Lemon8 Is On The Way
Lemon8 launched overseas in 2020 and became available for download in the US this February. It has since become one of the most downloaded lifestyle apps in Apple's App Store (beating Tinder, Zillow, and Pinterest) and has over 5 million downloads in the Google Play store. Described by the NY Times as a "combination of Pinterest and branded posts on Instagram, with a greater focus on pictures and more text than TikTok...packed with product recommendations and tips, with an eye to fueling shopping." Industry reports show that ByteDance is preparing for a US campaign this Spring/Summer, and many TikTok creators are already being actively recruited (and paid) to build a presence on the platform.
To understand the social tool Lemon8 will aspire to be in the US, it's helpful to understand the original inspiration behind its creation: Lemon8 originally launched as a competitor to Xiaohongshu (aka Little Red Book), China's foremost lifestyle & commerce app. That app features the same aspirational aesthetic we associate with Instagram, but has e-commerce functionality built into it. Xiaohongshu's users are 90% female and the majority of them live in metropolitan markets. The user experience has been designed to function as a community that provides and relies on one another for shopping and lifestyle recommendations. This unique social platform, at the intersection of discovery and consumption, is the north star for Lemon8.
Lemon8, unlike platforms currently dominating the social landscape, is void of vertical video scrolling. The layout features two columns of content with a feed focused on images and text, a departure from the video based nature of the social apps we currently use and almost a revival of photo sharing or text based micro blogging. As Elite Daily put it, "If you’re someone who loves Instagram accounts that are color coordinated and aspirational, while scrolling through Pinterest to create dream boards, you’ll love Lemon8."
While Lemon8 is growing in popularity, actively educating creative agencies and recruiting influencers, consider the opportunity to stand out in your campaign by being early to the party with something unexpected and imaginative. While it's often popular to utilize a platform once it has a massive audience, integrating emerging platforms like Lemon8 into your media mix now can be a more effective (and fun) way to connect with audiences.