No filters, No edits, 1 post a day— All authentic that’s the formula for the new trending social media app BeReal. Here is a quick breakdown of just what BeReal is and how you can use it:
What Is BeReal?
Founded in 2020 BeReal is a French social media app created by Alexis Barryat. The app has boomed with millions of users and ranked at number 2 on the Top Charts on the apple app store– above Instagram,Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Titkok. BeReal is designed and marketed as the antithesis of nearly every social media app on the market right now madeto be a space for unfiltered authenticity by being less about aesthetics and more about the in-the-moment realness of life. With a glimpse into you and your friends days through a daily post this app is redefining communication via social media.
How Does It Work?
Once every day at a random time everyone with the app will get a notification alert letting you know that it’s time to post your BeReal post. Once you get that notification users have only 2 minutes to take and post your photo onto your BeReal feed. The app simultaneously snaps a picture through the front and rear camera, no filters, no edits. When and only when you post your BeReal post will you have access to your feed and get a glimpse into your friends’ day.
The notifications come through randomly once a day and if you miss that BeReal time, your feed and friends will know that you were late because the app notes that your post was shared after the designated posting time.
Can BeReal Be Used for Businesses?
For now, we can say that BeReal is great for connecting with friends and family, but we haven’t seen the business advantages of using BeReal. BeReal doesn’t allow formal advertising, but brands like Chipotle and E.LF have been using the platform to share behind-the-scenes pictures and discount codes. Some kinks to keep in mind when using the app :
- Users must accept and follow everyone who follows them, this could be a challenge for companies with the hopes of sharing content with thousands of customers.
- BeReal posting times are unpredictable— so where you might get a BeReal notification at 2pm on Tuesday you might get one at 9pm on Wednesday which can make it difficult to create and share posts successfully on the app.
- There is no way to document if the posts are reaching an audience and track engagement which can be counterproductive if your goal is to use the app for marketing purposes.
We will be paying close attention to see how BeReal evolves over the next couple of months and if it will be able to stick like Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter have over the years. Do you guys have BeReal? Have you witnessed a decline in the hype since the start of it this summer? Let us know!
