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Everything You Need To Know About Lemon8
Make sure to let your content creator bestie know that if keeping up with Instagram and TikTok was starting to feel uninspiring then there’s a new platform on the block that will be sure to reignite your creative passion.
Thanks to its aesthetically pleasing interface Lemon8 is fast becoming the place to be, with app store downloads skyrocketing over Easter weekend propelling the social platform into the top ten most downloaded apps in the U.S.
Lemon8 isn’t new, it has been around in countries such as Thailand, Japan, and even Singapore for some time now, but it’s only now beginning to make waves in the West.
So, if you’re someone who’s only just heard about the app now then you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll be sharing everything you need to know about Lemon8 in order to stay ahead of the social curve.
What Is Lemon8?
Lemon8 is a photo and video-sharing social media app. Unlike TikTok, the app doesn’t support vertical video formats, and the content shared is usually topic specific.
Some of the trending topics on the app thus far are beauty, wellness, food, fashion, and travel. Under each topic section, you’ll be able to different types of content being shared by users in the form of get-ready-with-me videos, recommendations, and tons of other highly curated and aesthetically pleasing content formats that will leave you wondering whether you’ve accidentally logged in to Canva. Yes, it really is that good!
In some senses, Lemon8 offers similar features to the platforms we already know and love, for example, fashion content creators on Lemon8 can tag brands in their outfits and even add the cost of each piece. This is really helpful for creators who are using the app to promote their affiliate links and influence their audience to make a purchase.
One key difference is that the content on Lemon8 feels less contrived and more authentic, taking a leaf out of TikTok’s notoriety for “real and raw” influencing. This has been one of the main reasons creators a flocking to the app — the need for the authenticity of TikTok paired with the dreamy aesthetics of Instagram.
In fact, it’s no secret that users have been moving away from platforms such as IG over the last couple of years, with many creators and audiences complaining about the high level of editing and staging that the platform’s culture seems to promote.
Ultimately, if you’re someone who enjoys binge-worthy curated visuals without the hassle of Instagram, then Lemon8 is perfect for you.
Who Owns The Lemon8 Social Media Platform?
The popular new platform is owned by ByteDance, the same holding company that owns TikTok. While there’s no shortage of social apps, ByteDance is most definitely looking to compete with US-based social media company Instagram due to its loss of American users.
Thanks to the company’s popular platform TikTok – now the most popular social media platform amongst US-based users – ByteDance is confident in its capacity to influence consumers to migrate to Lemon8 from Instagram.
But, sadly, the platform’s growth in popularity will most likely lead to the same scrutiny as TikTok has received. Many users already speculating whether or not Lemon8 will also be regulated or banned at some point or another. In fact, the U.S. government has recently proposed legislation that will ban any social media sites owned by Chinese companies such as ByteDance – citing the regulation as necessary due to national security concerns.
Why Is Lemon8 Growing In Popularity?
Lemon8’s surge in popularity in the U.S. is no real surprise. The app hasn’t even fully launched to Western markets – with plans to do so in May this year – given this fact, it’s impressive that even without a formal market launch the app is seeing mass adoption, especially among younger users.
When it comes to Eastern markets, Lemon8’s main competitor is an app called Xiaohongshu which translated to “Little Red Book” in English. This app holds a large amount of market share in China’s e-commerce and social networking landscape.
Lemon8 is already extremely popular in Thailand and Japan, two countries where Little Red Book is less present. One feature that users from other countries have enjoyed is the ability to link all of their socials on Lemon8, allowing them to garner a larger reach.
The platform didn’t see much adoption from larger macro-influencers, to begin with. Smaller micro-influencers were seen flocking to Lemon8 months ago, but it was only recently during Easter weekend that larger content creators decided to give the app a go as well. Leading them to share their feedback and thoughts with their audiences on IG and TikTok.
It’s possible that this “buzz” isn’t as organic as one might think. With many influencers using the hashtag “Lemon8partner consumers have begun to wonder whether creators are being paid by ByteDance to onboard their audiences.
