As Tupac once said, we gotta start makin’ changes.
Sure, ‘Changes‘ might have been released in 1992, but the message still holds true today. Especially when it comes to some Tinder profiles.
We’ve all seen them. It’s the dude posing with the tiger in Thailand. The girl pouting into a toothpaste-speckled mirror. The being who has wilfully chosen a hotted up Holden Ute as their profile picture.
Sure, while these Crimes Against Dating are common, it doesn’t make them okay. These people aren’t doing themselves any favours, either. Have you ever heard a love story that started with, “Well, he was wearing wraparound Oakleys and skolling a Jim Beam…”? No. You haven’t, and neither have I.
We spoke to the folk at Tinder and they gave us some insider info on what makes a profile stand out, and more importantly, get right swiped.
Here they are, love rats.
1. Get your bio sorted
If people have clicked into your picture to read your bio, there’s a morsel of interest there. Don’t blow it to smithereens by leaving this space blank.
Get creative and show some personality. No, that doesn’t mean copy and paste a joke from Google about an angel falling from heaven. Spend some time thinking about what you want to communicate to your potential match. It shows you’re somewhat invested, which is attractive.
Go beyond “6”1, love footy, love my mates”. Experiment with puns, but don’t overdo it. Try and adopt a tone you’d use in real life. If you’re totally stumped, make one of your pictures something you love (a grab from Wayne’s World, for example) and make reference to this in your bio. This gives your fellow Tindermen / Tinderellas something to talk to you about.
2. Smile you idiot
Just prefacing this point by apologising to all the females reading this, who have no doubt had to put up with being told to “smile, sweetie” by creepy old men since time immemorial.
This is a little different. Smiling denotes happiness. Happiness denotes fun. Similarly, dating should be fun, and people usually want to date other people who are happy and/or fun. Still following?
Science says smiling makes you hotter and apparently, users who smile increase their chances of being right-swiped by 14%.
Plus… U nEvEr KnOw WhO Is FalLiNg In LoVe WiTh YoUr SmIlE 🙂
3. Ditch the sunnies
I know we made an earlier point insinuating that Oakleys are ultimate anti-aphrodisiac, and we mean no disrespect. They are a fantastic option against harmful UV rays. But for fuck’s sake, don’t wear them in your Tinder profile picture.
Shades are called shades for a reason. They’re shady, and they make you look like you have something to hide, or conjunctivitis.
Eyes, apart from being the window to your soul, play an important role in body language. You can express so much with your eyes, but not if they’re cloaked behind a pair of $2 servo sunnies.
Not convinced to ditch the Ray Bans? According to Tinder, glasses in a profile picture tend to decrease your chances of being right-swiped by 12%.
4. Wear a colour in your profile pic
Wearing something bright (provided it’s not a hot pink THIS IS WHY I’M HOT slogan tee from Supre) can help you stand out from the crowd. A whopping 72% of users wear a neutral color (black, navy, beige or white) in their primary photograph; dare to be different and you may enjoy the fruits of your technicolour labour.
5. Get around Tinder’s technology
Tinder have a thingy you can enable in the app called Smart Photos. The algorithm alternates the photo first seen by others when you’re shown on Tinder, notes each response as others swipe on you, and reorders your photos to show your best ones first.
We don’t always know which photos of us are the best. We see ourselves differently to how strangers see us. Smart Photos can fix this. It can also improve your chances of being right-swiped on by up to 12%.
6. Connect your Instagram
Tinder limits you to just six photos, and if you’re outrageously attractive, this is really limiting.
Show potential d8s your range (here’s me on Christmas! Here’s me with my family! Here’s me on the beach!) and you will see a solid ROI. Plus – you may potentially gain followers. Who doesn’t love that?
7. Swipe on a Sunday
Everyone’s hungover in bed, and potentially nursing a bruised ego. There’s literally no better time to swoop in and show them what they’re missing! Plus, Sunday arvos are when the app’s users are most active.
8. Use GIFs
GIFs are…
Using them is a great way to break the…
Users who use GIFs are 30% more likely to get a response and are more likely to have conversations that last twice as…
(long)
Lol.
So there you have it. Take off the sunnies, put on your best smile and get swiping.
