Instagram’s Threads App: What We Know So Far
If you haven’t heard about Instagram’s Threads app, where have you been? The new social platform, owned by Meta, saw over 100 million users sign up in less than a week, becoming the fastest growing app ever, and is currently the number 1 social networking app on the Apple Store.
The app has been dubbed as “the new Twitter”, and was launched by Mark Zuckerberg, who tweeted for the first time in a decade with the famous Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man meme to crack a joke about the fact Instagram had created their own version of the social media platform that is now owned by Elon Musk.
(Twitter, 2023)
What Is Threads?
We know you’re probably thinking, but what is Threads all about? Is it worth us creating an account to stay in touch with our community? Well… here is what we know so far!
The aim of Instagram’s Threads app is to provide a platform for people to share text updates and join in with public conversations. Many people are referring to Threads as a giant group chat, which certainly suggests to us that the first users are feeling a great sense of community with their circle of followers.
As we shared on our Facebook page, there are a number of differences between Twitter and Threads, such as the ability to direct message, the use of hashtags, the character count and much more. However, a number of these are being worked on by Meta and are set to be introduced into Instagram’s Threads in the future.
Why Now?
Threads launched at a time when Twitter was seeing a decline in usage from their top users since the purchase of the platform by Elon Musk in October 2022. Safe to say that Meta certainly knew what they were doing by deciding to offer up an alternative now.
With the ability to share ‘threads’ through Instagram stories also, the collaboration between the social media platforms fits seamlessly and avoids the need for images or reels to be created for each post. Plus, many users will be pleased to hear that Instagram’s Threads has a much bigger character count in comparison to its counterpart, with Threads offering 500 characters as opposed to Twitter’s 280.
Why Give Instagram’s Threads A Try?
As we’ve just mentioned, the advantage of threads is that it gives brands and individuals the ability to get a message out instantly, without the need for a creative asset which is essential for Instagram posts. Threads is also likely to provide a platform for companies to get involved in current conversations, similar to that of Cuthbert The Caterpillar gate. Brands can gain high visibility by joining the conversation and won’t want to miss out.
Do note that Threads isn’t available everywhere yet. Brands in the EU may have to wait to get involved as there is some regulatory uncertainty about how the app will use personal data which means its yet to launch. However, this doesn’t have to be seen as a negative as the European Union have the ability to see how the new platform works and if it’s looking to become a success before they join the fun. This will also allow them to be able to observe how other people and brands are using this and create a strategy for how they plan to use it before putting it into practice, which most people have not had the ability to do due to the rapid launch.
Can You Advertise On Threads?
Whilst advertising isn’t planned to launch on the brand new platform yet, there is a lot of demand for it due to the amount of people that have signed up to Threads. Advertisers have a huge opportunity to advertise to their customers, and with the decrease in people advertising on Twitter since the Musk takeover, this provides and ideal replacement to advertise on.
The main question we have is whether you’ll be able to advertise across all three Meta platforms with one budget, like you can currently across Facebook and Instagram. This would be an ideal scenario if advertising is to come on Threads. But… will this come with an additional cost? We’ll keep you updated when we know more!
So, you may still be asking yourself is it worth getting Threads? Well, the answer is simple: if you did not utilise Twitter originally then the likelihood of Instagram’s Threads working for you is slim. However, that’s not to say that you couldn’t benefit from advertising on the platform if this gets introduced in the future. Otherwise, if your brand has always been active on Twitter, then go for it! This is a great alternative to reach your audience.
Overall, we’re still learning about Instagram’s Threads and it’s hard to tell whether it will take off or not this early on. But, with initial app sign offs exceeding social media records, Threads is certainly in a position to soar if Meta introduces the features that users are really looking for.
