Threads: Another social media app for marketers to explore

Introducing Threads by Meta

Bluesky, Mastodon, and now Threads—yet another contender that poses a challenge for Twitter and Elon Musk. Meta’s standalone rival app launched yesterday in over 100 countries, available on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Since its launch on July 6th, Threads has amassed an incredible 30 million users in just 16 hours, officially becoming the most rapidly downloaded app ever. Competing with an established social media platform like Twitter is no easy task, but Threads' close integration with Instagram has enabled Meta to rapidly expand the app's user base. Upon downloading the application, users can log in with their Instagram account and seamlessly follow their existing follower list on the new platform, captivating users with a smooth transition. 

Why has Meta launched this rival app now? 

In an interview with Verge, Adam Mosseri (head of Instagram) explained that Twitter's “volatility” and “unpredictability” under Musk provided the opening to compete. He goes on to say, “Obviously, Twitter pioneered the space” and “There are a lot of good offerings out there for public conversations. But just given everything that was going on, we thought there was an opportunity to build something that was open and something that was good for the community that was already using Instagram.” Threads bears a strong resemblance to Twitter, featuring a primary feed that showcases posts or "threads" from accounts that users choose to follow. Users also can "repost" threads, incorporating their own commentary (akin to Twitter's quote tweet feature), and replies hold a prominent position in the main feed of the app.

What does this mean for advertisers? 

I’m sure the first question on everybody’s mind is, “Can we run ads?”. Currently, there are no ads or monetisation features on Threads. According to Meta, their “priority is to build consumer value first and foremost, which will allow us to explore how to build business value”, but surely, it’s only a matter of time! 

Considering the Twitter-like nature of Threads, we can speculate on how the monetisation of the App could evolve. For example, the most prominent aspect of Threads is its emphasis on text-based, public conversations. Much like Twitter, the platform has been designed to facilitate conversational engagement, creating a multitude of possibilities for advertisers to connect with consumers and build their brand voice –both organically and, potentially, paid. If monetised, conversational trends & topics could provide an opportunity for advertisers to tap into real-time contextual targeting features via keyword targeting. Given the decline of cookies, contextual targeting has become more pertinent than ever before, leading advertisers and brands to leverage Twitter's conversational nature to appear in relevant spaces on the platform.

The introduction of Threads is a welcomed announcement for any Paid Social Marketer and has already garnered significant popularity amongst social media users since its launch. As Threads continues to gain momentum, it is likely to draw inspiration from other text-heavy social platforms like Twitter and Reddit. Alternatively, we’ve seen a recent convergence of both Search and Social, with TikTok Search gaining momentum in recent months. Threads could follow suit, providing more intent-based targeting opportunities... Considering these speculations, one thing for certain is that it will be interesting to see the evolution of Threads and how the wider social media ecosystem will respond to its emergence over the next six months!