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Business Insider
19 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
How BeReal plans to recapture its 2022 viral moment
BeReal, the buzziest app of 2022, is planning a comeback. Ben Moore, BeReal's managing director, told BI how the app plans to recapture its viral moment. This article is part of " CMO Insider," a series on marketing leadership and innovation. BeReal is plotting a comeback. In 2022, the app was the toast of the consumer tech world. It won "App of the Year" at Apple's App Store awards. SNL even featured the app in a skit, making fun of its signature "Time to BeReal" notification, which prompts users to quickly snap a photo with their phone's front and back-facing cameras. But it didn't take long for the hype to fade. Usage and downloads tapered off after its peak, and the app was sold to the French app and gaming company Voodoo Games for 500 million euros last summer. One year later, BeReal is preparing its comeback. Speaking to Business Insider at the Cannes Lions advertising festival in France, BeReal managing director Ben Moore said the app is adding new features and ramping up marketing as it looks to get lapsed users to return and find new ones. "We have people that are committed to building the next big thing with BeReal," Moore said. "We can make something that really answers the demands of Gen Z, who are sick and tired of the filters, of the lenses, of the social pressure of posting something that's not going to get them the level of views and likes they would want." Time to ReLaunch According to the market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, BeReal has amassed more than 126 million downloads since its launch in 2020. In the year-to-date, though, the app was downloaded about 4.5 million times globally, down 50% year-on-year and 7% versus the same period in 2023, "as heightened competition from legacy social media platforms and short-form video platforms has pressured adoption," said Abraham Yousef, senior insights analyst at Sensor Tower. Moore said the app currently has around 40 million active users, and that Japan, France, and the US are its biggest markets. BeReal is hoping to reignite interest in the app by investing in advertising, largely on other apps owned by Voodoo Games, and also through tactics like using micro ambassadors at college campuses, or sponsoring parties that require guests to download the app to gain entry. "We really want to bring back the social aspect of what social media was built for," Moore said. BeReal is also adding new features like "nearby," which lets people discover other users local to them. Another feature analyzes the photos users take to recommend other people who post similar kinds of pictures, such as of their dogs, travels, or cooking. Moore said BeReal, which introduced ads last year, also wants to prioritize ads on the app that look and feel more like users' own posts. Gareth Jones, chief growth officer of the creative agency Ralph, said BeReal's success would hinge on living up to the promise of its name and playing into the idea of being an antidote to modern social media. "We live in an age of asinine algorithms and addictive social garbage," Jones said. "If BeReal can bring an element of humanity back to the social media space, this will create more success than any amount of marketing."
Arab Times
10-06-2025
- Business
- Arab Times
X users were glued to the Musk vs. Trump blowup. Could this be good for the platform?
NEW YORK, June 10, (AP): The blowup between the president of the United States and the world's richest man has played out on social media in real time, the latest, perhaps ultimate example of how X has become Elon Musk's personal platform, his own reality show where anyone can tune in to watch the mercurial twists and turns of his unpredictable personality. And tune in they did. The feud has birthed countless memes, hot takes, and speculation, with some X users bringing out the popcorn emojis while rejoicing that the site has returned to its "fun' roots - back when it was called Twitter. While it's not yet clear if the feud will have any permanent effects on X's audience size or advertising business, its owner reposted a meme late Thursday suggesting that, at least for now, it was good for getting active users to tune into the platform. CEO Linda Yaccarino agreed. "X operates as a personality-driven platform, and Musk's high-profile conflicts can fuel engagement at least in the short term,' said Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University's Tech Policy Institute. "The platform has leaned into spectacle as a growth strategy, and controversy often drives traffic.' President Donald Trump, of course, posted through the breakup on his own personal platform, Truth Social with three updates targeting Musk directly on Thursday. But Truth Social's audience is just a fraction of X's, and social media experts at this stage don't see it siphoning the former Twitter's user base as a result of the feud. Trump was banned from Twitter in 2021 following the Jan. 6 riots on the Capitol and he returned more than 2.5 years later after Musk reinstated his account. On X, he has nearly 106 million followers - compared with less than 10 million on Truth Social, where he's continued to post following the feud - at least 10 times on Friday. "It's a niche platform with limited reach outside Trump's core base,' Kreps said. "That said, if Trump were to fully re-engage there and disengage from X entirely, it could fragment the right-wing audience somewhat. But barring major user migration, X still dominates in political discourse.' Trump hasn't indicated that he'd leave X - and Musk hasn't said he'd