Millions of dollars are spent every year on ad campaigns to engage the LGBTQ+ community where they hang out all over the world. And a large number of them hang out on dating apps. It stands to reason that ad dollars should be spent in this huge and growing industry – it’s just a smart business decision.
This piece will compare advertising comparisons on Growlr and Taimi, so your team has the information you need to make smarter decisions on your ad spend.
Advertising on the Growlr Dating Platform
If you aren’t familiar with the Growlr dating app here’s a brief rundown.
First What is Growlr?
Growlr is a dating app for a specialized male gay user group – bears and bear chasers. Bears are masculine and muscular in physique and can be a bit rugged, as their profiles and pictures show. Chasers are gay males who want to connect with gay bears for everything from hookups to long-term relationships. Growlr is free to upload with an iOS iPhone or a mobile Android device via the Google store, and there are ways to connect through free features, including messages. Premium fee-based features include more options – basic messages and searches – but also such things as the Growlr shout, video calls, the option to display more pictures, and a GPS feature that allows Growlr users to define geographic locations for their matches. The app offers several ways to pay for this including via Google Play or iTunes. The Growlr shout is a popular feature because it lets Growlr users post their location to everyone within a certain distance.
Do Some In-App Research
If you intend to advertise on the Growlr site, you will need to get on that site and have a long look around. Gay bears and chasers are a subculture of the entire gay male community, not always known to the more public LGBTQIA+ community. You might want to read a profile or two of Growlr users, both bears and chasers, to get a feel for what you will meet as a target audience. It helps to browse pictures as well. It’s important to get a feel for the aesthetics of a target audience to get a complete understanding of them. Growlr users are a unique breed.
Crafting the Right Messages for Results
That said there are a large number of Growlr account holders – there are over 10 million around the world, 4 million in the US alone. 10 million Grindr users are on the app each week. The most popular age group is 25-34, and the second most popular is 18-24. This will identify solid info about voice, language, and style to use. You want to send the right messages to both gay bears and their chasers in order to keep them interested in what you are offering. And you want that interest to continue even though users may not be ready to buy yet.
Why Growlr is a Positive Advertising Option
Growlr app users do spend money at the same rate as others in the LGBTQIA+ community. While they may not be ready to make a purchase at this time, if your messages and content resonate, when they are ready you will get the sale. The key is building a connection strong enough that prospective customers will remember your past ads.
Growlr bears and chasers are active on the app. As we said, at any given time, there can be huge numbers online, and that is always positive for you to make contact or even advertise an upcoming business event to be held in the app. And as popular as the social networking section is, it’s a great time to be there too.
How to Advertise on Growlr
First, in the app itself, there is a form that a business can fill out for ads, events, announcements, etc. It’s pretty simplistic and you will want to use it only to meet and begin a discussion with app administrators. Presumably, they are motivated enough to inbox prospective clients in a timely manner.
There are several options for getting messages into the “field of vision” of gay bears and their chasers.
- Paid banners and popups with short messages
- Relevant content, not to sell a product or service but to establish a relationship
- Partnerships for events in the app that Growlr users can join and even invite friends to
- Participation on Growlr social media platforms – post content, enter into discussions
- Participation in the Growlr social networking page where so many users hang out
Some Considerations When Advertising on Growlr
Those who identify as gay bears and their chasers are but a part of the larger gay community and the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole. How much of your ad account are you ready to spend on the app?
And here’s another thought. Those users who purchase the premium Growlr subscription have more than features like “shout”. These users can opt out of all banners and popups via their account with a single click. Your time is probably better spent in the field of creating content that will grow relationships. And that will be more than a one-time business event. It means complete consistency along with opportunities for the app users to click on your product or service links.
Before you create content, read a profile page or two of the app users. This will help you develop a persona profile of your ideal target. Their profiles will be in their tone and language. Focus on emulating that profile tone in your own content.
Always monitor your results. Growlr does not have a sophisticated data analysis system that will shout out your ROI. Keep a close account of what is working and what is not so you can have a complete picture of the current state of your campaign. Only then can you identify where to pivot next.
Advertising on the Taimi Dating Platform
At one time, LGBTQIA+ dating apps were rare, and even the large “coverall” apps did not include this community. Over time, though, this community has shown itself to be a major block of the consumer audience, and advertisers have taken note.
The thing about Taimi is this: it is not a niche dating app for those who identify as one spot on the spectrum. It is inclusive of the entire LGBTQIA+ community and then some.
With such a large swath of Taimi app users, it may be difficult for advertisers to target the entire community at once or specific segments of the community. Fortunately, Taimi has a sophisticated data-driven methodology not just for its high-tech matching but also for sorting members by all sorts of factors – how they identify and specific demographic and personal traits – based upon their profiles and machine learning features in their system. Not only does this system work for helping mutuals connect, it works for advertisers too.
