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A brand new social media platform is on the town, and it’s rapidly selecting up steam.

Lemon8 is owned by ByteDance, the China-based guardian firm that owns TikTok, and it’s had a buzzy debut within the U.S.

It was initially launched in Japan in 2020 and have become accessible within the U.S. and UK in February 2023. Prior to now month, it’s change into the second most-downloaded life-style app within the U.S. behind Pinterest.

Talking of Pinterest…

Lemon8 is described as a Pinterest-Instagram hybrid. At its core, Lemon8 is a photo-sharing app designed to encourage customers.

Whereas customers and creators have been vocal about their frustrations with Instagram and its unpredictable algorithm over the previous couple of years, are individuals in search of the following Pinterest after they might nonetheless use the unique?

By the top of 2022, over 450 million lively customers had been on Pinterest. Not too shabby, although the person base is considerably smaller than the likes of YouTube (2.6 billion customers), Instagram (2.3 billion customers), and TikTok (1.6 billion customers).

Although Pinterest has a smaller person base than different social channels, its customers are usually proud of the platform. Actually, 80% of Pinterest customers really feel optimistic when utilizing it. 9 out of 10 Pinterest customers check with it as a “social media oasis,” and solely three out of 10 social media customers really feel that means about different platforms.

With that in thoughts, is a “new Pinterest” essential when the unique appears to be doing a very good job of conserving its customers completely happy? All of it comes all the way down to how the app is used.

Whereas Pinterest customers are usually proud of the platform, they basically use it as a visible search engine.

Many Pinterest customers flip to the platform after they’re in search of inspiration associated to a particular subject — maybe a recipe utilizing a sure ingredient, or methods to model a clothes merchandise.  They hop on, discover what they’re trying for, and hop off. Whereas it’s nice for uplifting purchases, it doesn’t have the addicting issue that platforms like TikTok or Instagram have.

That’s the place Lemon8 is available in.

Picture Supply: Lemon8

I downloaded the app to study extra about its performance and to see what sort of content material is out there on it (you recognize, severe investigative journalism). I used to be rapidly sucked into the gorgeous content material that aligned eerily shut with my pursuits.

Basically, utilizing Lemon8 is like having the TikTok algorithm serve you the inspirational content material of Pinterest formatted like an Instagram publish. The principle feed is much like the Pinterest dwelling web page, however the posts are paying homage to Instagram carousels.

The place did Lemon8 come from, and why is everybody speaking about it?

If it appeared like abruptly everybody in your TikTok For You Web page was speaking about Lemon8, that’s as a result of they had been.

Per The New York Instances, ByteDance enlisted micro-creators from different platforms to start posting on Lemon8. Naturally, creators who’re desirous to change into early adopters on a brand new platform would wish to share their new social media actual property with their current followers on different platforms. Whether or not or not they’ve been compensated to take action has been speculated, however hasn’t been confirmed. 

Trying on the preliminary knowledge, the grassroots strategy seems to be efficient. Since launching within the U.S. in February, Lemon8 has garnered over 17 million downloads within the app retailer.

How ought to entrepreneurs be taking a look at Lemon8?

Presently, Lemon8 is closely user-generated content material centered, with no main manufacturers sustaining a notable presence on the app. Although it’s solely a matter of time earlier than extra manufacturers start hopping on board.

If your organization isn’t prepared to start out creating Lemon8-specific content material, it’s actually value getting on the platform to safe your deal with and see what’s trending in your area of interest — notably for these within the vogue, wellness, and meals industries.

It’s additionally value noting the user-generated really feel of the platform may very well be an enormous a part of what’s attracting new customers. On platforms corresponding to Instagram and TikTok the place influencer advertising is to be anticipated, customers can typically really feel consistently bought to. The authenticity of the natural content material on Lemon8 is usually a breath of contemporary air in comparison with the fixed stream of #sponsored content material on different platforms.

With this in thoughts, manufacturers seeking to set up a presence on Lemon8 can profit from having a wholesome mixture of natural, user-generated, and promotional content material to keep away from fatiguing their audiences.

Is Lemon8 value investing in?

As with all new platform, there are legitimate issues over Lemon8’s longevity and whether or not it is value investing in.

As a result of Lemon8 can also be owned by ByteDance, it might face the identical scrutiny as TikTok over safety issues. With the longer term utilization of ByteDance-owned apps in political limbo, if a TikTok ban had been to happen, customers within the U.S. is also barred from Lemon8.

Additionally, whereas some social media platforms emerge with a splash, the joy can rapidly fade. Lately, apps like Clubhouse and BeReal confirmed promising progress however did not seize the eye of audiences long-term.

Whereas it’s a good suggestion for entrepreneurs to have a fundamental degree of understanding of latest platforms which have captured the eye of audiences, solely time will inform if Lemon8 is ready to flip social media lemons into lemonade.

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