Looking For Love? Don’t Forget to Show Off Your Social Side!

When you’re single and looking for love, you never know where you’ll end up meeting someone. For instance, it may be a cliché, but it’s amazing how many people meet their life partner at the office water cooler.
However, most of us aren’t content to sit around and wait for love to find us. There are plenty of things you can do to get noticed and make sure that people know you’re interested in having a relationship. You can let your mates know that you’re up for being set up with a blind date, for example, and generally spread the word that you’re open to the idea of meeting someone new.

If you decide to go down the online dating route, you’ll doubtless spend a decent amount of time concentrating on getting your dating profile just right, for instance by following these tips from Match.com. It’s how people you’ve not yet met will know you’re available and where they’ll get an idea of what kind of person you are, and what kind of relationship you’re looking for.

via GIPHY

Whichever dating site you register with, you should put some effort into making sure you give out the right signals in order to get interest from the kind of people you want attention from. However, few people who are scanning online dating profiles will stop their research there. If they’ve got any common sense, they’re more than likely to have a nosey at your social media profiles, to get a real impression of what you’re like; not just trust what you put on the dating website profile.

Beyond Dating Apps

While you’re preparing your dating profile, it’s a perfect time to take a look at your online presence in other contexts and consider what kind of impression you make.

What does your Twitter bio say about you, for example? Is it a true reflection of your character, and is there anything that might turn off a potential love interest? Make sure that you sound confident, but not arrogant. Show that you have a sense of fun, but that you have a caring side to you too. It’s a tall order in 160 characters, but try and have a Twitter bio that captures the essence of you!

Tinder profile: I am a passionate musician who isn’t afraid to say “I love you”

Me: It’s a no from me.

— Emma Hensley (@emm_hens) January 29, 2017

Then there’s the profile pic that you use. Do you go for the same head and shoulders shot for every social network profile that you have, or do you choose a certain look for Facebook and a different one for Instagram? Consistency is always good, but using different profile pics to show different aspects of your character can also work.

Unlikely Places

Beyond the usual social networks, you probably have other online profiles you might not necessarily have made that mental connection to your search for a partner. There are certainly some unique places to find love online, such as a bingo chatroom. When you sign up to play at a casino or bingo site, you’re probably focused on the kind of cash prizes you might win – you’d never dream that you might find the girl of your dreams on that service. However, it does happen – a few years ago, two Sun Bingo players moved from exchanging banter in the chat room, to meeting up and falling in love. Now they’ve had a baby together – it just goes to show you where a little bit of socialising while you’re playing a game like bingo could lead. You also have the added bonus of knowing you and your love interest have at least one interest in common. So choose your gaming nickname with care!

Don’t forget your LinkedIn profile too. This tends to show someone’s more serious side, as it’s mainly about work and making those connections. If someone interested in dating you checks out your LinkedIn page will they be able to make the connection with the off-duty you that they see on Instagram?

Of course, it’s not just your profile and photos that matter on all your social networks. It’s what you say and do as well. Have you expressed any radical or extreme political views? Even “liking” someone else’s comments or re-tweeting another person’s tweet can reflect badly on you and if someone hasn’t met you yet, they’ll use your social content to form an opinion of you. Take a look over your social media accounts’ histories at the same time as editing your profiles and delete anything that puts you in a bad light. Deleting your social history will serve you well, not only when you’re looking for romance, but also for any future job changes – potential employers will be checking you out too.