While US senators debate whether or not TikTok should be banned in America, TikTok owner ByteDance is already working on further shaping its American presence, spearheading its push with its Instagram-like Lemon8 app now rising in the App store charts. It does look rather familiar.

When Life Gives You Lemons…

Lemon 8, which is described as ‘a place for young creatives to share a diversity of content’, looks much like a crossover between Instagram and Pinterest, with a focus on products, and highlighting content from specific product categories, including fashion, makeup, food, and travel. The app has actually been around since 2020 and has been somewhat popular in Asian nations. But now, it’s on the rise in the US, too, with Lemon8 reaching the top 10 for overall app downloads over the last week.

This is ‘unusual’, according to TechCrunch:

“This is a dramatic move for the little-known app and one that points to paid user acquisition efforts powering this surge. Prior to yesterday, the Lemon8 app had never before ranked in the Top 200 Overall Charts in the U.S.”

It would seem that ByteDance is looking to boost Lemon8 in the American market – which could be an ill-timed move on its part. Then again, maybe they want to get in now before a possible TikTok ban to have a backup connection into the region. One would assume, at some stage, that Lemon8 would also be included in the ban talks, but maybe, by having a secondary platform that’s popular with US users, that could cushion the blow of a potential TikTok ban.

It could amplify concerns about the Chinese company’s growing presence in the region. Either way, ByteDance is clearly pushing to grow the app, which could eventually see it become a bigger consideration. As reported by Insider last month, ByteDance has actually been paying creators to post on Lemon8, as part of a broader plan to grow the platform. Those creators have formed at least part of this new promotional push, with many sharing positive reviews of the app to TikTok, leading to more app downloads. Within this context, it’s possible that Lemon8 could also form part of ByteDance’s plan to great creators paid, which has proven problematic on TikTok itself, due to the complications of adding ads into short video clips.

The Wrap

Perhaps through a Pinterest-style format, Lemon8 could become a showcase of influencer-recommended products, for which those influencers could get paid a commission on sales generated by their posts. In this respect, it does seem like a logical addition. But as noted, it could be ill-timed once regulators get wind of its growing presence. However, that would essentially mean that US officials would now have to fend off ByteDance on two fronts, which they may not be fully equipped to handle; it’s either just TikTok or Lemon8. Well played, ByteDance.

Sources

http://bit.ly/3nwk9lU