New social media platform Vero, which is a direct competitor to Instagram, has taken the app world by storm.
The app recently jumped to the top spot in the social media category on Apple’s App Store, suggesting that users might be on the hunt for alternatives to current and established social media platforms.
But is it a flash in the pan? And why do marketers need to know about it?
What is Vero?
Social media app Vero, which is advertising-free, allows users to share photos and videos, and recommend movies, TV shows, books, music and links to friends.
According to this article, Vero was created in 2015 by billionaire Ayman Hariri, who was frustrated with the excessive advertising on Twitter and Facebook.
And that is Vero’s point of difference.
While the app is currently free, users will eventually have to pay a subscription, which the creators say will keep it free of advertising.
All status updates on Vero are content-based and, unlike the last change to Instagram’s algorithm which affected the chronological feed, user posts on Vero are shown chronologically.
Users can also elect who they want to share content with by selecting an audience group such as close friends, friends, acquaintances and followers.
Similar to Facebook’s ‘unfollow’ function, users can filter what they see from their friends on Vero. For example, if you don’t like Julie’s constant recipe links, you can choose to stop seeing her posts.
The app’s name, Vero, translates from Italian as the word for ‘truth’ and carries the tag line ‘true social’.
A manifesto on the official Vero website states that the app is a “truly social network” that “lets you be yourself”.
According to Vero, the app has surpassed one million registered users.
The downsides
While the ad-free model of Vero sounds appealing, there are a few pitfalls to the platform, mostly because it’s still in the early stages.
Following the recent spike in users, the platform encountered technical issues which left many users experiencing service interruptions.
There has also been confusion about the subscription fee, because the fee has been waived for the app’s first one million subscribers.
Following the recent service interruptions, Vero says it will extend the free subscription offer to all new users until further notice.
Details on when Vero subscriptions will begin and how much it will cost have not yet been confirmed.
Some users have also reported that they’ve have trouble deleting their accounts, claiming there is no straightforward process to do so.
Why do marketers need to know about Vero?
As with all social media platforms, it’s important for marketers to be aware of what is available and how they might complement current marketing activities.
While Vero hasn’t opened the platform to advertisers, the platform is growing a solid user base and showing potential.
However, the plan for monetising the platform in future and offering opportunities to advertisers is still unclear.
In saying that, it doesn’t hurt for marketers to give the app a shot and see if it might work for them. There could be opportunities to connect with a new audience in an authentic way.
For now, though, it’s certainly a social media app to watch.