With TikTok US Ban likely, ByteDance launches alternate, Insta-like app, run pricey promo campaigns

As US legislators move towards a possible ban on TikTok or force its sale, the app’s Chinese parent company ByteDance has launched another social media app in the US, which, coincidentally has gone into the Top Charts of the US App Store.   Lemon8, a ByteDance-owned Instagram competitor that bills itself as a “lifestyle community,” vaulted into the US App Store’s Top Charts on Monday, becoming the No. 10 Overall app, across both applications and games. As of writing this piece, the app was rated at number 9 on the App Store’s Top Apps ranking. This is a significant shift for the little-known app, and it suggests that paid user acquisition efforts are driving this increase.   A paid campaign to boost downloads According to a report by TechCrunch, the Lemon8 app had never previously placed in the Top 200 Overall Charts in the United States. TechCrunch, in their report, has cited data from Data AI. According to TechCrunch, Data AI has confirmed that such a rapid rise, from an unranked app to No. 9 among the top free apps in the United States, ahead of YouTube, WhatsApp, Gmail, and Facebook, indicates a “significant” and “recent” user acquisition drive on the part of the app creator.   Unfortunately, because Lemon8 is so new to the App Store’s Top Charts, third-party app analytics companies do not yet have exact statistics on Lemon8’s US downloads, or how those installs have lately altered over the past few days. Ad campaigns to promote the app across different platforms Given that the app was published worldwide in March 2020, the most probable scenario is that it was quietly released on the US App Store, but only for testing reasons. Then, in the last few days, it was more “officially” introduced, which meant that it was followed by this obviously sizable expenditure on paid discovery or app install advertising. Lemon8 launched on both iOS and Android in March 2020 and has since garnered 16 million worldwide installations, with Japan accounting for 38 per cent of its total uploads, according to app intelligence provider Apptopia’s statistics.   While the company does not have a number for its US installs, it estimates the app has 4.25 million daily active users. Also read: US to move forward with TikTok bill, says House of Representatives speaker Apptopia observed that it had not yet seen Lemon8 spend on paid search on either the App Store or Google Play, but warned that it could have paid install campaigns that haven’t yet populated in its system or spend on networks it doesn’t have visibility into. “Instagram Meets Pinterest” - Paying TikTok influencers to promote the App. As part of their launch campaign, ByteDance is investing a lot of money in getting the app promoted on TikTok. Several TikTok influencers have been reported of parroting the same lines while asking their followers to download and use the app - that it is a “cutesy mix of Instagram and Pinterest.” A large number of them were positive reviews that push users to download the app. In fact, some creators even said they’re getting the app in case TikTok gets banned. ByteDance leveraging TikTok’s influencer community ByteDance isn’t afraid to rely on creators to make its case before last week’s legislative meeting, the company sent influencers to Washington to lobby on behalf of TikTok.   Beyond attempts with its direct participation, several creators are dissatisfied with the nationwide ban suggested by US legislators. Also read: Influencers, Assemble: TikTok flies influencers to Washington DC from all over US to lobby US Congress It also doesn’t help that the legislators showed their lack of technical understanding as demonstrated by their questions.   Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .