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Vero: Is there room for a new social media platform for influencers?

Vero: Is there room for a new social media platform for influencers?

Remember Vero

It was but a month ago that a new social media app was promising to provide a new kind of social experience to the masses. 

Brands, influencers and socialites alike swept over to the app, but the intrugue was shortlived as the volume of new signups began to cause internal problems. Interest in the app seems to have waned, but the platform is still making changes.

The interesting part about Vero is that it does not aim to accommodate advertisers like the majority of social platforms. It will eventually become a subscription-based service, where users can pay to see the content they want to and nothing else.

Given that social networks are such a ripe space for advertisements - is Vero all that important for brands and influencers? We asked our Viral Visionaries what they think of Vero, and whether social media has a vacant space for a new kind of social app. 

Sarah Knowles Social lead Substance Global

I’m really interested in Vero as it seems to be predominantly recommendation focused. 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations and 49% of people are more likely to buy a product across verticals if recommended by a real person.

I think it goes back to the old days of “what I’m watching/reading/listening to” etc. on Facebook but seems much cooler. Vero have done a really good job of onboarding influencers, or rather tastemakers, over the last few months.

I’m personally much more likely to be influenced by what someone is recommending if it is based in things that we traditionally rate like film, books or destinations than vlogs so I definitely see the potential for more niche influencing. Rather than traditional influencers from platforms like YouTube, there’s room for a new type of refined and cultured influencer, that cool friend. It’s like Instagram but without the pressure of a perfect shot.

Jodi Sahlin Head of Influencer Marketing Space Ape Games

I think Vero looks interesting! As a company, we have run into a few issues publishing art in terms of their T&C's. But I'm sure that will be fixed over time.

There have been several attempts at recreating a more user-friendly, less ad-saturated platform, so far Vero seems to have the most hype which is exciting. Sarah has a great point about product recommendation. Vero absolutely could make room for new influencers. I think we could compare Vero's future influencers to the influencers of Musical.ly in terms of reaching a very niche audience.

Philip Hickey VP, Marketing & Communications Seriously

Philip Hickey is a former professional basketball player turned award-winning marketeer. Currently, he is responsible for marketing and communications at Seriously.

Vero’s resurgence in popularity demonstrates that there’s room for a new social platform. Users have voiced a lot of frustration with Facebook’s newsfeed algorithms and bombardment of advertising, and Vero offers the option to return to the chronological newsfeed. I believe platforms like Vero could be an opportunity for influencers to have an audience, especially since I’ve seen so many of them start to cross promote their new accounts.

I think the real trouble for Vero will be with its founder and monetisation plan for a subscription fee. Consumers are used to accessing social media for “free,” but it comes at the cost of advertisements clogging newsfeeds. I think it will be very interesting to watch if consumers start to pay for a chronological social media account… and then maybe Facebook would take note and pay tribute to their model and features as they did with Snapchat.

Dmitry Liapin Business Development Director Zorka.Mobi

I have a definite “yes” on the question whether there is room for another social media platform. Some people are getting frustrated with algorithms of existing dominant players and this leads to their search of alternatives that give them more value and satisfaction.

However, its the same issue as with new messengers - in order to make it popular, you need to bring mass audience in. In order to bring mass audience, you need this platform to be popular so that your friends are using it. So, it will be really hard for Vero to compete with Facebook or Instagram or YouTube, just to name a few, in making the platform popular (or populated) enough, as there are so many factors to consider to make the new platform attractive and “sticky” enough for the newcomers.

Vero has some strong points (chronological feed, lack of ads) along with some weak points like unusual dark UI colours and difficulties in deleting your account. The biggest issue is content - currently the major portion of it is generated by influencers (and not by the “friends” that belong to your social circle).

It will be hard to rise Vero to the same level of existing dominant players. However, this new platform has chosen correct strategy for its promotion, using Instagram influencers as innovators who drive the curiosity of early adopters. Will that be enough? This is the most important question that should show us whether influencer marketing is powerful enough to support the creation of mass-market oriented social media products.

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Editor

Danielle Partis is editor of PocketGamer.biz and former editor of InfluencerUpdate.biz. She was named Journalist of the Year at the MCV Women in Games Awards 2019, as well as in the MCV 30 under 30 2020. Prior to Steel Media, she wrote about music and games at Team Rock.