Lemon8 vs. TikTok: What’s The Difference and Which One Is Better?
There isn’t a right or wrong social media platform, nor is there an app that reigns supreme above all others. Because ultimately, each social app is serving different audiences at the same time as hosting different content niches and formats — making the topic of the best social app a subjective one, and unique to each creator.
This makes sense when you consider that most macro-influencers aren’t always successful across all platforms. And that’s due to the audience and user-base, not their content.
- Lemon8 is similar to Instagram as it leans more toward being a curated lifestyle platform with features that are ideal for influencer marketing, whereas TikTok is all about content creation – no matter what type of content that may be – with less of an emphasis on aesthetics.
Lemon8 seems to have the perfect setup for brands to collaborate with creators in the hopes of them promoting and selling their products to audiences via lifestyle-type posts that are pleasing to the eye.
- TikTokers normally play into a niche that they know will engage their core audience. This can range from dancing, educational content, cooking, comedy, and even vlogging. But, one thing these all have in common is that creators are generally more authentic on this platform than on others thanks to it being video-based only.
While it’s true that popular influencers are paid by brands in the form of collaborations, most creators earn money on the platform thanks to video views.
What’s The Influencer Culture Like On Lemon8?
Right now, there seems to be a large number of content creators and influencers who are sharing aesthetically pleasing pictures and infographics on the app. Perfectly paired fonts and pastel colors, with a paired long-form caption to match.
But, hopefully, as this app gains more and more popularity creators will begin to share more authentic content with their audiences, instead of the Instagram-like perfection highlight.
There are also a ton of creators who are using their TikTok content and repurposing it for the new social app. This is an obvious move, because if the content is doing well on TikTok why not reshare elsewhere and see what new audiences think?
Originally it seemed like macro-creators weren’t interested in the platform, but during Easter weekend this changed. Larger accounts were seen sharing about their move to Lemon8 with their audiences via Instagram stories.
For example, @heatherrest – a lifestyle and wellness blogger with 139 thousand followers – shared about her move to Lemon8, so much so, that she even created a highlight reel for her audience to recap people’s first impressions.
One of the reasons that larger creators might have not jumped on the trend is the fact that content monetization isn’t yet clear. Businesses may feel hesitant to leverage Lemon8 for their marketing efforts because of its ties to TikTok and ByteDance, and the volatile landscape of U.S social media regulation.
Should You Start A Lemon8 Profile?
Even though it’s unclear whether or not ByteDance is artificially inflating the popular app’s growth by paying influencers to promote it, there’s no real reason not to join and get ahead of the curve.
Here are a few key reasons why you should consider creating a Lemon8 profile:
- It’s The Trendy New App
As we saw with TikTok, being an early adopter can definitely give you an advantage over other creators who join later. But, it goes without saying that not every social app can stand the test of time. Just look at ClubHouse and BeReal, both were huge during their initial launches but that slowly fizzled out as time went on.
Either way, Lemon8 is worth testing out and exploring.
- It’s Low-Risk High-Reward
As an influencer you’re already creating and sharing content on a variety of different platforms. So really, what difference does one more social app to post on make? By taking some time to research the type of content that goes viral on Lemon8 you could then use this knowledge to repurpose content for Lemon8.
This gives you the great opportunity of learning what works and what doesn’t before anyone else!
The downsize to content creation for Lemon8 is that currently, the aesthetic is akin to editorial style sleek, making it more time-consuming. Hopefully, over time this will change.
Conclusion
It’s worth considering Lemon8 as another creative outlet and social community, especially if you’re already an influencer on other apps.
Whether or not the social app will completely take off and gives the likes of Instagram a run for their money is a different story, and only time will tell.
Either way, there’s no harm in exploring what Lemon8 has to offer. You never know! You might just end up loving it and emerge as one of Lemon8’s all-star content creators.
