Despite seemingly losing its growth momentum, along with its status as the app of the moment, BeReal says that it’s not done just yet, with a new update set to see celebrities and brands get their own specific focus in-stream.
Which could make it more of a consideration for marketers, but then again…
Today, BeReal has announced the launch of RealPeople, a feed of updates from notable users, as well as RealBrands, official brand accounts that will showcase promotions and offers in the app.
The update is an expansion of the RealPeople feed, which BeReal has been testing since May last year, with the platform looking to spark more interest by showing that celebrities are just like you and me.
As per BeReal:
“RealPeople is an opportunity for notable people (think actors, athletes, and musicians) to keep it real, and share behind the scenes moments to give you, their community, a glimpse of their lives when they aren’t on the world stage. Unfiltered, unedited, unscripted moments.”
Conceptually, this will provide a window into the world of your favorite celebrities, by prompting them with the usual, daily BeReal update, then showcasing them doing whatever they’re up to in the moment.
Though I highly doubt that it’s going to lead to less polished, less manicured images of celebrities being shared, as few will be willing to actually show themselves in anything buta glamorous light.
Which makes sense, as that’s the public persona that they’ve built, but even so, it could lure more users to the app to see which celebrities do actually post.
And there’s also this:
“These figures will create BeReal accounts and share content that you can engage with in unique ways by becoming a RealFan of that person or brand You’ll also be able to tag them in your BeReal so they can see and even re-share your BeReal!”
So rather than a feed of just you and your friends’ posts, showcasing your real selves in the moment, BeReal is now becoming more like every other social app, with re-shares becoming another element in the experience.
Also, the mention of “RealFan” could point to a future subscription offering, where users can pay to see updates from notable users. That’s not mentioned in today’s update, but it could be another avenue for future growth.
The other new addition is RealBrands, which, like celebrities, will see brand accounts get their own focus in-stream.
BeReal is now accepting applications from accounts to appear in these new feeds, via an application prompt in the app.
Will that help get BeReal back on track, after its growth stalled following its trend-setting debut?
Well as noted, BeReal says that it actually is still growing, despite broader perception. BeReal is currently serving 23 million daily active users, which is up from 20 million last August, and 10 million a year before that. That’s still a far cry from the reported 73 million users that it was seeing at peak, but even so, BeReal is seemingly still driving interest, which could spark celebrities and brands to take note.
From a marketing perspective, it could also be worth being an early mover on this, and getting your content into this new feed before others jump on board. Many brands are already paying attention to the app, so it’s not like you’d be beating out everyone. But maybe, while it’s less of a focus, that could present good promotional opportunity.
Though I still maintain that BeReal is more of a feature than a separate app, and that its growth opportunities will remain limited.
Most of our social interactions take place in the apps that we already know and rely on, and breaking into that attention sphere is very difficult. Add to this the fact that BeReal, by design, only holds user attention for a brief period each day, and it’s difficult to see this becoming a significant factor for most businesses.
But again, BeReal says that it is growing, and adding in more celebrity content will no doubt have some impact on time spent in the app.
Will it make BeReal more relevant again? I doubt it, but it’ll be interesting to see which stars start posting, and whether that helps drive more interest.
Source link
