TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has been pushing its Instagram-like app to US social media users. Lemon8 is a video and photo-sharing social media platform catering to users' interest in food, beauty, wellness, and travel.

Lemon8 is not a new app; it's just new in the US for social media users. A week after the app blew up social media, it became number one in the App Store for lifestyle apps. The number one spot in this category is a big jump from an app that never reached the Top 200 Overall Charts in the US prior to last month, according to TechCrunch. Influencers have described the app as if "Instagram and Pinterest had a baby.” A report from the New York Times confirmed that ByteDance paid influencers and gave them specific guidelines to post on the app and promote the app.

What is Lemon8?

Lemon8 is a video and photo-sharing social media app. It doesn't support vertical video scrolling, and the content created on the app centers around a specific topic.  The top trending topics on the app are fashion, beauty, food, wellness, and travel. Under each topic are suggestions, recommendations, get-ready-with-me style videos, and aesthetically pleasing content. 

Posts can be swipeable photo collections like in Instagram, or TikTok-style videos. Some creators add text to their photos to label clothing or a product. Some will also include the price of the item in the text. 

Who owns Lemon8?

Lemon8 is owned by ByteDance, the same company that owns TikTok. Lemon8 is ByteDance's attempt at competing with Instagram. With the introduction of Lemon8, ByteDance seems hopeful that its connection to TikTok, the most popular app in the US, can influence users to migrate from Instagram.

Is Lemon8 popular?

Lemon8 is already popular in Japan and Thailand. Influencers on Lemon8 can link their TikTok and Instagram accounts to broaden their social media reach. There aren't any popular influencers on Lemon8 right now, but many micro-influencers are on the app – influencers with 900-3,000 followers on Instagram or TikTok. 

Most of the posts on Lemon8 have #Lemon8partner at the end of the caption, signaling that Lemon8 paid creators to start posting on the app to manufacture the platform's popularity. The same influencers also took to TikTok to tell their audiences to join Lemon8.

Lemon8 vs. TikTok: Which is better?

Like most social media platforms, both apps allow people to create content. Lemon8 leans more toward influencer marketing than TikTok, which leans toward content creation. TikTok creators typically have a niche that they play into to engage their audience. On TikTok, some creators are paid to market products or market a product to achieve a particular lifestyle. But most TikTok creators make money based on how many views their videos or live streams receive.

For now, it seems that big-name creators haven't migrated to Lemon8. Lemon8 hasn’t formally launched in the US as of yet. The Lemon8 app is currently available for download, but top creators may be gearing up for the official launch which is to come this month. Some creators hope that being an early adopter will give them an edge in the app's monetization policy once it officially launches. Lemon8 is free so even if you're a little curious you can download and try the app.