What is the BeReal App? How Brands and Influencers Are Using It

Gen Z is obsessed with a new app, and it’s called the BeReal App. So what is BeReal all about?

BeReal is an app that says it’s “a new and unique way to discover who your friends really are in their daily life.” The app prides itself on truly being real; plus, you can only post once per day.

How does the BeReal App work?

The photo-sharing app encourages its audience to be as real as possible. The app will give you a two-minute time window to post, so you have to post exactly where you are and how you are. No time for changing or using filters like Instagram and TikTok.

All content disappears within 24 hours and when you click on the notification that you have two minutes to post, two pictures will be taken: one with the back camera and one with the front camera. One person who tried the app out compared this to a popular app from a few years ago called 1 Second Everday.

You can connect with your friends on the app by commenting or reacting with RealMojis, which prompt the user to take a selfie instead of reacting with regular emojis. Even retaking a photo won’t go unnoticed. If you retake a photo, text will show up with the picture notifying the viewer. No secrets allowed.

How brands and influencers use BeReal

According to Time, it has had 7.8 million downloads. So far, gaining a following or becoming popular on the app isn’t the focus, unlike it is on apps like TikTok and Instagram. BeReal itself has a TikTok account where it shares reasons to use the app and shows users’ BeReals.

While influencer marketing has not yet made its way to BeReal, some social media influencers share compilations of their BeReal posts on other platforms like TikTok. In fact, the #BeReal hashtag has more than 1.1 billion views so far.

Companies like Chipotle are trying to get into the BeReal game by showing behind-the-scenes of their employees. 

Trident Gum and Sour Patch Kids shared a BeReal post on Twitter to show they are using the app.

Cosmetics company e.l.f. is also an early adopter of BeReal, sharing exclusive surprises on the app to its first “friends.”

Because BeReal aims to show authenticity, brands can benefit from using the app to share behind-the-scenes peeks of product launches, scenes at the office, or photos of how a product is made.

Krost, a clothing brand, shows off the team’s BeReal posts in a video montage on TikTok.

Brands also have the opportunity to post funny content, such as Old Bay Seasoning’s video “exposing” its mascot.

BeReal lends itself to the POV (point of view) trend on social media, as shown in this TikTok video from the PGA Tour below.

Influencers and social media users are taking to platforms like TikTok to share relatable content about using BeReal, like not posting their BeReals in time or the notification to post their BeReal photo coming at the most inconvenient times. A trend has emerged in which users share BeReal photos with a similar theme, like the person working at their desk every day.

While the direction of BeReal remains to be seen, it’s clear the app is a way for brands and influencers to connect with others authentically.

Influencers:

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Marketers:

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