In early July, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, launched Threads, its take on a public conversation and sharing app, ala Twitter. In just a few weeks, Threads has exploded in popularity with 100 million accounts created, with the New York Times dubbing it the “Twitter killer.”
So, should your organization or brand(s) be on Threads? Maybe, but maybe not. Before joining, consider the pros and cons of the platform and strategize with Elmore to determine if it makes sense for your brand to have a presence there.
The pros
- Because it is a new app, it’s a great place for business to experiment with content. Brands can have some fun testing which types of posts work and which don’t.
- Threads, like Twitter, is a text-based app and thus, very conversational. Brands don’t have to have the perfect picture or polished video to accompany a post.
- Threads was created to harken back to the golden age of Twitter, when conversations were engaging, positive, and fun. So far, the space remains that way thanks to Meta’s high community standards.
The cons
- If your company has high brand standards or a long chain of approval, this platform might not be right for you. Threads is meant to host quick back-and-forths with your followers, and waiting even a day to reply or get approval to post can mean you’ve missed the window of opportunity for relevancy.
- At this time, Threads has no way of searching by keyword, topic, or hashtag, limiting the number of people who can find and see your post to your existing followers. Thus, your ability to grow your audience on Threads is limited. If you have a very niche audience, Threads might not be the place for your brand, at least not yet.
- There are no available metrics to assess performance at this time. There is no easy way to answer the question “how are we doing on Threads?”. Posting on Threads in these early days is like planting seeds for future growth. You may not be able to see or evaluate success just yet, but consistency will pay off eventually.
- Threads is phone-based only. There is no web version or online publishing tools available yet.
Some considerations
- You currently cannot deactivate your Threads account without deactivating your Instagram account, so it’s important to be sure of your decision to join. You do not want to run out of things to say. Inactivity on a social media platform makes a brand look irrelevant, which has the opposite of our intended effect.
- If your brand wasn’t already on Twitter, it probably does not make sense to join Threads. Their purpose and function are virtually the same, so if you’ve intentionally chosen not to be on one, it doesn’t make sense to be on the other.
- Does your brand have an early adopter attitude? Can it not take itself too seriously? Is your brand nimble and responsive? If so, Threads might be a great place for you. Otherwise, it’s ok to take a wait-and-see approach. Threads is new, and its functionality as well as its audience will evolve over time. It is ok to watch the app change and perhaps join in a future iteration.
If you are thinking about joining Threads, consult with Elmore to develop a plan first. We will outline what you want to say, your tone of voice, the frequency of your posts, the timeline and chain of approvals, and develop categories of content to have at the ready. Reach us here. We look forward to strategizing with you about Threads and all other social media platforms.
