The social network aimed at Russian audience is gaining momentum. Using marketing tools, the platform has shown a steady growth of users. But does the network have a future? Is it sufficient enough to lure users away from Instagram?
The creation of ЯRUS
The social media platform was created in the year of 2020. Two years later the Russian government confirmed Meta’s designation as extremist amid Russian invasion of Ukraine. This was a turning point for ЯRUS. In order to be present on Instagram and continue posting content Russia-based users had to download VPN apps. Utilising Virtual Private Network was inconvenient and led to disruptions to messaging apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram. Sometimes, it would also slow down the loading of pages in Safari. ЯRUS creators promoted the network as ‘familiar’, placing emphasis on the similarity with Instagram, as well as marked free use without restrictions.
Ways used to drive higher user engagement
There is a number of tools ЯRUS uses to increase the involvement of audience. The social media blends rich content presented in the form of tiers from a wide range of sources, including news outlets, with an ability to monetise content. “Here we combine a large number of existing video hosting sites, absorb publications from Russian and CIS countries’ media outlets, process approximately 65,000 news per day”, says Dmitry Ilyukhin, the founder of the IT Startup.
The platform allows users to earn money from producing content and being active on a daily basis. This makes up a two-level monetisation system. ЯRUS established internal currency called ЯRUS coins that can be converted into rubles at the rate of 1:1. Developers are honest that they use this temporary measure to reach more people on the platform.
Further prospects
The network has grown up to 6 million users; however, it is still noticeable that Russians don’t perceive ЯRUS as a full-fledged replacement for blocked services. If people decide to switch, they would rather move to well-known social media like Telegram or Vkontakte applying the strategy they used to run on Instagram. The main reason is that discovering a completely new network and creating audience strategy from scratch is tedious and dreary.
Furthermore, despite being similar to Instagram the network doesn’t contain signature features like Reels. The absence of these functions slows down the transition of millionaire bloggers to ЯRUS, which if occurred would have led to a massive flow of new users.