ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, seems to be gearing up for a fight amidst potential ban threats. It’s pushing its new social media app, Lemon8, to maintain its presence in the American market. Lemon8, mimicking Instagram and Pinterest, focuses on sharing ‘inspiring’ content across diverse areas like travel, beauty, food, and wellness.
Initially, Lemon8 ranked among the top ten most downloaded apps. However, it’s struggled to attain the explosive growth TikTok experienced. Despite its promising start, boosting its user base at a similar rate as TikTok has been a struggle.
ByteDance is allegedly offering financial incentives to TikTok influencers to advertise Lemon8, aiming to effectively leverage their follower count to increase Lemon8’s popularity. It’s reported that influencers are receiving contracts worth $200 to promote the app. Top TikTok influencers have started sharing Lemon8, incorporating app download links in their posts.
Utilizing influencers for Lemon8 expansion
A prominent influencer named Braonain1, owning 363,000 followers on TikTok, has confirmed her collaboration with ByteDance to expand Lemon8’s user base. Yet, her Lemon8 follower count remains drastically lower with only 66 followers. The massive disparity between her following on TikTok and Lemon8 indicates that the transition to the new platform isn’t as smooth.
New legislation, ‘Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications,’ poses a significant risk to TikTok’s presence in the US. The legislation aims to enforce ByteDance’s divestiture from TikTok due to underlying security concerns. Any future ByteDance product, including Lemon8, is subject to the same divestiture procedure.
So far, ByteDance hasn’t officially commented on the TikTok influencer’s efforts to promote Lemon8. The silence leads to speculation and discussion within the influencer community. The promotion of Lemon8 continues amidst debate within the digital industry. Influencers and audiences alike eagerly watch the evolving situation, awaiting clarity from ByteDance.
