BeReal for brands: how to use the new social media app in your marketing strategy
Ellie Wilbraham - 3 November 2022
As users tire of seeing people’s lives through filtered highlight reels, BeReal offers an antidote that promotes authenticity. One of the fastest growing social media apps today, BeReal offers an opportunity for brands to genuinely connect with Gen Z in their marketing strategy. We’ll take an in-depth look at BeReal for brands, with tips on how to use it creatively to promote your business.
What is BeReal?
Promoted as the “anti-Instagram”, BeReal describes itself as “a new and unique way to discover who your friends really are in their daily life”. Rejecting influencer promotions, the idea is to post a photo to make genuine connections.
It doesn’t allow likes; instead you can react using a RealMoji (selfie) and leave a comment. BeReal users tend to be quite focused on the content they see, rather than scrolling mindlessly.
How does it work?
Users receive just one notification per day to “BeReal”, which could arrive at any moment. They have two minutes to take and post a front-facing and backwards-facing photo, which disappears after 24 hours. No filters. Simple.
Is BeReal right for your brand?
The premise of BeReal is quite different for brands used to social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, which permit ads and sponsorship. So it’s interesting to examine how brands can use BeReal authentically in their marketing strategy.
Ask yourself if the app aligns with your brand and also where your customers are. The majority of users are located in the United States, United Kingdom and France.
The big advantage of BeReal for brands is that it offers a chance to speak to your customers in a more spontaneous and relatable way, which is highly valued by Gen Z. Having been installed 53 million times as of October 2022, brands looking to connect with this generation might consider it in their marketing strategy.
Right now, BeReal doesn’t allow formal advertising, though this could change. But this hasn’t stopped many brands testing the waters in creative ways, as we will see later.
The immediacy of the app makes extensive planning less necessary, so for now, having a brand presence on BeReal is a relatively low-effort experiment.
Creating a BeReal marketing strategy for your brand
BeReal users are looking for authenticity and reality. So BeReal for brands needs to tap into that appetite for keeping it real and relatable. Think unfiltered, less staged photos – the equivalent of taking a selfie without your makeup.
Here are some ideas:
- Behind the scenes footage – how the product is made, a day at the office
- Promotions – exclusive coupons or discounts
- Office outtakes, funny “real” scenes
- Have employees share what they’re up to or favourite products
Creative BeReal ideas we love
Here’s a great example by Chipotle, of how brands can use BeReal creatively. The US restaurant chain utilised the no filter, authentic vibe by posting a promo code where the first 100 people to use it would receive a free entrée:
Another great use of BeReal for brands is to generate excitement amongst customers with an early reveal of your product, as shown by cosmetics brand Inn Beauty:
Retail clothing brand PacSun uses more natural and spontaneous shots to market its apparel:
Another creative way is to use other platforms like Twitter or Instagram to show BeReal content. Marketing managers have had fun using humour to talk about their BeReal accounts.
Delta Airlines tweeted about its readiness whilst also enticing customers with a beautiful scene:
Internet personality Zach King posted a comedic TikTok on getting ready to do a BeReal:
@zachking When your #bereal ♬ original sound – Zach King
So, is BeReal the next big thing in social media? That remains to be seen. But now is a great time to test it out when the stakes are low. BeReal certainly has excellent potential for brands looking to connect with the values of Gen Z.
Take the next step
Inspired by what you’ve read about BeReal for brands? Get more ideas on how to use social media marketing to engage customers with your brand. Or why not see how our social media team can help you with your marketing strategy? Just contact us for a chat or email info@wagada.co.uk.
