Lemon8 is a trendy new social media platform that has a similar feel and aesthetic to Pinterest, and Instagram. Launched by ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, this application has been growing in popularity around the globe. Let’s break this social platform down and dive into the details.

• Being compared as a mix between Pinterest and Instagram with aesthetically pleasing images.
• Currently in the United States there is a total of 4.25 million active users.
• The social app is open to all audiences over the age of 13 but the main demographic is Gen Zer’s.
• Several influencers are being paid from the U.S. and the U.K. to promote the app, but there is no clear way to make money off the app, yet.
• Lemon8 does not feature advertising, yet.
• The browsable categories for Lemon8 include fashion beauty, food, wellness, travel, home, and pets.

Diving into the Details

After downloading the application, I was taken to a screen where I entered my birthdate. Although they state in their disclaimer this information will not be shared with anyone, they mention this information being used to personalize my experience. Next a question on my pronouns is asked followed by what my interests are.
From there you can choose a way to login to your account. Once you login, monetized content is shown throughout your newsfeed. The layout feels very similar to Pinterest and Instagram, being user friendly and inviting.
Like Instagram, you have the normal array of icons:
Home: This shows your monetized newsfeed.
Search Icon: This takes you to a search icon where you have the capability to search usernames, accounts, hashtags, and posts. After the initial search icon, advertisements are displayed, while below viral hashtags are featured that you can click into.
Notification Icon: This icon looks like a bell, which notifies you of new followers, likes and saves, comments, and mentions.
Account Icon: The person icon takes you to your account information.
Clicking into someone’s post allows you to view the user who posted the image/video(s), the post itself, and then scrolling down allows me to see hashtags associated with the post, a date stamp of when it was posted, and a list of all the individuals who commented on the post and when.

How does the Lemon8 algorithm work?

According to HypeBot, Like Lemon8’s ByteDance sibling TikTok, it has a “For You Page” (FYP) that shows what the user is interested in as soon as they open the app. The more they interact with their FYP, the more accurate the algorithm becomes in terms of suggesting user-specific content. In contrast to TikTok, Lemon8 displays more current content, while TikTok can show content uploaded a few days ago.
Hashtags appear to play an important role in driving the Lemon8 algorithm. Like Instagram and TikTok, trending hashtags are also a thing on this app. Therefore, aligning your content with these trending hashtags and categories is a good way to drive the algorithm and increase the visibility of your content. Moreover, incorporating keywords in your post titles increases the chances of your content reaching more people.
In addition, content that tells a story has a greater chance of being shared and going viral, while the algorithm and users prefer carousels to single photo posts. The most game-changing tip is to aim for more saves – the more saves there are, the greater the chance of getting the algorithm to drive it forward.

Will Longevity be at the four corners for Lemon8?

This is up for debate. Although this app is picking up in popularity, there is always a surge of new users within a platform in the beginning. Take Clubhouse and BeReal for example. Two platforms that had excessive hype in the beginning, that no longer hold the attention of users.