Have you paid rising social app BeReal a visit yet? If you have, then you’re likely already part of the app’s growing user base – an amount that’s now reportedly at 10 million daily active users, coming from a mere 10,000 a little over a year ago; that’s a 1000% increase! While the app’s current user count doesn’t necessarily compete yet with the likes of Facebook or TikTok, the magnitude of this growth alone is quite impressive.

Gains

As the trending app of the moment, BeReal sends out a prompt to all users at a random time each day, asking them to share a photo of whatever it is they were doing. Users then have a 2-minute window to respond. The app is currently touted as the ‘Anti-Instagram’, with its focus on real, unedited everyday life, as opposed to Instagram’s many glamorous touches.

As BeReal describes:

“No filters. No followers. Just friends, sharing with each other. On BeReal, you discover your friends’ real lives and get closer to them.”

This kind of approach is clearly resonating, so much so that other apps now also look to replicate its core tools, with Instagram, of course, being one of the very few firsts to have developed their own BeReal copy with its ‘Candid’ feature. BeReal’s growth is interesting to note, which is largely attributed to its ‘Real Life’ approach and the popularity it has gained. You see, BeReal’s ‘rawness’ points to the idea that most people are fed up with all the edited and unrealistic depictions and personae online.

This is the key note that BeReal wants to highlight – when viewing someone’s Social Media account, we’re essentially looking at a highlight reel of their life, minus all the lows and negatives. Seeing only the bright and praise-worthy in others might lead to negative self-evaluation and subsequent mental health impacts. This is how double standards are developed, and how BeReal aims to be different to combat such effects.

From this, it becomes clearer why BeReal is gaining traction, with its immediate, everyday images providing a more relatable representation of real life, which can actually help build connection and community. Get that vanity and those internet validation crusades outta here.

But what brand and marketing opportunities exist on the app? Popular fast food chain Chipotle is currently experimenting with the app to share exclusive promotional codes. As explained by Fast Company, it could be novelty value, but is an interesting use of the format to entice engagement, pointing to possible marketing approaches via creative use cases. Other brands are using the app to provide more behind-the-scenes content, as well as extra insights into how they go about their business on the daily. Some also use BeReal to test out product previews and offers, based on its limited response window.

The Wrap

There are no doubt creative considerations here – and at 10 million users and counting, you can bet that more brands are now paying attention. It’s also worth noting that BeReal doesn’t allow formal advertising just yet, but it could be a function that’s already slated in a future update, as the app scales and builds a more sustainable business model.

The real concern is that BeReal’s core appeal is very limited and easily replicable. Since Instagram already has something, it won’t be long before other apps follow suit. BeReal’s rapid growth might also be its downfall, should it fail to counter whatever other platform’s have up their sleeves. It’ll be worth watching BeReal’s climb from here on out.