The TLDR;
In the evening hours of July 5, Meta officially announced the launch of their new app, Threads. Threads is a text-based social media app–a direct competitor to Twitter, containing a similar look and feel with many of the same functionalities. Users can share posts up to 500 characters long, and can include links, photos and videos up to 5 minutes in length. Threads are presented in the main feed, where users can like, repost, and reply to each update.
What Social Media Professionals Want You to Know
Threads has huge potential and initial reception of the app has been overwhelmingly positive. But what do the people who work in the trenches of social media every day think? We asked 9 social media professionals, and here’s what they think you should know about Threads:
- “Have fun with Threads; it doesn’t have to be picture-perfect and product focused. Users want to see your personality.” – Rashida Hull, Sr. Engagement Strategist
- “Consider your audience when deciding your approach. Remembering your audience doesn’t always look the same platform to platform (e.g. from Twitter to Instagram) will help you fine-tune your strategy for success.” – Molly Miloscia, Associate Director of Social Strategy
- “Use Threads being a brand new platform to your brand’s advantage! Post original content instead of repurposing everything from Twitter or other platforms – it gives you the opportunity to participate in Threads-specific trends, and maybe even start a new trend.” – Ainsley Robertson, Sr. Engagement Strategist
- “I highly encourage getting involved in other threads (even on your personal account)! It seems like users really enjoy replying, quoting, and overall having fun conversations with each other, so doing so with other like minded brands and even fans of the brand will help with creating that brand persona. It’ll help with exposure too.” – Destiny Velazquez, Engagement Strategist
- “It feels super easy to simply make Threads a Twitter copycat, but this platform has a totally different feel in terms of tone and style of content! Cater to the silly side of Threads by pushing the limits of how far your brand usually goes – you just might be surprised at the positive response you receive!” – Abigail Thompson, Engagement Strategist
- “With more than 100 million users on Threads now, don’t shy away from joining in on the fun and testing different content. Be where your audience is. If they’re on Instagram, there’s a good chance they’re already on Threads or will be in the near future.” – Stephanie Twining, VP of Social Media
- “Do an audit of your competitors and others in the space to see where/how your brand can stand out.” – Rachel LaVoie, Sr. Engagement Strategist
- “Brands who have been stuck using Twitter primarily as a customer support tool have a rare opportunity with Threads to loosen up and present a new tone.” – Jonathan Osborne, Sr. Engagement Strategist
- “Share a few cross-posts to invite your followers from other platforms over to follow you on threads to help build your audience! Oh, and remember… hashtags don’t work on threads (yet).” – Kaitlyn Feniello, Sr. Strategist
So What Does All This Mean For My Brand?
Because of Threads quick success and their place in the larger Meta suite of products, it’s not a platform to be ignored. We can anticipate it’s extremely likely that Threads will stick as a successful new platform. As you look to incorporate Threads into your social presence, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Activate your profile, start posting, and post often. It pays off to be an early adopter and user of successful new platforms, giving you a leg up on gaining followers and favor with the algorithm
- Test, test, test. Speaking of the algorithm, we don’t yet know what it will favor and prioritize. Test different formats, posting types, engagement strategies, and monitor what seems to be working.
- Work smarter, not harder. Go back 6-12 months and find top performing evergreen tweets or simple Instagram posts to fill your content pipeline for Threads as you work to build out a complete strategy and approach.
- Don’t take yourself too seriously. Threads is looking to be a place for brands to show their personality and have a little fun. Consider how your brand can show up in this way and how you can reinvent yourself/show a different side on the platform.
- Consider the big picture. As you begin to activate on Threads consider how it will fit into your larger social strategy from a channel role perspective to which content pillars you might leverage on Threads.
