How to use threads - AND SHOULD YOU?
Threads has joined the social media landscape with Meta pitching it as “Instagram’s text-based conversation app”. It is still very early days for the app, despite huge download numbers, to say whether the buzz will stick for the long haul. Users are calling it ‘Twitter for 2023’, and Threads is pitched as where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about to what will be trending tomorrow.
Is Twitter in a slow demise after it’s Musk takeover? Will everyone jump on the Theads bandwagon? So far, it’s too early to tell but below is a rundown of how the app works:
Posting | Threads can be up to 500 characters including photos, 5-minute video and links. Fellow users are also able to share your Threads post to their IG stories or other social platforms.
Interface | It is very similar to Instagram with the house icon showing the Timeline / Feed, a magnifying glass is search and heart icon showing account activity. The pen-and-paper icon creates a new thread, whereas the person icon takes users to their Threads profile.
Followers | Users can access your IG username and verification badge from Instagram, you are able to set up an account easily and find those who you currently follow with a few taps which is music to any social managers’ ears. With Threads users can build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions, and creativity.
Control | Accounts you’ve blocked are carried over from Instagram, with the same Community Guidelines, and you can also control who can reply to your Threads. Users are also able to set time limits for using the app directly in the app Settings and ‘take a break’ options are available.
Timeline | A privacy feature offered allows users to conceal specific words, custom words and phrases that you do not want to appear on your Timeline. As with IG you’re also able to Mute those who you want to continue following but don’t want to appear in your Timeline.
Notifications | Edit your notifications in Settings to prevent your inbox being overwhelmed with alerts.
Future | Meta is currently dangling a carrot of “Open social networking” where there will be ways to discover more content and reach wider audiences via “open interoperable social networks that we believe can shape the future of the internet”. Needless to say, Threads is not to be ignored by brands as Meta certainly has big plans in the works.
Is Theads beneficial? So far it’s being used by brands without red tape restriction they potentially feel with other platforms. It’s new, so no one knows what is ‘best’ yet and every brand is trying their own thing. It is refreshing that social media managers are having fun with a social media platform, and this has not been the case for many in the industry for a long while. Brands get increasingly tied up in their own previous success on social media, overthink strategies, try to repeat what has been great in the past for them, and what has seen growth for their competitors. As we know, what works for one doesn’t always work for the other.
As an agency, we would suggest bringing your brand on Threads sooner rather than later to ensure your username and verification which has been pre-allocated for you on the app before it disappears. Invest in a social hero who is the personality of your brand. They don’t need a name or a face but someone who is able to ‘steer’ the ship and capture engagement.
We’re looking forward to seeing what the next six months brings for Threads.
