The battle of the social media apps continues as TikTok slaps BeReal right in the face with its new Now page, which is a carbon copy of the entire BeReal app. This feature not only gives TikTok users another way to engage with each other, but it plays into a previous episode’s whole topic, which was perfection fatigue in young people. BeReal is blowing up because people are sick of seeing everything at 100% perfect on social media. As you may relate, they like the raw, unfiltered view into others’ lives because it’s more relatable and healthy for the mind. TikTok Now allows you to do the same thing as BeReal, which is to post a front and back camera image, and once done, it will enable you to see your other friend’s posts, all of which disappear by the next day. They’ve integrated this into the second tab at the bottom of your TikTok app, separating content by your friends’ feed and what a discover feed.
TikTok can do this to any social media app they feel would integrate well into their user experience and not diminish the platform, proving that the giants at the top will always have the upper hand. I’ve thought many times about starting a social media app with some unique new way to engage with friends, which is why I never started. If your app idea is too ‘integrate-able’ and nothing fancy regarding code, like BeReal, is, then there’s nothing to protect you. Honestly, I wish Instagram was the one to take BeReal’s idea away, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they come online and do it too, but TikTok, hats off to you guys for this savage kill. While it may not be a kill yet, as we have seen in the past, with Vine dying from Instagram, Myspace, AND Friendster from Facebook, it could very well happen regardless of how awesome it was. RIP vine, I miss you.
So how does this ultimately tie into your business? This feature is a unique thing that I think BeReal couldn’t capture: the corporate participation and the advantages that can come from having one more place for brand awareness. If you’re wondering if it’s worth it to have ONE MORE place to keep up with posting, don’t worry because this is what the Now tab and BeReal were for, capturing raw moments. You don’t have to have anything prepared and if you get on the app, snap a picture of you in the office, back in the warehouse, out on the job, whatever it may be. Of course, adding humor or some image that leaves people wanting to ask questions are good things to try to leverage when possible so that you can stick in people’s heads. Remember, the more time people spend with your brand, the more money they will spend with your brand. If you meet Lebron James in person versus just watching him in person your whole life, that sports celeb will have much more impact on your ‘Top 5’ list because you had an experience with him in person. This is the same with brands; if you make people laugh, give them insight, tips, and tricks and do it consistently, you will have more awareness with that audience. Never forget that when you’re masterminding your social media strategy, engaging with the public and growing a page is great, but the end goal is to push your business goals forward and spend time on those things more than the ones that don’t.
