What’s the deal with BeReal?
Written by Lilly Steel, Managing Director
Earlier this year, the internet exploded with a flurry of searches and downloads for an until-then relatively unknown app called “BeReal”. As a young and unconventional social media platform, BeReal’s meteoric rise among the younger generation came as a big shock – especially given that the app was less than 2 years old. Since then, BeReal has been downloaded over fifty-three million times globally, and is still growing in popularity.
So what’s the deal with this new app on the block? Why has BeReal found such monumental success in such a short period of time, and how is it any different from the social media giants like Instagram and Snapchat? And finally, should marketers be worried about BeReal?
How is BeReal different from Instagram and Snapchat?
BeReal is designed to act as a window into the lives of your friends. The concept of the app is exceedingly simple compared to the big platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. BeReal lacks the fancy filters, effects, stories, permanent posts and discovery features of its competitors.
>Every day, at a seemingly random time, BeReal sends a notification to your phone that it’s time to post. When you open the app, you only have two minutes to shoot a photo, meaning you can’t rush to find the perfect background or lighting, and you can’t fake anything.
Whatever you’re doing at the moment is what BeReal will take a picture of. BeReal simultaneously captures an image through your front camera and your rear camera and then creates a sort of collage of the two, so your friends can see what you look like or who you’re with, as well as where you are and what you’re doing.
Since the app provides you with none of the filters, stickers or editing features that Instagram and Snapchat do, it’s supposed to provide a more legitimate view into your life and the lives of others. And since that notification comes at a random time in the day, and everyone gets it at the same time, you can’t take a pic at a favourable time in your day to manipulate the portrayal of your life. If you’re sitting eating cereal and your BeReal goes off, you’re either going to post a pic of you having your breakfast, or nothing at all.
But there’s a catch: users who don’t post a BeReal in the two minute window after the notification won’t get to see any of their friends’ pics for that day. This feature is clever because it means you don’t get to see the real window into your friends’ lives without presenting an authentic version of your life online, too. BeReal’s developers have designed it this way to encourage the users to participate in a system of mutual authenticity – something that Instagram lacks entirely.
Why BeReal can’t compete as an entertainment app
BeReal has taken off like crazy in the past few months. According to Google Trends, the popularity of the search term “BeReal” has exploded from only 5 points back in February to 100 points (the maximum) in September. Instagram and Snapchat users are transitioning to the app at an ever-accelerating rate, which has created some concern for marketers who use IG and Snap as their main source of customers.
However, despite its insane growth, BeReal still has some huge downsides compared to Instagram and Snapchat. First, BeReal’s competitors are entertainment apps as much as social media apps, and BeReal offers virtually nothing in the way of entertainment.
Many people open Instagram to see memes, reposted tweets, curated content from their favourite influencers, and more purposefully-captured snapshots of their friends’ lives. However, BeReal users don’t have much to see or do on the app when they open it, meaning usage time for the app is exceedingly limited.
IG and Snap may not be as transparent and authentic as BeReal, but they have a diverse range of entertainment options that keep users on the app. After the novelty of BeReal wears off, social media users are still going to want to see the content and reels that Instagram provides.
Should marketers be worried about losing potential customers?
With BeReal promoting authenticity and “realness”, and demoting the toxicity of traditional social media, there’s guaranteed to be a contingent of people who decide to completely uninstall Instagram and Snapchat and only use BeReal. That’s an unchangeable truth, but it’s a minority of people who are making a complete switch. Most BeReal users still use Instagram and Snapchat, even going as far as reposting their BeReals to their stories on these apps.
The problem with BeReal is that people still crave something more than a simple glimpse into the lives of their friends. Entertainment and content is the true secret sauce behind a successful social media app. BeReal cannot introduce any features for content marketing without compromising the entire premise of the app. It’s safe to say there will never be branded accounts, discovery features or interest communities on BeReal.
As long as social media users still want to see curated content and their favourite influencers – which they will – we marketers don’t have anything to worry about when it comes to BeReal. Sure, Instagram and Snapchat may be toppled by a superior social media app sometime in the future, but it won’t be BeReal that takes down the social media giants.
However, there is an important thing to learn from BeReal, and that is that social media users are now craving a less toxic and more authentic experience online. Presenting your brand in a way that is personable, transparent and humorous is the key to attracting attention and winning new fans.
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