First thoughts on Threads one week after launch

tl;dr: Threads is the most serious competitor to Twitter so far, eclipsing the growth seen by other platforms such as Mastodon – most of its growth, however, comes from anyone with an Instagram account being able to sign up in seconds. This also means that unlike many other new platforms, there’s less need to worry about rushing to join Threads to secure the right username, because if you’re already on Instagram that name is reserved for you on Threads.

Adding a lot of users quickly only means so much on its own, and Threads is lacking in many of the most useful features of Twitter (hashtags, trending topics and so on), is far from defining its niche in the comms mix, and - very importantly - advertising is not currently available.

As such, we’re currently viewing Threads as an interesting channel clients might choose to experiment with or treat as complementary to their existing channels – but we would certainly not recommend prioritising or dedicating disproportionate amounts of resource to it.

As things stand, the platform is not close to replacing Twitter in terms of access to high-level stakeholder audiences, penetration into the population or significance around cultural/current events. However, this could change – and we will continue to watch developments closely.

THE BASICS – WHAT IS IT?

1. Threads is a new competitor to Twitter, run by Meta (who own Instagram and Facebook)
2. Very similar to Twitter in functionality, it’s a largely text-focused “public conversation” app, with the ability to share links, photos and video, and to create multi-post threads for longer-form content.
3. It integrates with existing Instagram accounts, and you must be on Instagram first to be able to use it
4. It launched on Wednesday 5 July, and Meta claims that more than 100 million people have signed up so far
5. It exists as an app on iOS and Android only, with no desktop/web version so far.
6. So far it’s launched in the US, UK and other markets – but not yet in the EU, though this will be coming.

THE BASICS – HOW TO USE IT

The basics of posting on the platform are as follows:

1. 500 character maximum post length, with the post copy being the main focus
2. Linking out to other sites is possible
3. Square-format images and videos work best, as on Instagram and LinkedIn
4. Videos can be up to 5 minutes long
5. You can delete posts, but currently you cannot edit after posting
6. There are no DMs, no hashtags, no “trending” sections
7. You can like a post, comment on it, repost it to your own feed (with or without an accompanying “quote” comment), share via Twitter or share onto your own Instagram Story.

SETTING UP AN ACCOUNT – WHAT TO CONSIDER

1. At the current time, you must have an Instagram account to set up on Threads – this will have implications for some clients who aren’t already on Instagram, as that would require setting up on two new platforms, and it’s not advisable to be on Instagram without a clear content strategy.

2. Your username must be the same as your Instagram username – you can only change your Threads identity by changing your Instagram identity.

The implication of this is that there is not the same “land grab” rush for usernames as there has been on other platforms – the chances of being impersonated on Threads as a brand are small.

3. You cannot delete your Threads account once activated without also deleting your Instagram profile – you can deactivate it so it cannot be seen or searched for, but not delete it.

There has, however, been an early backlash to this, so it may – as with many other things – change over time.

Recommendations: Companies (and indeed individuals) should not feel “rushed” to sign up to Threads in either case – if they’re active on Instagram already, their username will not be taken on Threads, and if they’re not already on Instagram, setting up on two new platforms is a serious commitment not to be taken lightly.

As ever, we would not recommend setting up on the platform and then not posting – a dormant profile without any activity is often worse than not being on the channel at all.

KEY INFORMATION ABOUT THREADS – AND WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU

1. Numbers: Threads has developed a large user base of 100 million users in the first week.

What this means: These constitute total signups rather than active users - there will be a huge number who sign up and either don’t use their account or use it passively. By comparison, Twitter has 354 million active users, Facebook has 2.98 billion, and Instagram 2.35 billion.

2. User behaviour: While links to Instagram have delivered early scale in terms of raw numbers, that will not translate immediately to active users.

What this means: Huge parts of this user base will remain passive, or will have signed up on a “wait and see” basis, so these early figures mean little until we see how they translate into active use.

