatever platform you choose to pay for ad placement, it's all about setting the right targeting. But before we talk about it, let us first clarify the types of ads you could use for your dating app promotion.
App Search Ads is the ad that appears in App Store's search results above the organic results. Promoting the app in the App store might be a pretty good idea as you have a "hot client" who's actively looking for the particular app and willing to download/buy it here and now. According to Apple, 70% of visitors use App Store's search to find their next app. So if you are willing to invest some money, Search Ads could be a wise choice. You can choose between two promotion options: basic and advanced. With Basic, you only need to set up your campaign's monthly budget, desired cost-per-install (you are paying for the number of downloads from the ad), and countries you want to be present. The rest is handled by Apple.
Advanced option Apple recommends to marketing professionals who know their audience and want to specify the ad placement, time, and user's demography.
Learn more in the "App Store Search Ads: Explanation, Setup, and Advantages" article.
Google AdWords
Many people assume that Google Adwords is the ads that appear in Google search above all the organic results. However, it's just the piece of the iceberg. Google Adwords is a powerful advertising system that helps you to target and reach your audience through Google search AND partner sites including Google Play, YouTube, and Google Discover. Apart from ads in search, you can create and manage:
- Display and text ads on various sites;
- Video ads on YouTube;
- App ad campaigns across Google Play, YouTube, Google Search, and the Display Network;
- Google shopping ads.
When we are talking about Google Search Ads, don't expect that you'll just pay some money, and Google will show your ad straight away for any relevant keyword. There is huge competition among advertisers, and if you want to win, you have to have a good quality of your ad, landing page, and website in general.
The main feature of using Google AdWords is its ability to target the audience very precisely. Google is collecting users' data as no one else, and if it may frighten you as a user, as an advertiser, on the other hand, you are blessed. For example, once the users visit your site without a purchase or download, they will be chased by your remarketing ad at any partner website.
Social Media Ads (Facebook/Instagram)
Another option for ad placement can be Facebook and Instagram. You can manage both social media channels from Facebook Business Suit. By choosing placement options, ad types, and targeting by interests, you are fully equipped to start a successful promotion of your dating app.
Although you might think that social media might be more suitable for the promotion of a social platform like a dating app, don't forget to mind your audience. For example, for a more mature audience you can try a static image ad on Facebook or Instagram feed, while for a young audience, a dynamic viral video ad could be more suitable for TikTok.
Source - Hootsuite
Speaking of Tiktok. It's a perfect advertising platform for you if you are targeting:
- Young adults 35 and under;
- Women, especially at the age 18 to 25;
- Asia or the Middle East market.
About the types of ads and possible placement options, we recommend you to check TikTok's Learning Center.
Display Ads
When someone is talking about display ads they are most likely referring to visually engaging ad blocks on different websites. It might be a video, image, or animated element that is placed on third-party websites. As we've mentioned before you can create and run a displayed ad through Google AdWords, Facebook, or any other platform. If you want your ad to deliver great results, make sure that:
- you set the right targeting audience;
- your message is clear: the image is not cluttering; the video is not overwhelming;
- you have a clear call to action (for example, download here or learn more);
- the landing page of the ad is accurate and is logically following the ad.
Display ads could be very helpful when you are just starting to widely promote your dating app brand as it's visual and usually more attractive than search ads, for example. However, there are mainly two big issues with this type of ad:
1) Ad blocks - browser extensions or special desktop programs that hide the websites' ads. This technology has become very popular in recent years.
2) Banner blindness - the users' habit of ignoring display ads due to their excessive use of them. It might be a challenge, so it's up to your creativity could you be able to get the attention or not. Rich media could be helpful in this case: you can use a sound, gamification, or any other engaging element to "hook" a user.
