Do you use the "indie hacking state" for marketing purposes?

Personally, finding something useful made by a small team or an individual (especially if they are upstarts) feels like discovering a hidden gem. You feel more compelled to talk about it. There is an element of pride also with being on forefront of something or a tastemaker.

It's how you would tell your friend about a local burger joint, but not gosh about a large chain. Or discovering a song by an indie band. Even if they become mainstream eventually, you can then do the hipster thing about bragging that you were a fan before they were popular.

In short, I am more likely to point out to others about "this cool thing I saw" when I know it's not the market leader or feels like "the start of something".

there is a set of requirements I want the app to meet (nice design, features, etc.). I realised that if most of those requirements are checked, I find it a big plus if it's made by one person or a small team

I like the nuances here: if the baseline requirements are met then you use the "made by an indie hacker" status as a tie-breaker. This is me as well.

Something I've come across a few times is that people will start with the IH-made constraint and only then consider other categories. (Similar to only buying retail products made in your own country.) I've personally never gotten behind this level of prioritizing the little guy because it really matters to me that I'm putting my absolute best foot forward with my projects.