Unraveling Threads
What's the deal on the launch of Meta's Threads?
SOCIALSTRATEGY
If you haven’t heard or read enough on the launch of Threads, then read on with gusto! If you have heard and read enough, then read on with a discerning air.
So our world now includes yet another platform for social interactions behind the comfort and safety of our screens. Yet, is this déjà vu?
Has Meta hired up the losses from Twitter, re-built essentially Twitter, and slapped a Meta logo on it? Officially, Meta said that’s not the case…
For reference, Threads is a text-based conversation app that is designed to be a space "where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow. Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things — or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world." (per Meta)
The good
Leverage your list of Instagram followers easily and immediately; no need to start building a following from scratch.
Like Twitter, it’s text-based, allowing brands and creators to elaborate on their desired topics and maintain conversation chains, errr, threads.
It’s new and attracts engagement.
It's currently an ad-free environment (good for users).
The bad
If you’re leveraging your same Instagram followers, your Threads followers are mostly duplicates, not net new.
As of now, no hashtags and posts are not editable….
The algorithm is in charge, not you, regardless of who you are following. Meta says this will change over time…
Another platform, another medium = more production time. If the audience doesn’t vary much from your Instagram, and you’ve already created content for Instagram that can be text in addition to visual, what’s the effort-to-return ratio to modify/create content for Threads also?
It's currently an ad-free environment (not good for brands/advertisers interested in fine-tuned targeting).
The ugly
If you ever delete your Threads profile, you delete your Instagram profile.
It’s a Meta product, so privacy, data-sharing, production issues, advertising/monetization philosophy, etc. carry over to Threads.
Bottomline
It’s worth a try. With 70 million users and counting in the first few days, you have the opportunity to capture new eyes and ears -- grow your audience authentically, find new customers, test text over image content, and convert followers that have been sitting on your sidelines versus engaging or purchasing with you. Perhaps it does not result in thousands of new sales nor sustainable growth, yet, gaining learnings about your customers is a vital key to accelerated progress. You won’t truly know unless you test.
Of course, like with anything, MTM advises that you maintain your center - keep focus on understanding your customers well, meeting their needs, providing value, and staying true to your brand. And, as always, we’re advocates of prioritizing any new testing appropriately with you overall media mix and strategy. Need help with that? Drop us a line, we’ve got your back.