Brands are taking advantage of Meta’s move with Threads into Twitter’s front yard despite advertising not being on the table for the first year.
The Instagram text microblogging app is seen as a direct competitor to Twitter, from which many advertisers have departed since being bought by billionaire Elon Musk.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's announcement didn’t have the visceral tone of a touted cage match with Musk but Instagram has already taken a technical point or two and started the bout with advantages, including a better reputation for brand safety.
Richard Taylor, managing director, Digital Balance, says Threads has an instant 2.35 billion of active users who can join and immediately see familiar names in their timeline which will create stickiness in a way no other platform can.
Twitter has just 363.7 million monthly users.
“Savvy brands will take advantage of the current lack of advertising to increase their organic following across both Threads and Instagram,” says Taylor.
Gemma Dawkins, national head of Digital at PHD Australia, says it’s no wonder that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is claiming 10 million downloads in the first seven hours.
TikTok took almost a year to reach 10 million registered users.
“There has been a recent growth in similar text-based apps, with Bluesky growing 606% in April and pausing sign ups due to the surge, and Mastodon reporting a 300% growth this year,” says Dawkins.
“This indicates that there is an active market for text-based apps and this presents a real opportunity for Threads.
“We also know that Threads intends to become part of the decentralised social web by using the same standard protocol as Mastodon, meaning Threads users will own their data and be able to move their profile, as well as viewing content shared on Mastodon on Threads.
“This interoperability between platforms would signal a huge change in the social landscape and is a sign that Meta are building for future consumers’ expectations.
“Whilst there are no paid ad placements yet, there is an opportunity for brands to use the platform for organic social activity, something that many brands have already taken advantage of (PepsiCo, McDonald’s, Netflix).
“Whilst Threads is benefitting from the existing Meta user base, it also benefits from the brand and user safety learnings that Meta have built up over the years.
“We know that Meta will enforce Instagram’s Community Guidelines on content in Threads, as well as giving users the control to customise who can see their content, reply to their threads or mention them.
“These controls will help the platform reduce the risk of many of the brand safety and suitability issues that nascent platforms are usually plagued with.”
Daniel Paoli, digital executive at The Media Store, says Meta is making a smart move.
“I think many individuals might feel intimidated by the appearance and recent takeover by Elon Musk on Twitter,” says Paoli.
“After using Threads, I find it to be a more casual means of connecting with friends, celebrities, and brands.
“Signing up for the app is incredibly quick if you already have an Instagram account. It offers the option to follow the same people you do on Instagram. I've already spent quite a few minutes scrolling through and catching up on what people are doing.
“I think this is a smart move to keep users within the meta ecosystem with the likes of TikTok having high engagement numbers when it comes to screen time."
Threads has a 500-character limit allowing users a little bit more room for expression than Twitter which has a 280-character ceiling.
“Ambitious brands can capitalise on the newness with topical and creative copy, whilst other brands may want to sit and see what happens over the coming weeks and the role this will play in their customers' lives,” says Paoli.
Kate O’Loughlin, associate strategy director, Rufus Australia, hasn’t bothered to curate her Twitter feed outside of Taylor Swift fan accounts but says Threads is something she's personally hyped about.
“Threads represents an intuitive format to dive deeper into the creators and communities that I’ve built an obsession with on Instagram over the last 15 years,” she says.
“Already I’m being served content and posts that I wouldn’t have otherwise discovered, and as a meme-lover I’m digging the hilarity that text-based platforms offer, see: Tumblr text posts.
“The fact brands can’t indulge on Threads for the next year is a strong move from Meta and one that I back.
“Until there’s an established user base who are turning to the platform daily (which seems natural given the utter ~chaos~ that is Twitter right now) brands should back off. I just hope Meta stands their ground on that front or else they might end up being threadbare (intentional pun).”
No doubt every social media strategist in Australia will advocate brands jumping on the next bandwagon that is Threads, says Carl Moggridge, partner, Hopeful Monsters.
“It would be naïve to say it will fail, but I’d hold fire and see how it plays out,” he says.
“To be honest, Meta is aiming Threads at its Instagram audience to scale and monetise it quickly, but I’m not convinced it’s an attractive and intuitive leap. I think they have fundamentally different features (if of course, it really is going after Twitter).
“Lastly, Meta’s reputation regarding trust and privacy is woeful. Before recommending this to a client, I’d want to know if this is another wild west on the internet and how it’s using the data it’s collecting on its users. Two areas Zuckerberg doesn’t do that well in.”
Katie Palmer-Rose, Social Soup's managing director, says early signs of creator adoption and integration are there, with many signing up and actively sharing.
"Initial responses are that Threads’ user-friendly interface and its ability to quickly use data to tailor the feed will make for a timely and relevant user experience, capturing the conversation, relatable and positive vibes of Instagram, just as Twitter’s negativity and rigidity are on the rise," she says.