consider banning him - but the president has not posted on the site since June 3, although the official White House account has continued to send updates. According to Mobile app analytics firm Sensor Tower, X and Truth Social both saw mobile app usage skyrocket on Thursday as the Musk-Trump blowup played out on the two men's respective social platforms. U.S. mobile app active users on X between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern were up 54%, while Truth Social saw a fivefold increase. Overall, Sensor Tower estimates that X's audience is about 100 times larger than Truth Social's. On BlueSky, meanwhile, many users seemed to delight in watching the drama unfold on the platform they (mostly) left behind, posting screenshots from X, Truth Social as well as their own share of memes and commentary. But the site, which has welcomed users disillusioned with Musk's politics and policies on X, is unlikely to become a huge draw for Trump die-hards. "It's too early to measure any long-term shifts in user behavior, but political audiences on X have tended to be resilient, even in the face of controversy,' Kreps said. "Trump supporters are unlikely to abandon the platform en masse unless there's sustained antagonism or a perceived shift in content moderation policy. Right now, this looks more like a personality clash than an ideological break so user migration feels speculative at this stage.' As for X's advertising business, Emarketer analyst Jasmine Enberg said she doubts the feud will have a material effect. "Advertisers who were spending small sums on the platform due to Musk's proximity to Trump may rethink their commitments,' she said. "At the same time, the breakup between Musk and Trump hasn't eliminated the threat of legal or business repercussions given the FTC investigation into the alleged ad boycott, so there's still incentive for those brands to stay.' According to The New York Times, which cited unnamed sources, the Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether roughly a dozen advertising and advocacy groups violated antitrust law by coordinating boycotts among advertisers that didn't want their brands to appear next to hateful or other objectionable content. In the end, Musk "remains a divisive figure, regardless of his position in the White House,' Enberg said, and any efforts by X to make the platform less divisive - such as a recent program designed to elevate content that people agree on -"can only go so far with brands and consumers if he continues to use X as his own personal megaphone to amplify controversial content.'
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump-Musk Feud Fuels Record Truth Social Traffic, X User Spike
Nothing grabs people's attention like a fight. That much is clear, after the digital and verbal battle between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk led to record traffic for Truth Social and a big traffic surge for X. Both of their platforms enjoyed a spike late last week as the powerful ex-friends traded barbs, according to data shared by Similarweb, a digital market intelligence company, on Monday. Here are the key takeaways: Truth Social's traffic in the U.S. hit 1.8 million daily visits on June 5, which was a record for the platform X's U.S. traffic jumped to 35.3 million visits on that same day, marking the platform's second-best day since the president's inauguration on Jan. 20 X's June 5 U.S. traffic was up 17% compared to its average daily traffic in May Truth Social's 1.8 million hits on June 5 was more than triple its daily average traffic in May, up 256% in comparison Truth Social had 2.8 million hits globally on June 5, which set a new high-point for the company in 2025; Truth has had bigger traffic days around the 2024 election and the assassination attempt against Trump last summer X's global traffic hit 146.3 million on June 5, up about 3.5% from its average daily traffic in May Unsurprisingly, the traffic boost led to a spike in mobile app usage for both platforms, according to data shared with TheWrap from Sensor Tower, a market intelligence firm. The number of Americans using X on June 5 between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. ET increased 54% compared to the prior seven-day period, while the number of users on Truth Social surged more than 400%. Both platforms enjoyed a 90-day high in terms of active American users during that four-hour stretch, per Sensor Tower. Those spikes came as Musk ripped President Trump on X last Thursday, accusing him of being named in the Epstein files and saying he was in favor of impeaching the president. Trump, on his end, said he was 'very disappointed' in Musk and questioned whether the U.S. government should end its contracts with SpaceX, the rocket company Musk runs. The war of words had started a few days earlier when Musk called Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' a 'disgusting abomination.' Their fallout set social media ablaze, considering it came less than a week after the president gave Musk a warm send-off from the Oval Office — complete with a gold key to the White House — and called him an 'incredible patriot' for his work leading the Department of Government Efficiency. A majority of Americans, according to a YouGov poll last Friday, said they sided with neither the president nor Musk in their spat. Musk has since deleted his post saying the president was in the Epstein files, but the president does not look like he wants to be buds with the Tesla boss again just yet. When asked if their friendship had ended over the weekend, Trump said 'I would assume so, yeah.' The post Trump-Musk Feud Fuels Record Truth Social Traffic, X User Spike appeared first on TheWrap.
