What Is A Soft Launch? Exploring The Social Media Dating Trend

You might have seen both the terms 'soft launch' and 'hard launch' being used online in recent years, but what exactly is a soft launch and how can it be done?

Cuffing season is well and truly underway which means there's likely to have been many soft (and hard) launches gracing your feeds over the past few months...

But what does this mean? We dive in and reveal the meanings of these phrases and the various ways to execute them.

What is a Soft Launch?

Originally (before being hijacked by social media users), the meaning of a 'soft launch' was related to the teasing or introducing of a new product, service or business to the market.

This could mean only presenting it to a selected amount of people in order to trial it out and gain feedback, fine-tune marketing strategies and highlight any potential issues.

In online culture, however, 'soft launch' is often used in terms of relationships, and refers to when someone shares a subtle and mysterious photo of their new relationship.

Back in the day, relationships on social media were obvious and direct. People would jump at the chance to update their Facebook relationship status from 'Single' to 'In A Relationship With...', eagerly tagging their new partner and publishing it for their friend lists to see.

Facebook pages were full of no-shame couple photos left, right and centre!

However, the once beloved hard launch - which describes this super open approach to posting about your romantic relationships - has been replaced with its cooler and more mysterious younger sister, the soft launch.

Urban Dictionary defines a 'soft launch' as: "A photo preview of a talking stage before it becomes an official relationship on social media, i.e. taking photos of their dinner plate and their hands, half their face or their shoes as to allude there's someone special in your life."

This mysterious new way of introducing your new boo has become the most popular way of going public online. But why have we become obsessed with teasing our new relationship like it's the new iPhone?!

Unlike the business strategy of soft launching which is used to trial products for feedback, the dating soft launch is usually an example of people valuing a more private approach to their relationship being online.

Soft launching works well if you want to showcase the fact you have a new love interest whilst maintaining privacy between the two of you.

With everything online nowadays and photos and information about yourself being available at just a click, it can be reassuring to take control of what you decide to share, savouring and cherishing the important things for yourself.

Also, who doesn't love to be mysterious? The elusiveness of the soft launch definitely contributes to its appeal.

Soft Launch Ideas

Need some inspo for your own relationship soft launch? Fear not, here are some soft launch suggestions...

1. A photo of your food at the restaurant, with their plate, torso or arms and hands in the shot

This is a great way to show that you're having a romantic dinner date with your new boo without having to show their face or tag them in a post or Instagram story.

It screams new love interest and shows off the time you're spending together, but allows you to remain mysterious and private.

2. A photo of your shoes together when out and about

This is another good example of an effective soft launch.

Snap a pic of the two of you out together but only your shoes! This is still subtle but a more obvious way to soft launch your relationship.

3. The 'no face, no case' mirror selfie

For this one, angles are everything and it might not work if there's a big height difference, but it's a really fun way to soft launch if possible!

Either have your partner take the selfie in a mirror and angle it so the phone blocks out their face, or you hold it and block out their face or have them hug you from the front so only the back of their head shows. SUPER CUTE!

Happy soft launching!