TikTok Parent Company ByteDance Brings “Lifestyle Community” Lemon8 App To The US & UK
ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, recently launched Lemon8 in the US and UK. The social media app has been available since June 2020 in Japan and other regions but under a different name.
A Combination of Instagram and Pinterest
Lemon8 can best be described as a combination of Instagram and Pinterest. It's a "lifestyle community" app that has features similar to TikTok, such as a Following and For You Page feed, and specific vertical tags like Food, Beauty, Fitness, and Travel. Creators can create a profile with a bio, gender, and location, and link out to other social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and their website.
Creators can upload photos and videos and use various creative and editing tools, including templates, stickers, and cutouts. They can add a title and caption to their post, along with hashtags and a location tag. For captions, they can use templates sorted across the verticals or create their own. Once published, the post is shared to an Instagram-like feature where users can like, comment, share, and save the posts.
Paying Creators to Post
According to Business Insider, the app is currently paying creators to post content that meets specific guidelines focused on high-quality, vertical shot photo carousels featuring 3 to 7 photos with 100-300 words in the caption that “inform and inspire people” on their topic of choice.
Catering to Creators and Viewers
Based on this and my own experience using the app the past couple of weeks, Lemon8 is looking to cater to creators and viewers who create and consume inspirational, educational, and informative content that tries to combine the best of Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok. New apps like Clubhouse and BeReal have generated a significant amount of buzz and grown their user base quickly, but they typically fizzle out after a while. It’s too early to determine what path Lemon8 will take. It has the same parent company as TikTok, which certainly helps as TikTok has proven to be a force, but the effort required to create and share content on the app could increase the barrier to entry for creators.
Potential for First-Mover Advantage
With creators already having to distribute content across multiple platforms today, adding another might not be too appealing, which is why the app may likely pay creators to post. Besides the potential to be part of the paid program, there is an opportunity for a first-mover advantage for creators who start using the app. This could mean increased distribution, allowing them to build a significant following well in advance of the app catching on with everyday users.