Qatar Tribune
08-06-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Social media showdown elevates X as personal stage
Agencies The recent word shutout between the president of the US and the world's richest man has played out live on social media, the latest, perhaps ultimate example of how X has become Elon Musk's personal platform, a sort of his own reality show where anyone can tune in to watch the mercurial twists and turns of his unpredictable personality. The feud has birthed countless memes, hot takes and speculation, with some X users bringing out the popcorn emojis while rejoicing that the site has returned to its 'fun' roots – back when it was called Twitter. While it's not yet clear if the feud will have any permanent effects on X's audience size or advertising business, its owner reposted a meme late Thursday suggesting that, at least for now, it was good for getting active users to tune into the platform. 'X operates as a personality-driven platform, and Musk's high-profile conflicts can fuel engagement at least in the short term,' said Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University's Tech Policy Institute. 'The platform has leaned into spectacle as a growth strategy, and controversy often drives traffic.' US President Donald Trump, of course, posted through the breakup on his own personal platform, Truth Social with three updates targeting Musk directly onThursday. But Truth Social's audience is just a fraction of X's, and social media experts at this stage don't see it siphoning the former Twitter's user base as a result of the feud. Trump was banned from Twitter in 2021 following the Jan. 6 riots on the Capitol and he returned more than 2.5 years later after Musk reinstated his account. On X, he has nearly 106 million followers – compared with less than 10 million on Truth Social, where he's continued to post following the feud – at least 10 times on Friday. 'It's a niche platform with limited reach outside Trump's core base,' Kreps said. 'That said, if Trump were to fully re-engage there and disengage from X entirely, it could fragment the right-wing audience somewhat. But barring major user migration, X still dominates in political discourse.' Trump hasn't indicated that he'd leave X – and Musk hasn't said he'd consider banning him – but the president has not posted on the site since June 3, although the official White House account has continued to send updates. According to Mobile app analytics firm Sensor Tower, X and Truth Social both saw mobile app usage skyrocket on Thursday as the Musk-Trump blowup played out on the two men's respective social platforms. US mobile app active users on X between 2 pm and 6 p.m. Eastern were up 54 percent, while Truth Social saw a fivefold increase. Overall, Sensor Tower estimates that X's audience is about 100 times larger than Truth Social's. On BlueSky, meanwhile, many users seemed to delight in watching the drama unfold on the platform they (mostly) left behind, posting screenshots from X, Truth Social as well as their own share of memes and commentary. But the site, which has welcomed users disillusioned with Musk's politics and policies on X, is unlikely to become a huge draw for Trump die-hards. 'It's too early to measure any long-term shifts in user behavior, but political audiences on X have tended to be resilient, even in the face of controversy,' Kreps said. 'Trump supporters are unlikely to abandon the platform en masse unless there's sustained antagonism or a perceived shift in content moderation policy. Right now, this looks more like a personality clash than an ideological break so user migration feels speculative at this stage.'As for X's advertising business, Emarketer analyst Jasmine Enberg said she doubts the feud will have a material effect. 'Advertisers who were spending small sums on the platform due to Musk's proximity to Trump may rethink their commitments,' she said. 'At the same time, the breakup between Musk and Trump hasn't eliminated the threat of legal or business repercussions given the FTC investigation into the alleged ad boycott, so there's still incentive for those brands to stay.' According to The New York Times, which cited unnamed sources, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating whether roughly a dozen advertising and advocacy groups violated antitrust law by coordinating boycotts among advertisers that didn't want their brands to appear next to hateful or other objectionable content. In the end, Musk 'remains a divisive figure, regardless of his position in the White House,' Enberg said, and any efforts by X to make the platform less divisive – such as a recent program designed to elevate content that people agree on – 'can only go so far with brands and consumers if he continues to use X as his own personal megaphone toamplify controversial content.'
