The Stitch on Threads: Our Thoughts and Observations on Meta’s Newest App Rollout
It’s been a whirlwind past few weeks for social media, partially thanks to Meta’s rollout of Threads, their jab at Twitter–or should we say X–in its floundering, post-Elon Musk takeover days.
While it’s too early for anyone to be an expert (if someone announces themselves to be one, run the other way), as marketing minds we are apt to have some thoughts and plenty of questions about Threads role in marketing. Here are some of our initial thoughts and observations.
It’s the new Twitter…sort of.
Meta’s obvious intent is to drive users away from Twitter, and thanks to constant turmoil on the app since Elon Musk’s acquisition–including changes to policies, ineffective attempts at driving revenue, rapid internal turnover, and now the ill-advised and perfunctory rebrand–it’s easy for an already established social media powerhouse to step into the market with a new option that works to replace Twitter.
However, since Threads is designed to be attached to Instagram, there likely is and will continue to be an audience gap. Not everyone on Instagram was on Twitter, and not everyone on Twitter is going to leave for Threads.
Why does this matter? It means you need to consider doing something different than what you’re doing on Twitter. Can there be crossover content? Absolutely. But it doesn’t mean you should duplicate it all. Which brings us to the next point:
People don’t want to be buttoned up on threads.
Our Threads feeds so far are what we would call the poster child for the unhinged social media manager trend. Many big brands aren’t afraid to break out the whacky.
But at its core it seems like people just want conversation and stream of thought, much like the old days of Twitter. And they’re being quite vocal about it.
When entrepreneur/marketing influencer Jenna Kutcher posted asking if people wanted to talk about how to strategically use Threads for their brand, the response was an overwhelming “absolutely not.” They just want to hang out and have fun.
Will it always be this way? Probably not, and as the weeks go on we’re venturing closer to the same ole same ole. But don’t be the one trying to ruin the party too quickly.
Think organically.
Social app chaos can be great fun, but yes, if you’re running a brand account, you probably don’t want to fly by the seat of your pants.
We always recommend posting in the moment on any platform (think Instagram stories and yes, Twitter) for events, but what about the everyday?
As you plan, try to make your conversation points feel a more organic instead of long, formal posts. Aiding you in this pursuit is the fact you do have to post on the native platform app on your phone.
While Meta Business Suite is likely destined to roll out Threads scheduling, it will probably be a while. Consider this a fun exercise on putting the social back in social media.
Skip the graphics and links.
Another area impacted by native posting is media. Yes, you can still upload your designed graphics and link to your latest content piece, but in general we’re seeing most people skip the traditional content to, again, be conversational and looser. This could disappear in the future and less adventurous brands are already pulling their standard tricks. It wouldn’t be the worst thing, however, if you see this style stick around.
Move fast, break things..again?
Of course, don’t put it past Meta to make some of the same mistakes they’ve made in the past. With some users taking note of the extensive data permissions, it is important to know Threads does not comply with EU security standards and cannot be used there currently.
Other users have noted a nostalgic vibe to what the algorithm puts in feeds ‒ content blend circa 2016 without the ads. Maybe we like that it’s a little unhinged? However, this could be a preventative measure from the platform, as Meta has admitted to rather lax content moderation on the new platform. Ideally, users will gain the power to turn off some tracking permissions and content moderation will become a priority. Hopefully soon, as Threads is now boasting over 100 million users.
In addition to the typical social media platform challenges, Meta could also face renewed scrutiny from the FTC.This supposed “Twitter Killer” could be the opportunity they have been waiting for. While users may enjoy the Instagram connectivity, it’s hard not to think about the FTC’s past interest in breaking up Meta.
Will threads continue to keep us stitched into the app?
New social platforms frequently explode onto the scene and fizzle (think Clubhouse and BeReal, which the New York Times declared Gen Z was over this spring). We’ve already seen some Threads users declare they’re bored and have jumped back to Twitter (another reason not to abandon the platform yet, though we wouldn’t be surprised if some new level of Elon Musk-driven implosion was on the horizon). Others are still joining.
The huge surge of downloads in the first few days of the app has, expectedly slowed down. The Wall Street Journal is already shouting the death of Threads, but we’re not holding our breath as the app still hasn’t been rolled out globally. In addition, Tech Crunch points out that the average time users spend on Threads is approximately 15 minutes, more than other “microblogging” sites including Twitter.
While we don’t have a crystal ball to see into the future, we’re confident that Threads won’t unravel too quickly if at all.
Written by Green Loop’s Senior Creative Manager, Sarah Eutsler, and Green Loop’s Senior Marketing Manager, Jordan Shea.
Sarah Eutsler flexes her “unicorn” mix of skills as Green Loop’s Senior Creative Manager. With over a decade of marketing and communications experience, she regularly leads organic social, content, design, and strategy for Green Loop’s CPA society clients, including the Indiana CPA Society and Ohio Society of CPAs, and acts as the head designer for clients like the American College of Sports Medicine.
With nearly a decade working in digital marketing, Jordan has experience from a variety of projects – including work with coworking spaces and fostering entrepreneurship. A full-time freelance contractor since 2018, she currently specializes in digital advertising, but manages organic content strategy implementation and creation, as well. Jordan brings her experience to SCORE Mentorship and will be sharing her personal experience and professional recommendations for bringing your business to fruition.