BeReal Advertising: How to Build Trust and Drive Real Engagement in a Real-Time World

BeReal has quietly reshaped how people capture and share moments of daily life. Rather than curated highlight reels, users receive a daily prompt to snap a photo with both the front and back cameras within a short window. For brands, this isn’t just another feed to flood with ads; it’s a prompt to earn trust by fitting into real, unscripted moments. The challenge—and the opportunity—lies in rethinking advertising from intrusive messaging to authentic participation.

Understanding BeReal and Its Unique Audience

At its core, BeReal rewards spontaneity, transparency, and everyday rituals. The audience tends to value genuineness over polish, surprise over predictability, and community over reach. This cultural context matters for any advertising effort. Traditional banners or highly produced clips often feel out of place on BeReal, where the feed is designed to be a candid slice of life. Brands willing to align with that ethos can earn a kind of social license: being seen as a collaborator in real moments rather than as an interruption.

To succeed in BeReal marketing, it helps to think in terms of moments rather than campaigns. A branded BeReal moment should feel like one tiny, authentic fragment of a day, not a scripted festival. This mindset supports long-term brand perception: reliability, approachability, and a steadier, human presence in users’ daily routines.

What Advertising Looks Like on BeReal

BeReal does not thrive on traditional ad units, at least not in the same way as platforms built around paid placements. The most effective strategies center on authenticity and partnership. Brands can explore collaborations with creators to craft genuine content that aligns with real-life use cases. Sponsored creator posts, limited-time campaigns, and co-branded experiences can appear as natural extensions of user-generated content.

Another path is to foster user participation through thoughtful prompts that harmonize with the platform’s cadence. For example, a brand might sponsor a challenge that invites users to show how their product fits into a routine moment—without heavy production or filters. The key is to empower users to share their own versions, creating a sense of community rather than a one-way message.

In practice, successful BeReal advertising feels less like advertising and more like a thoughtful collaboration. It’s about giving people a reason to include your product in an everyday narrative without overpowering it. When done well, this approach can yield authentic reach, meaningful engagement, and a public association with real-life usefulness.

Strategy: How to Approach BeReal Marketing

Building an effective BeReal strategy requires clear goals, a respect for platform norms, and a willingness to adapt. Here is a practical framework to guide planning:

Define authentic objectives. Focus on awareness and sentiment rather than overt conversion. BeReal users are more responsive to brands that contribute to daily life in a helpful or entertaining way.
Partner with creators who embody everyday credibility. Choose creators who live the brand values in real life and who can produce content that feels like a genuine moment rather than a scripted post.
Invest in limited, quality activations. Reserve campaigns for special moments or product launches that naturally fit into daily routines, avoiding constant presence on the feed.
Prioritize transparency and consent. Be explicit about partnerships and keep user privacy at the forefront of any campaign design.
Measure qualitative impact alongside light quantitative metrics. Look beyond impressions to sentiment, recall, and shifts in brand perception within relevant audiences.

Creative Best Practices for BeReal Moments

To make your BeReal advertising feel native, embrace the platform’s creative constraints and user expectations. Here are practical tips to craft content that resonates:

Show real use, not just product shots. If your product is part of a morning routine, illustrate it in that context—before editing, without perfect lighting or studio settings.
Keep it short and specific. A single, relatable moment is more powerful than a long storyboard. Let viewers recognize a familiar scene quickly.
Favor candid aesthetics over perfection. Natural lighting, imperfect angles, and spontaneous expressions align with BeReal’s ethos.
Collaborate with real customers or micro-influencers. Authentic voices often perform better than polished personalities in this space.
Use captions that feel like a real caption, not a sales pitch. A light, human voice sparks connection and invites conversation.
Respect the daily rhythm. Don’t force a moment to fit a brand message; wait for a natural touchpoint where the product adds genuine value.

Measuring Success and Ensuring Authenticity

Measurement on BeReal should balance brand health with user experience. Traditional funnel metrics may be less relevant; instead, track indicators that reflect genuine resonance:

Engagement quality: comments, shares, and conversations that reference real-life usefulness rather than pure reach.
Creator-led authenticity signals: how well the collaboration is perceived as credible and useful within the BeReal community.
Brand sentiment and recall in post-campaign surveys or quick qualitative interviews.
Uplift in brand affinity among audiences who regularly engage with BeReal content.

Ethics and transparency are also performance signals. Clear disclosure of sponsorships and a respectful approach to user content build trust, which is the currency of BeReal advertising. When users feel respected, they’re more inclined to view the brand as a partner rather than an intruder.

Getting Started: A Practical Plan for Brands

If you’re ready to explore BeReal advertising, here is a step-by-step plan to begin responsibly and effectively:

Audit brand fit. Does your product or service align with daily life moments that BeReal users would actually share?
Identify suitable creators. Look for creators whose audiences overlap your target market and who demonstrate genuine, everyday usage of your product.
Define a small, authentic brief. Ask for content that shows the product in context, without heavy production or overt messaging.
Co-create with test campaigns. Run a few modest activations to learn what resonates, then scale thoughtfully.
Measure, learn, and iterate. Gather qualitative feedback from participants, monitor sentiment, and adjust the approach to stay aligned with platform culture.

Marketing on BeReal isn’t about loud slogans or constant bombardment. It’s about becoming a trusted, helpful presence in everyday moments. By embracing authenticity, partnering with the right creators, and respecting the platform’s tempo, brands can participate in BeReal advertising in a way that feels natural, not disruptive. The result is a durable connection with audiences who increasingly value honesty and real experiences in a crowded digital landscape.

Conclusion

BeReal marketing challenges the conventional playbook by rewarding realness over reach. When brands approach BeReal advertising with humility, clear purpose, and a willingness to let everyday moments shine, they unlock opportunities to build lasting relationships. The path to success lies in authenticity, thoughtful collaboration, and a disciplined focus on how a moment with your product fits into people’s real lives. In a world where real-time authenticity is prized, that approach isn’t just advisable—it’s essential.