Why is BeReal such a hurdle for brands?
The French social media app BeReal is becoming increasingly popular and is one of the fastest-growing social networking apps in 2022, with a whopping 10 million daily active users. It is extremely popular with Gen Zers, making it both a challenge and an opportunity for brands to begin with.
It’s time to BeReal!
BeReal, as the name says, is all about publishing a photo of yourself once a day in a realistic way. This means no filters, no modifications and no location hunting. Just a rough photo. Every day, the app notifies all of its users that "it's time to be real." As a result, they must open the app, take a photo, and upload it within 2 minutes. BeReal captures both the front and back cameras of your smartphone when you take a photo. Yes, you read that correctly; there is no way to fake it.
Taking off the pressure.
The hype explained
BeReal's enormous popularity stems from its desire to live a bold, real life on social media. The software lacks filters and skin smoothing features, and users cannot upload previously taken and edited photos. This relieves the user of the need to take picture-perfect photos. Especially among Gen Z, the impact of this flawless perfection has a high toll such as anxiety, depression, as well as giving them a sense of insecurity. The desire for authenticity is intense.
Another result of BeReal's success is that the app has been widely imitated by other social media platforms. Instagram has a similar feature in its app, and TikTok has developed TikTok Now, which is nearly identical. The question is whether this will dethrone BeReal. To be continued.
You can’t fake it. But you can make it!
How to use BeReal as a brand?
BeReal's first goal is not to promote big businesses or commercial messages. At the time of writing, the app does not have any advertising options and specifically prohibits its use for commercial purposes in its Terms and Conditions. To remain relevant, BeReal announced Paid features in September 2022. Users can purchase items such as stickers and frames. Ads have yet to appear in BeReal's business model.
There is, however, an opportunity for brands and small businesses to embrace BeReal in their goal for a more real way of communication, particularly if Gen Z is part of their target audience. Although it does need some discipline and perseverance. Because BeReal is not like any other social networking platform.
We've highlighted a few brands that have successfully implemented BeReal into their day-to-day marketing:
PacSun, a retail clothing retailer, uses BeReal to broadcast amusing behind-the-scenes footage. BeReal is used by Chipotle, an American chain of Mexican grill restaurants, to provide special coupon codes. The first 100 customers to enter the code in the Chipotle app will receive a free dinner.
The pro’s and the con’s
Why is the app such a headache for businesses?
- Do you have a bureaucratic or complex business culture in which your social media must be validated by a large number of people?
- Is it nearly hard for you as a social media manager to drop everything on a regular basis and take that photo?
Then posting a daily BeReal can be extremely constraining and discouraging.
The app is all about expressing one's honest feelings about life without overthinking it. BeReal content should be enjoyable and transparent, so don't waste your time striving for perfection.
As a result, brands may find BeReal to be a difficult platform to exploit. For the time being, the presence on BeReal might be viewed as something unique on the still new platform. If your target audience is Gen Z and you have the bravery and strategy to reveal daily behind-the-scenes, promotions, everyday office life, or impromptu pictures, you might want to use it. Your brand will undoubtedly be noticed by die-hard BeReal users, and it can position your company in a new light. Remember, there is no time to fake it!
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