Meta Threads: What Brands Need to Know

What happened?

Meta has launched Threads, a new app allowing users to draft posts up to 500 characters long that include links, photos, and short videos up to five minutes in length.

The new Meta-owned social platform is making it clear that it’s looking to be the official Twitter replacement, exhibiting incredibly similar functionalities as Elon Musk’s recent investment.

Gaining more than 10 million users within seven hours of launch, Threads is easily the fastest-growing Twitter alternative currently available.

So, it’s basically Twitter?

Yes, and no.

Much like Instagram and TikTok, as well as the current iteration of Twitter, Threads’ feed is algorithmic, showing users posts from people they follow, in addition to recommended posts.

However, unlike Twitter and other platforms, users aren’t able to toggle back and forth between an algorithm-based feed and a chronological-based feed.

Additionally, Threads is focused on taking a “decentralized” approach (similar to Mastodon) with the hopes of eventually creating a space that will allow users to port their content, and interact with other users, across different apps. However, Meta has made it clear that it’s not there yet in a blog post, noting it’s something we can expect “soon.”

Threads’ main selling point for brands, as well as general users, is rooted in its connection to Instagram.

What’s in it for brands?

• Ultimately, this is a very early iteration of what could be a strong, long-term alternative to Twitter.
• It incorporates many of Twitter’s best features while simultaneously eliminating the chaos, uncertainty and frustration that has followed the platform since Musk’s purchase of it.
• Threads holds the potential to convert Twitter users over and keep them there, so brands will want to monitor the correlation between growth and performance across both platforms as Threads further establishes itself.
• Threads’ main selling point is rooted in its connection to Instagram, for both brands and users.
• Upon downloading, the app immediately allows users to connect their Instagram profiles and migrate their “Following” lists over to Threads. That means users don’t have to start from scratch as they would if they signed up for Mastodon or Hive Social instead.
• Accounts already verified on Instagram will see that verification roll over onto Threads, and users can cross post their “threads” on Instagram as a Story, or as a link to another social platform.

• Meta rewards early adoption, so brands could possibly benefit from building out a presence during the early stages of the app’s availability.

Now is a great opportunity for brands to test and learn the platform.

Is there a catch?

There are a few downsides to Threads—most notably, the app is not yet available across the EU, largely as a result of regulatory uncertainty around the new Digital Markets Act.

Users on Threads also miss out on Twitter’s Direct Message and tweet-pinning functions, as well as the ability to easily distinguish trending topics, hashtags and other viral moments. (We can likely expect the addition of these elements over time.)

The takeaway.

Despite all this, now is a great opportunity for brands to test and learn the platform, especially given its seemingly immediate success and the potential to connect with brands’ audiences. Our Digital Team continues to monitor the new platform, with plenty of hot takes to come!

Need some guidance on the new face of social? Reach out to us at hello@praytellagency.com.