What is BeReal and does your brand need to be there?
It’s been a minute since a new social media platform had some serious buzz, so we are due for BeReal. Though BeReal launched a couple of years ago, it has recently gained traction to the tune of 20 million app installs as of July 2022 and 10 million daily active users. One reason for this is the recent backlash against Instagram’s latest updates to focus on video content (the backlash was spurred by the Kardashians, making it even bigger news). And because BeReal is gaining users and share of online time, Instagram has already started testing features that copy some aspects of BeReal in an attempt to steal back that share of the market (the tell-tale sign indicating whether a new social app is successful is when Meta starts copying it).
The BeReal app is being touted as the anti-Instagram, focusing on real, unedited everyday life, as opposed to filtered and staged Instagram posts we’ve gotten used to on that app. BeReal is sharing raw, rough, and unpolished photos of what you are doing right at that moment (within two minutes of receiving the notification from the app), positioning it as a place for intimate connections.
How does it work?
Every day, at a random time, you get a notification informing you that you have a two-minute window to post a photo. You tap the notification, open the app, and it takes a photo using both your front and back-facing camera, so your friends can see you and what you’re looking at. Everybody gets the notification simultaneously, so if you stay in the app after you post, you can immediately see what all your friends are doing right now. Before posting, you can retake your photo as many times as you want (within the two-minute window), or you can ignore the notification until you’re set up doing something cooler you want to share (or stage). If you wait to open the notification (thereby missing the two-minute window), your post is flagged as “late.”
So what is it about the app that keeps bringing people back?
Game Play. There is a game-like quality to the app in that you are challenged to create the best photo you can in the two-minute timeframe. Constraints breed creativity, so the two-minute, no-uploading-existing-photos, late-flagging, and friend-limitations, make this app very constraining.
Notifications. BeReal has built the product around a scheduled experience so users are much more likely to opt-in to the push notifications. In fact, if you don’t get the notifications, then you really aren’t using the app!
Habit-Tracking. There is a “Memories” section of BeReal that shows a “complete” or “incomplete” status for each day. Those of us who find completion “streaks” very satisfying will keep coming back each to fill all the calendar boxes.
Voyeurism. Because the photos are so raw (I have yet to post one where I look even close to something I would post on Instagram), it feels very much like you are seeing what people’s live are really like: laptop screens, offices, feet on coffee tables, TV screens, glimpses of messy kitchens and dirty laundry. It is what it claims to be: “real.”
How are brands getting involved in this very personal app?
As of right now, BeReal does not have advertising. This won’t stop brands from using the app for their content. But due to the randomness of the ability to post, it is difficult for a brand (and in particular, the social media manager) to plan content. There have been a few brands experimenting with the app. Here are some ways that brands can use BeReal:
Capture behind-the-scenes of everyday office life for the corporate brand.
Pass the BeReal responsibility to a new team member in a new area of the business each week to build a story about the brand from different perspectives.
Partner with influencers to have your brand positioned in their BeReal posts.
Share promo codes like Chipotle has done. According to Chipotle, the first 100 people to use the promo would receive a free entree and the codes were regularly redeemed in less than a minute. Note: I did read an article that said the social media manager had to carry around the props for the codes in order to be ready when the BeReal notification came in — and one time it came in while they were at a concert, on their own personal time. That is not fun.
If you are going to experiment with using BeReal for your brand, put some thought into interesting ways that you can use it in a way that followers will enjoy. It is typical for brands and social media managers to feel pressure to have a presence on every platform. But as I written about before, you don’t have to be everywhere, and shouldn’t be everywhere if it doesn’t make sense for your brand or the audience you are trying to reach. That being said, even if you don’t plan on using the app for your brand, go ahead and secure your user name. And definitely test the app personally to see what you like and don’t like about it as a user, before you even consider using it for your brand.
Be real: will you be using BeReal for your brand? If so, how?