“Threads brings interesting opportunities for creators as well. With its cross-platform integration there is the chance to establish a consistent and conversational connection allowing creators to build stronger relationships with their communities. Additionally, the decentralised approach of Threads aligns with the growing trend of creators wanting more control and agency over their content and communities beyond particular platforms.
“For brands, even though there won’t be ads on the platform for the first 12 months, adding Threads to a Meta buying strategy will be an easy and effective way to stay connected to the culture in real time.
"As Threads becomes a barometer for public sentiment, pop culture and news, brands can participate in a highly targeted way. Before this happens, however, it’s worth keeping an eye on how regulations for brand mentions roll out, especially with Instagram creators leading the adoption.
“For people who really love Twitter, Threads won’t replace it, but it does open the scope for more people to engage in a ‘public discussion’ interface. Leveraging the Instagram love, Threads presents as a more accessible, flexible, easier to engage with Twitter. For now.”
Hamish Cargill, director at XXVI says Meta is cleverly positioning itself to soak up the cleaner end of the pool as Twitter users flush themselves down the exit pipes.
"It's a clever move from Meta to tie Threads to Instagram, which like TikTok carries a lot of positive sentiment from its user base," says Cargill.
"But really, it just shows that an original idea is hard to find, no matter how many zillions you have. Cynics might wonder of in this battle of the billionaires, we're all just getting punk'd."
Alex Reid, director, Amplify, says Meta's launch is interesting as it targets a Gen Z audience that typically doesn't use apps like Twitter.
“While Twitter focuses on news, current events, and announcements, it lacks a strong emphasis on creators,” says Reid.
“Meta launching Threads will allow creators to engage with their audience in a way similar to Twitter, potentially fostering a more intimate connection with their existing fan base.
“Instagram seems to have been testing similar features with their polls, stickers, and Q&As over the past six to 12 months, which suggests there’s been a demand for such features.
"With the launch of Threads as a standalone app, creators now have the opportunity to utilise Threads for establishing a more direct relationship with their audience, and being able to have a two-way conversation at scale is quite interesting.
“Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how brands can align themselves with these conversations and how Meta plans to monetise this new app. Considering Meta's consistent focus on monetisation strategies, it will be interesting to see how they implement it with Threads.
“Threads also presents an opportunity for creators to display different sides of their personality. Across different platforms, creators engage with their audience using various styles and tones. With Threads, creators have a playful chance to reveal a different side of themselves through text-based communication. Unlike the demanding task of capturing photos or creating videos, they can easily connect with their audience by simply typing and conversing.”
Stacia Grooby, strategy director, Five by Five, says Meta has both the experience and resources to rapidly create a viable alternative.
However, the current platform is lacking some natural features including hashtags, extensive discovery tools and stand alone account creation (users needing to have an Instagram account first).
“I would expect to see numerous changes and updates rolled out over the next few months as they work through real-time feedback and user engagement data.
“The opportunity for brands is still unclear in regards to advertising tools but one can assume that Threads will soon be looped into Meta's existing ad platform.
"Our hope is they take into consideration the types of audience targeting that have been successful for Twitter such as keyword and follower / account lookalikes.
"Meta ad targeting can feel restrictive at times, especially for non-US based brands, so we're excited to see if they use Threads as an opportunity to evolve their offering.
“With Instagram being a visual led platform with a high level of curation and aesthetic consideration required to achieve strong results, it will be interesting to see how quickly both Meta and existing Meta audiences transition to a primarily copy based platform.
"The positives of Twitter is the minimal barrier to entry for users to engage. It's much simpler to start up a conversation when all you need to do is write a few words, rather than record a video or snap an appropriate image.
“While images and video are possible on Threads, it will be interesting to see if influencers and brands, who normally rely on images/footage to get the message across, take advantage of the opportunity to create more in depth and instantaneous two way conversations with their followers, and if they can appreciate the level of moderation and community nurturing required to make the best use of a heavily text based platform, such as we see with Twitter and Reddit.
“As an agency that holds significant credentials in video game and digital community work, we're excited for another platform that aligns well with the natural conversation flow of gamers. Whether in-game or via communication platforms such as Discord, rapid fire text based conversations are second nature to most players and our desire to share content from our games, highlight clips and screenshots, lends itself well to a platform that worries less about how well you can artistically filter your content and more about volume and quality of the raw output.”
"Meta's success hinges on critical factors: effectively differentiating Threads from Twitter, addressing user concerns regarding data privacy, ensuring a compelling user experience, and fostering responsible social media usage. The ability to balance innovation and accountability will shape Meta's triumph in this new venture.
"Undoubtedly, advertising opportunities will emerge once a user base is established and experiences positive engagement. This transition in the social media landscape comes at a time when users and brands alike are awakening to the societal impacts of these platforms. Consequently, any new proposition must wholeheartedly prioritise responsible usage and safeguard data privacy, resonating with the evolving expectations of people and brands."
"While keeping Threads as a separate app makes sense from a risk perspective, it might inhibit growth. Either way, the casual social user now has a viable alternative to Twitter for creating and consuming short-form content. I think that’s a win."
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