- TikTok owner ByteDance has quietly launched a new app in the UK and the US called Lemon8.
- Creators said they're getting paid to post on the app, which they described as Instagram meets Pinterest.
- Insider viewed a document describing the platform and rules creators should follow when posting.
TikTok owner ByteDance has quietly launched a new app called Lemon8 in the UK and the US, and is paying creators to post on it, according to industry insiders.
The app launched in Japan in 2020, and has since also expanded to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Singapore.
ByteDance has been paying creators in the UK to post on the app in recent weeks, three influencers told Insider. One creator who had posted on the app shared documentation showing they were getting paid to post on the platform, while two others shared emails they received from Lemon8 outlining the payment structure.
The picture-based app describes itself as a "lifestyle community," and its main feed is divided into a "Following" and a "For You," like TikTok, but can be sorted by content categories like "Beauty," "Fashion," and "Food." Another page, similar to Instagram's Explore tab, includes content organized by hashtags. The app store description also mentions that trending content can be found by "searching keywords."
Reuters previously reported that Lemon8 appeared to be an attempt to replicate the success of China's Xiaohongshu, a "shopping and lifestyle recommendations app."
Seven influencers who spoke with Insider said a good Lemon8 post includes a high-quality photo carousel and a lengthy caption with lots of specific details about a topic — for example, a step-by-step makeup tutorial or recipe, or a guide on how to style a piece of clothing.
Creator Ese Nuesiri said Lemon8 reminded them of "Pinterest and Instagram when they just started." Another creator, Shantania Beckford, described it as a mix of Instagram and Pinterest, and added that it was more detail-oriented than other social-media platforms.
Beauty creator Eleanor Wood also said Lemon8 appeared to prioritize "educational and informative content," referencing the detail and length required in captions.
ByteDance declined to comment for this story.
Lemon8 asks creators to follow specific guidelines when posting
Lemon8 provides guidelines on how to craft the content to post on the platform, the document and emails viewed by Insider show.
Three creators told Insider they needed to follow these guidelines exactly in order to receive payments.
The document says posts should include:
- High-definition, vertically shot photos
- A minimum of 3 to 7 photos
- 100 to 300 words in the captions to "inform and inspire people on your topic." The captions should be "exciting," "self-explanatory," and "give an overview of useful information." They should also include calls-to-action and hashtags.
- The platform provides templates and stickers to use in post captions, and requires "use of templates/other beautiful text creations for designing a magazine look cover page."
- For hashtags, the document outlines guidelines like: "Don't use #'s which don't apply to your post just because they're 'hot hashtags,' use hashtags that match your content!," and "Don't mix #'s from different topics, e.g. using travel #'s and beauty #'s - try and stick to a theme for each post so you can catapult your post into stardom!"
Five of the creators Insider spoke with mentioned that crafting content for Lemon8 was significantly more time-consuming and required more effort than posting on other social-media platforms, because of the length and detail necessary in captions and posts.
Two of them said they weren't sure creating this content was worth their time, while three others said they had high hopes for the platform to grow in the UK in the following months.
Alex Vang, who said he was not getting paid to post, told Insider he's using the platform because he enjoys the care and attention he needs to put in his content.
"It's about unleashing my creative side, and a bit like going into a creative director type of vision for my posts," he said. "I'm having a blast."
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