How Social Discovery Group Uses Gamification to Foster Connections

This article is brought to you by Social Discovery Group’s Content Partnership with Global Dating Insights. Social Discovery Group is one of the world’s largest social discovery companies, with 70+ brands, 500 million users globally, and $400M in revenue.

The next generation of dating platforms enable users to come out of their shell and be their authentic selves. Gamification is a powerful tool to encourage greater engagement and personality-driven connections. 

Social Discovery Group is constantly innovating and exploring how this strategy can provide an enhanced user experience, particularly when combined with Virtual Reality technology.

The Value of Gamification

Social Discovery Group identifies two key ways where gamified experiences can enhance the traditional dating app journey. Firstly, it found that gamified experiences can help alleviate the stress that users may find when waiting for a response from their match. 

Secondly, it recognises that gamification can help to foster connections among users who are shy, introverted, or unsure of how to make the first move. Social Discovery Group’s own research finds that 25% of users encounter difficulties when composing the first message, and gamification can help them to be more confident. 

For example, dating app for the South Asian community Dil Mil introduced a collaborative game to encourage users to interact with each other. It enables users to create a Haiku, a Japanese-style poem, together. 

As these users craft the Haiku and explore the different potential meanings within the poem, Dil Mil found that this experience facilitates better conversations and empowers its users to explore each other’s personalities on a deeper level. 

Creating the Romantic Spark

Icebreaker features are another example of how Social Discovery Group is helping to foster genuine connections. These in-app tools can facilitate greater engagement and create the ‘spark’ that will lead to a potential romance.

Its most influential tool is called “Let’s Mingle”. This automatic invite sender can be accessed with the touch of a button, with users then able to customise their own greeting message. The dating app system will then use algorithmic analysis to find compatible users, sharing the greeting message with those who would be a good fit. 

Once the greeting message has been sent out, users will be able to see who replies and decide whether they want to continue the conversation further. This service brings a feeling of gamification and intrigue to the overall user experience, users never know who will reply to their next Let’s Mingle message.

Let’s Mingle can make a competitive difference in the user journey, offering an alternative to the traditional swiping model for creating new conversations. 

The potential of Virtual Reality

Social Discovery Group is actively exploring the possibilities of VR in its products, looking at how the technology can help users overcome geographical barriers to new connections.

In September of 2022, Dating.com created a social space in the virtual metaverse for users to explore. Several couples used it to get married and received NFT certificates, which makes their marriages official in the virtual reality world. 

The meta dating space LOMB is still available in virtual world Decentraland. The pop-up venue is open for visits, with users able to set up a virtual date there. The company is continuing to explore opportunities and developing exciting new features around Virtual Reality.

Beyond that, the dating company & social discovery company found that video dates have become immensely popular within its apps. Additionally, it incorporates virtual gifting features, allowing users to send virtual presents and express their emotions to their partners, regardless of distance.

To find out more about Social Discovery Group, check out its website here or see more of its insightful content here.