BeReal has taken over the social media scene in 2022. All your friends probably have it. And if they don’t, they’re certainly no stranger to posing for your daily picture. But the app needs to find a way to compete with major players like Instagram and TikTok. John Ferrara has the story.
IT’S TIME TO BEREAL! IF YOU’RE ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS, YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD THAT COLLOQUIALISM BY NOW. PROMPTED BY A PUSH NOTIFICATION, MILLIONS OF USERS FLOCK TO CAPTURE A SPONTANEOUS PICTURE OF THEIR DAY ON THE UBER-VIRAL APP.
BEREAL BOASTS 15 MILLION DOWNLOADS, MOST OF WHICH HAVE COME IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS, AND IT’S BEEN LOOKING TO CAPITALIZE ON ITS GROWING AUDIENCE EVER SINCE. IN JULY OF THIS YEAR, THEY OVERTOOK TWITTER IN MONTHLY DOWNLOADS. IN AUGUST, THEY BEAT OUT SNAPCHAT’S NUMBERS. ONLY INSTAGRAM AND TIKTOK HAVE CONTINUED TO OUTPACE THE FRENCH-BASED COMPANY WHEN IT’S COME TO ADDING USERS.
DESPITE MOUNTING SUCCESS, CRITICS HAVE BEEN QUICK TO POINT OUT THAT THE APP’S LONGEVITY IS STILL VERY MUCH IN QUESTION. WHY?
WELL FIRST, PEOPLE JUST DON’T SPEND TIME ON BEREAL. IT DOESN’T TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO FIGURE OUT THAT AN APP DESIGNED SOLELY TO CAPTURE A MOMENT WITHIN A TWO-MINUTE PERIOD OF EVERYONE’S DAY WON’T GENERATE FREQUENT USE. MOST WHO UPLOAD REGULARLY JUST TAP ON THEIR NOTIFICATION, SNAP A PICTURE, SCROLL THROUGH SOME OF THEIR FRIENDS’ POSTS, AND LOG OFF UNTIL THE NEXT ALERT.
I WENT TO ALLISON DINING HALL TO ASK STUDENTS ABOUT THEIR BEREAL USAGE.
“Four minutes”
“Five seconds to take a picture and that’s it”
“The one minute I post”
“Probably like five, I look who posted already”
“Like three minutes”
THOSE ARE STUDENTS’ RESPONSES TO HOW MUCH TIME THEY SPEND ON THE APP PER DAY. AND HERE ARE WHAT THOSE SAME STUDENTS SAID WHEN ASKED ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME THEY SPEND ON TIKTOK OR INSTAGRAM…
“I spend an hour on TikTok a day probably”
“Like 10 minutes on Instagram maybe”
“An hour a day”
“30 minutes or something”
“I probably spend like two, two and a half hours everyday”
THE SECOND PROBLEM BEREAL FACES IS MONETIZATION. UNLIKE THEIR ESTABLISHED COMPETITORS, THE APP HAS YET TO PRODUCE ANY REVENUE. RIGHT NOW, THEY’RE OPERATING SOLELY OFF OF MONEY RAISED FROM THREE ROUNDS OF VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDING—HIGHLIGHTED BY A 30 MILLION DOLLAR INITIAL INVESTMENT RUN. BUT BEREAL HAS YET TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE MONEY OFF THEIR USERS. A RECENT REPORT FROM THE FINANCIAL TIMES NOTES THAT EXECUTIVES WITHIN THE COMPANY HAVE BEEN ADAMANT THAT ADVERTISING WOULD BE DISRUPTIVE TO THE USER EXPERIENCE.
THAT SAME REPORT DETAILED BEREAL’S PLAN TO EVENTUALLY ROLL OUT IN-APP PURCHASES. THE LOOMING QUESTION ABOUT THE PROPOSITION IS “WOULD ANYONE ACTUALLY PAY FOR AN EXTRA FEATURE OR TWO ON BEREAL—AN APP THAT THEY PROBABLY DON’T SPEND MUCH TIME ON ANYWAYS?”
“Absolutely not. No.”
“No shot.”
“No.”
“No.”
“I don’t think I’d pay for any social media.”
SO, YEAH, THINGS AREN’T LOOKING GOOD.
THE REPORT NOTED THAT THIS MONETIZATION EFFORT WOULD LIKELY ROLL OUT IN THE BACK HALF OF 2023—AND WHO KNOWS IF PEOPLE WILL STILL BE HOOKED ON THE APP’S FAST-PACED, TRENDY THEME BY THEN.
IN THE MEANTIME, THE COMPANY HAS LOTS TO WORRY ABOUT IN ITS COMPETITION. TIKTOK WAS QUICK TO RELEASE A NEW FEATURE LABELED “TIKTOK NOW” IN EARLY SEPTEMBER. SNAPCHAT ADDED A TWO-SIDED CAMERA, A STAPLE OF BEREAL, TO THEIR PLATFORM IN AUGUST. AND AN INSTAGRAM SPOKESPERSON HAS SAID AN INTERNAL, BEREAL-ESQUE PROTOTYPE IS IN DEVELOPMENT.
NEEDLESS TO SAY, CHALLENGES AWAIT THE SOCIAL MEDIA STARTUP. WILL IT TURN INTO ANOTHER CLUBHOUSE—THE INFAMOUS ONE-HIT-WONDER APP THAT TOOK PEOPLE BY STORM IN 2021 BEFORE FALLING INTO DISARRAY? OR CAN IT HOLD THE COURSE, INCREASE USER PARTICIPATION, BUILD A MONETIZATION PATH, AND FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE CURRENT BEHEMOTHS ATOP THE SOCIAL MEDIA MOUNTAIN?
FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M JOHN FERRARA.
