What is ‘BeReal’?
‘BeReal’ is a relatively new app which was created in 2020 and has taken the internet and media by storm over the past 2 years. The concept of the app involves a daily notification allowing the user to post a photo of their activities using the front and rear facing camera. The notification is sent at different times same time each day, allowing the user 2 minutes to share this online. This concept promotes the idea of ‘being real’, as it will display a moment of a person’s day, whatever it is that they are doing at the time. By adding your closest friends, one acquire’s an interesting feed of what their friends and family are busy doing, whether it is interesting or not.
How does this App differ to its competitors?
The idea of this application is to stop and prevent people from faking reality, lying and creating false illusions on social media. The creators of this app have capitalised on a gap in the social media market. It is an upcoming success of real-time stories, competing against huge companies in the social media market. For example; Instagram and Snapchat. These two companies originally set out to achieve the same goal of allowing people to post real-time stories. However, they later allowed the users of their application to be able to edit their photos and videos before posting them. Examples of editing include the use of filters and change in the dynamics of photos. In turn, this has allowed many people to publish false illusions of their day to day life.
The gap in the social media market in which ‘BeReal’ has capitalised on, is the reason the company is creating this’ upcoming success’. The gap is one of which there is a lack of monetisation and influencers. Firstly, it allows people to feel more natural and share content closer to their true character. It is clear that this app has created a platform which is mentally healthier for the users and promotes authenticity. In turn, this is the reason why it has experienced great progress and success over the recent years.
Secondly, another reason it has done well is the lack of monetization. Apps such as Facebook and Instagram heavily display adverts and recommendations for other websites and companies. This reduces the authenticity and purpose of the app. An application including large amounts of marketing can affect the user’s experience. Therefore, BeReal has created a social platform where users can escape this form of marketing.
Conclusion
The Success of this new viral social media platform stems from one key thing; its unique qualities. Currently, it is the only app within the social media market that uses real-time stories. There are no ads promoting monetisation or the promotions of influencers, consequently creating a welcoming platform. This app will undoubtedly continue to succeed within the social media industry.
Citations
Cavendar, E. (2022, April 6). BeReal is what ‘casual Instagram’ wants to be. Retrieved from Mashable.com: https://mashable.com/article/bereal-photosharing-app