Furthermore, and crucially, for the moment these are Instagram followers ported across to a new platform – which doesn’t immediately make them ideal producers of high-quality, largely text-based content. In short, numbers alone will not allow Threads to “replace” or even compete with Twitter quickly – it will require a deeper shift in user behaviour/the fundaments of the user base.

3. Ecosystem: Threads doesn’t currently allow hashtags for the agglomeration of conversations on a similar theme, and the search function only works for users rather than thread content/conversations. Additionally, most users’ newsfeeds are largely or entirely made up of a seemingly-random mixture of people they follow on Instagram who are on Threads, and selected Threads users.

What this means: The platform is not currently set up for breaking news, trending conversations or for sourcing relevant, interesting content specific to users – so it is a long way from providing the value offered by Twitter at this early stage, despite its superficial similarities.

4. Advertising: There is currently no advertising on the platform, and this is not likely to be coming soon – though it will at some stage, according to Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri.

What this means: This is a fundamental point for companies – there is currently no way to run targeted, segmented communications to specific audiences through advertising, which would be the principal use for the platform. As it stands, Threads is organic-only, non-targeted in terms of reach and therefore likely to have very limited impact as part of an overall comms strategy for the moment.

5. Identity: Your Threads username is connected to your Instagram account, which means there is not the same personal verification as we see on Facebook or LinkedIn.

What this means: This has implications around the potential future quality of conversation, as anonymous abuse or trolling is, in theory at least, just as possible on Threads as it is on Twitter.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT NEXT?

Threads is currently lacking a lot of basic features that social media users on Twitter and beyond have come to expect, but Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has been outlining those that are likely to be coming soon (highlighted in this excellent pre- launch interview at The Verge), including:

• Post editing – currently possible on Instagram, but not on Twitter unless you subscribe to Blue
• Follower-only, chronological newsfeed
• Hashtags
• Desktop version – Threads is currently mobile/app-only
• Improved search
• Cross-compatibility with selected other services such as Mastodon

Mosseri has also spoken of developments that are unlikely to happen, such as DMs (citing widespread “inbox fatigue” across users). On advertising and monetization, the current line is as follows: “If we are successful, if we make something that lots of people love and keep using, we will, I’m sure, monetize it. And I would be confident that the business model will be ads. Right now, we are not focused on monetization. We’re very, very focused on just trying to make something that people love to use. And then, if we get something to scale, that’ll be a champagne problem.”

The platform is also not likely to encroach into Twitter’s territorial domination of news media or politics, and Threads’ creators are not pushing for this as things stand, with Mosseri adding: “There are more than enough amazing communities — sports, music, fashion, beauty, entertainment, etc. — to make a vibrant platform without needing to get into politics or hard news.”

WHAT WE’D RECOMMEND

Threads has – by virtue of its connection to Instagram and comparative ease of use – achieved far greater scale than any other recent Twitter competitor. Combined with the expected suite of updates and developments over the weeks and months ahead, that means it’s a social platform to keep a close watching brief on.

We would not recommend necessarily jumping on board to set up an account and start posting now, but this may change in the future dependent on updates to the platform and how it is used.

Where we see the greatest value in Twitter is not just that it’s so widely used by stakeholder audiences, but also that its advertising tools mean we can reach those audiences even more effectively. The introduction of advertising on Threads, and therefore the possibility to identify and reach specific audiences on the platform, would be the biggest game-changer in our view.

From an organic perspective, we’d also be looking for improvements around discoverability of conversation (hashtags and search functionality) and more curated newsfeed content – which may then impact upon the quality and type of conversation on the platform.

At the moment, there’s little sign of the development of a unique personality or niche for the platform, which resembles a Twitter clone without the cultural clout that integrates very nicely with Instagram. It is of course early days, but a clearer picture of how Threads is being used and by whom will inform how it should be approached from a strategic perspective.?