Can Brands Start to BeReal?

If you belong to generation Z or simply like to follow the new social media trends, you surely know what BeReal is and you have even captured a moment through this app.

In a world and a time like this where each and every one of our social media platforms is full of advertising, filters and carefully planned content, BeReal is precisely the exception that breaks with that pattern. That is the main reason why is gaining traction among more and more people.

What is BeReal and how does it work?

BeReal is an app developed in France by Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau. It was launched onto the market at the beginning of 2020. It went largely unnoticed until two years later. In 2022 the popularity of the app began to grow at a very fast pace, reaching more than 10 million daily active users in August of this year.

In the BeReal website you can find the phrase:“A new and unique way to discover who your friends really are in their daily life”. This is its philosophy since it intends that the content displayed is completely authentic and spontaneous.

But how do we get such natural content when nowadays we have plenty of options to edit our photos?

Every day, at a different time, all BeReal users are simultaneously notified to capture and share a photo within the next two minutes. The camera allows you to capture both the front and back views to let your friends know what you are doing right at the moment. Later, your friends will be able to react to your BeReal through a small photo of them. It is important to mention that the app does not contain any option to add filters or any effect. There are also neither mass “likes”, nor followers. That is what makes BeReal fun and unique!

Is there room for brands in this new social platform?

Now that we know all this; how the app works, that we know that its main objective is authenticity and that one of its characteristics is the absence of advertising, it is worth asking ourselves if brands have room in BeReal to be able to launch their marketing campaigns.

From my point of view, although functions are very limiting, is not impossible. Chipotle, the North American Mexican food franchise was one of the first brands to demonstrate it.

A few months ago, Chipotle decided to join the BeReal community. They shared adynamic that consisted of the first 100 people who used the promotional code that appeared in the photo would receive a free meal. According to Candice Beck, Chipotle’s social director, all the codes were redeemed within 1 minute.

As we can see, the brand was very innovative with this idea of ​​sharing exclusive coupons. In my opinion, although BeReal does not allow formal advertising, brands can find ways to penetrate the platform. They can be inspired by how it works to start connecting more with their audience through real content. For instance, showing what is behind-the-scenes of their operations.

Definitely due to the algorithm that shows random content, creating an effective strategy will be a difficult task, as well as evaluating the results. Nevertheless, the options, although limited, do exist. Especially for those brands that are brave enough to let their audience know that as brands they also can BeReal.