The Hindu
07-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
X users were glued to the Musk v. Trump blowup. Could this be good for the platform?
The blowup between the president of the United States and the world's richest man has played out on social media in real time, the latest, perhaps ultimate example of how X has become Elon Musk's personal platform, his own reality show where anyone can tune in to watch the mercurial twists and turns of his unpredictable personality. And tune in they did. The feud has birthed countless memes, hot takes and speculation, with some X users bringing out the popcorn emojis while rejoicing that the site has returned to its 'fun' roots — back when it was called Twitter. While it's not yet clear if the feud will have any permanent effects on X's audience size or advertising business, its owner reposted a meme late Thursday suggesting that, at least for now, it was good for getting active users to tune into the platform. CEO Linda Yaccarino agreed. 'X operates as a personality-driven platform, and Musk's high-profile conflicts can fuel engagement at least in the short term,' said Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University's Tech Policy Institute. 'The platform has leaned into spectacle as a growth strategy, and controversy often drives traffic.' President Donald Trump, of course, posted through the breakup on his own personal platform, Truth Social with three updates targeting Musk directly on Thursday. But Truth Social's audience is just a fraction of X's, and social media experts at this stage don't see it siphoning the former Twitter's user base as a result of the feud. Trump was banned from Twitter in 2021 following the January 6 riots on the Capitol and he returned more than 2.5 years later after Musk reinstated his account. On X, he has nearly 106 million followers — compared with less than 10 million on Truth Social, where he's continued to post following the feud — at least 10 times on Friday. 'It's a niche platform with limited reach outside Trump's core base,' Kreps said. 'That said, if Trump were to fully re-engage there and disengage from X entirely, it could fragment the right-wing audience somewhat. But barring major user migration, X still dominates in political discourse.' Trump hasn't indicated that he'd leave X — and Musk hasn't said he'd consider banning him — but the president has not posted on the site since June 3, although the official White House account has continued to send updates. According to Mobile app analytics firm Sensor Tower, X and Truth Social both saw mobile app usage skyrocket on Thursday as the Musk-Trump blowup played out on the two men's respective social platforms. U.S. mobile app active users on X between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern were up 54%, while Truth Social saw a fivefold increase. Overall, Sensor Tower estimates that X's audience is about 100 times larger than Truth Social's. On BlueSky, meanwhile, many users seemed to delight in watching the drama unfold on the platform they (mostly) left behind, posting screenshots from X, Truth Social as well as their own share of memes and commentary. But the site, which has welcomed users disillusioned with Musk's politics and policies on X, is unlikely to become a huge draw for Trump die-hards. 'It's too early to measure any long-term shifts in user behavior, but political audiences on X have tended to be resilient, even in the face of controversy,' Kreps said. 'Trump supporters are unlikely to abandon the platform en masse unless there's sustained antagonism or a perceived shift in content moderation policy. Right now, this looks more like a personality clash than an ideological break so user migration feels speculative at this stage.' As for X's advertising business, Emarketer analyst Jasmine Enberg said she doubts the feud will have a material effect. 'Advertisers who were spending small sums on the platform due to Musk's proximity to Trump may rethink their commitments,' she said. 'At the same time, the breakup between Musk and Trump hasn't eliminated the threat of legal or business repercussions given the FTC investigation into the alleged ad boycott, so there's still incentive for those brands to stay.' According to The New York Times, which cited unnamed sources, the Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether roughly a dozen advertising and advocacy groups violated antitrust law by coordinating boycotts among advertisers that didn't want their brands to appear next to hateful or other objectionable content. In the end, Musk 'remains a divisive figure, regardless of his position in the White House,' Enberg said, and any efforts by X to make the platform less divisive — such as a recent program designed to elevate content that people agree on —'can only go so far with brands and consumers if he continues to use X as his own personal megaphone to amplify controversial content.'
