Marketers Are Experimenting With BeReal - MARION VESPREY | SEPTEMBER 2022
The latest trending social app, BeReal, is undergoing explosive growth. Since the start of 2022, active monthly users have grown by an overwhelming 315%. Although much of this momentum can be credited to campus ambassador programs and word-of-mouth among teens, the app’s popularity seems to have also caught the attention of brands.
Why Is BeReal Growing?
The rise of BeReal perfectly coincides with a market need for authenticity in digital and social connections. The premise of the app can best be explained as sharing your life with others in a non-curated way-–no filters, no edits. With a commitment to “being real,” BeReal has earned a reputation as the ‘antidote’ to mainstream social media apps.
Creative BeReal Marketing Strategies
BeReal currently has no formal ads, nor does it give space to influencers or brand accounts. This makes it tricky for marketers to engage in product promotion or use the app for other commercial purposes.
Brands are hopeful that in the future, BeReal will introduce paid advertising capabilities or a subscription-based model. In the meantime, marketers are finding creative loopholes to gain access to a lucrative Gen Z user base.
E.l.f. Cosmetics
E.l.f. Beauty created a BeReal channel under the username @elfyeah, providing its “friends” (followers) with behind-the-scenes content. The brand’s start on BeReal was set in motion with a limited-time promo code for the first 150 followers of the channel.
The relationship between cosmetics and BeReal is seamlessly brought together in E.l.f. 's Cosmetics' promotion of its skincare line. Priced at an affordable value, every product is marketed at what they call “get-real” prices. The campaign’s proposition is fittingly tagged: “REAL SKIN. REAL RESULTS. REAL AS E.L.F.”
Chipotle
One of the first major brands to make its mark on BeReal was Chipotle. To grow their channel, the company similarly incentivized users with a promo code for a free entrée for the first 100 people. The results were directly measurable: followers grew, and the codes were all used in under 30 minutes the first day.
Takeaways for Marketers
It should come as no surprise that no consensus exists on BeReal’s future. However, there are a few takeaways for marketers.
First movers are often awarded. Even if the app’s growth takes a dip, brands have little to lose experimenting with BeReal. An early presence on BeReal could insulate the brand from intense competition for loyalty if the platform becomes oversaturated.
And as Gen Zs’ distaste for traditional advertisements and highly-curated content continues to grow, brand authenticity through messaging becomes more important than ever.
