Target audience
Bumble was created because Whitney Wolfe wanted to change gender norms in dating and create a platform where women are in control. She did that by having women make the first move in heterosexual matches, creating a safer environment where the chances of female users receiving unwanted messages from men are reduced. Dating is hard enough already; Bumble makes the online experience as positive and safe as possible. Anyone can make an app but Bumble’s vision of a world free of misogyny, where all relationships are equal and the goal of female empowerment is really what makes them stand out from the crowd. Bumble aligned their values with those of their target audience: accountability, equality, and kindness in an effort to re-write archaic gender roles. Bumble actively takes a stance on gender equality issues, they celebrate women in power and they celebrate differences. Some of their social media content, such as tips, quotes and advice speaks to both men and women, but they tend to sway more towards their female audience in their implementation. We preach the need to understand your target audience inside and out before investing in digital marketing, and Bumble is a prime example of why it’s so important.
User experience
With the audience in mind, Bumble has created an app with a user experience that really allows us to get to know the other person before we even consider which direction our finger swipes. The user sees important, basic information that reflects the potential match’s values at the top, followed by their top five interests. Users can also answer three prompts to showcase their personalities. It’s enough of a snapshot for the user to skim read and make a quick decision: to match or not to match. With Ms Rona third-wheeling our dating lives over the last two years, Bumble has also added COVID preferences and vaccination status to make us feel even safer. Beyond dating, Bumble also has two other modes: Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz, where you can make new friends or network with other professionals. They have one of the most basic digital marketing principles down pat: our attention spans are only getting shorter, and we need to see the most important snippets of information in about 3 seconds, or we become disinterested and flick to the next thing. Bumble’s UI panders to our impatience and makes sure that we only see the best bits, quickly.
Digital marketing strategy
There’s no point in having a great product or service if you don’t have the strategy behind it to match. Bumble gets our tick of approval for both. Their branding is consistent so when you see the Bumble yellow, you know exactly which account the content is coming from. They’ve maximised their social media presence by creating multiple accounts and sharing consumable and fun content. Over Heard Bumble is a page where you can read screenshots of Bumble conversations, shared anonymously. It’s hilarious. The Bumble page has that elusive, perfect range of content that gives their audience advice, success stories, memes, positive affirmation quotes, funny TikTok reels and makes a stance on important social issues. For example, Bumble has recently committed to net-zero carbon footprint by 2025. We love to see it.
Advertising campaigns
Bumble’s social media campaigns supported them in creating an even stronger presence and community in the dating apps world. They pushed for equality in relationships by creating the #HowWeEqual campaign where influencers and celebrities participated in and shared their personal dating experiences. Another campaign that was run amid COVID-19 in India was “Love Will Find A Way”, which emphasised the importance of virtual connections, hope and resilience during lockdown. According to Bumble, 83% of app users were more interested in dating during lockdown – boredom gets to the best of us. More recently, Bumble partnered with social media powerhouse TikTok to launch the “Date with Better Answers” campaign, inspiring users to make more meaningful matches on Bumble post lockdown by showcasing their true, authentic personalities. The campaign features TikTok creators from the UK, France and Germany helping a couple to connect by sharing their interests. By working with these creators, they were able to leverage the trending interests and TikToker’s influence on the platform. A partnership of shared values and tapping into a wider millennial and Gen Z audience – two birds one stone!
Final thoughts
Bumble found a gap in the market and successfully created a product that not only serves but empowers the community. They’re in their own lane amongst the competitors and their strong value-alignment with their target audience means they’ll always have a loyal consumer base. Bumble also has their finger on the pulse of what the latest marketing trends are and how to implement them well.
So, what can your business learn from Bumble? The clearest lesson is to have a thorough understanding of who your target audience is and what they care about, followed by a digital marketing strategy that revolves around that audience. 83% of millennials expressed that value alignment with the companies they buy from is an important consideration, according to 5W Public Relations’ 2020 Consumer Culture Report. Consider what social channels your audience uses, develop a marketing strategy and create engaging content that’ll grab their attention. Finally, make sure your values play a big role in that content. Easier said than done, but we can give you a hand! Get in touch.