Taimi’s reach is around the world with 15+ million registered users. This number continues to grow on a global scale.
What Makes the Taimi App a Good Choice?
Probably the first reason is Taimi’s inclusivity. It is a complete LGBTQIA+ company that recognizes everyone’s current identity as well as users’ needs for discovery, exploration, and complete diversity. Any advertiser can target the entire community or hone in on any specific segment of the population with just a click or two on its account dashboard.
This isn’t to say that other platforms exclude any queer demographics. There are other LGBTQIA+ dating apps that cast a wide net. Although, Growlr is not one of them. Still, Taimi is unique in its complete commitment to inclusivity that includes people who are exploring or questioning their sexuality or identity. It’s also one of the few dating apps that considers the needs of polyamorous/ENM members as part of its core design.
Using the account dashboard is easy and streamlined and provides a complete array of options. Advertisers just log in and enter what they want to find or do. Client support is robust and ongoing. Advertisers can simply send a request for assistance with their campaigns and receive a fast response.
The success of any campaign can be shown via Taimi’s data methodology.
How to Advertise on Taimi
Taimi wants to understand its advertisers’ goals and work with them to develop the right ad campaigns, whether those are in-app, on its social media platforms, or elsewhere.
There are a wealth of options, including the following:
- Banners and popups targeted and shown to specific segments
- Native ads that are not intrusive with their content
- Partnerships for social media marketing and event planning and publicity
- Sponsored and targeted messages, emails, and push notifications to send on a schedule
- Direct in-App advertising
- Publication of relatable content for specific or general audiences
- Location and demographic-specific ad placement based on user profiles and other gathered data
Things to Consider When Advertising on Taimi
Taimi is worldwide in its reach, so an advertiser must decide how far their reach should be and be certain to enter that on their dashboard. They can always update it as they wish. But their geolocation reach will determine the specifics of their ad campaign.
It will be important to know the target audience well before planning any campaign. Developing a persona profile, even with a name and pictures will help keep in mind your audience. And that will allow you to define all of the traits of those you want to develop a relationship with – gender identity, education, socioeconomic status, and more.
The LGBTQIA+ community has become a major spending element. In 2021, US census data reported that spending power of this community reached $1.4 trillion in the US alone. This should shout loudly to any advertiser with products or services to market. Because Taimi is a complete community-wide dating app, advertisers can market to any and all segments in one place – perhaps a simpler way.
Taimi users tend to be educated, monied, progressive, tech-savvy, and connected. They are involved in social causes and want to align with brands that share their values. Brands that want their campaigns to be a complete success must be relatable to the segments of Taimi’s audience they choose to target.
So, for example, you can co-sponsor an event with Taimi for one segment and then co-sponsor another event at another time, and so on. During each event, you have a way to show segments of the community that you share their values.
Taimi Vs. Growlr Pros and Cons
Let’s take a look at how Taimi and Growlr compare.
Shared Pros
- Plenty of options for making a shout-out to potential customers
- A reach throughout the world if desired
- The ability to modify and update ad campaigns at any time
- Use of social media platforms to form connections, send out content, and provide support – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more
Pros for Taimi Only
- Reaches a far wider audience than most other apps
- Reaches lesser-known and under-served members of the community
- Data methodology available for advertisers to assess and update their campaigns
- Easy to use advertiser dashboard to find specific audiences
Shared Cons of Taimi and Growlr
- Reach only those engaged in online dating
- Campaigns will be trial and error with modifications required
Cons for Taimi Only
- Will not have the in-depth reach for bears and chasers
Cons for Growlr Only
Premium users have a way to turn off ads and popups
No desktop version
Taimi and Growlr both offer global reach, flexible ad management, and multiple ways to connect with audiences through social media. These shared strengths make both platforms attractive for advertisers seeking to promote within the online dating space. However, each platform caters to different niches, which may influence your choice.
Taimi provides a broader reach across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, including underserved and lesser-known community members. Its advanced data methodology and intuitive advertiser dashboard make it easy to assess campaign performance and fine-tune audience targeting. However, it may lack the niche appeal to bears and chasers that Growlr offers.
Growlr, by contrast, is highly focused on the bear community. This specialized reach makes it ideal for campaigns targeting this niche. However, its lack of a desktop version and the ability for premium users to disable ads may limit overall exposure and versatility.
Both platforms share the challenge of engaging only users within online dating, requiring trial-and-error optimization to refine campaigns.
In conclusion, Taimi is the better option for advertisers seeking a broad, inclusive reach and access to detailed analytics tools. Growlr excels for campaigns specifically targeting the bear community, though advertisers may need to work around certain exposure limitations.
