{"id":57929,"date":"2022-11-16T08:00:28","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T13:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessesgrow.com\/?p=57929"},"modified":"2022-11-14T08:52:54","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T13:52:54","slug":"bereal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessesgrow.com\/2022\/11\/16\/bereal\/","title":{"rendered":"BeReal: A practical guide for marketers and adults"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"BeReal\"

BeReal<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

By {grow} community member Fiona Lucas<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I was curious when I first heard of BeReal, the red-hot, French-created app built on spontaneous content. Could this be the end of overly curated, ego-driven social media posts? Today, I’ll share my experience with this new social media phenomenon.<\/p>\n

Working in the cyber-safety space for many years, I have seen the hurt caused by that need for a “perfect post.” I am haunted by the story of one young man who literally took more than 200 photos before he could even leave the house. BeReal sounded like a breath of fresh air, helping us to accept ourselves as we are in an Insta-perfect world.<\/p>\n

Trying to BeReal<\/h2>\n

\"bereal\"The concept for BeReal (and TikTok’s “Now” – released in September 2022) is to capture unscripted, everyday moments of life at a random moment in time.<\/p>\n

My first forage was a little disappointing, to say the least. Not wanting to share my entire contact list with an unknown app developer (this is just something I avoid to protect my list from potential breaches) meant I was initially only connected with the one person who had introduced me to the app. My friend and brilliant marketer, Phyllis Khare<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As much as I loved seeing a little of her world (we live on different continents), it seemed strange not being able to hit a button to speak or leave a voice message and only being able to leave a public comment.<\/p>\n

The (rather annoying) prompts to post on cue come at very inopportune times. They certainly don’t consider different time zones!<\/p>\n

I was always “posting late” (oh, the shame!). To see posts in your circle, you need to post. However, you can only post daily in a given time slot, so you are limited in interactions.<\/p>\n

You can comment on posts once you see them; however, these comments are open to anyone connected to the person you are messaging.<\/p>\n

The good, the bad, the BeReal<\/h2>\n

While initially there was a bit of fun, it became apparent that one must be careful what is in front of and behind the camera to avoid embarrassing mishaps or inadvertent captures that may breach privacy (think of whoever might be in the frame).<\/p>\n

I see the appeal. What fun to post a pic of yourself doing whatever it is you are doing. And better still, there are no likes, no need to compete, no ads, and no algorithms. When speaking to a group of teens about the app, comments included:<\/p>\n