Photo by Azamat E on Unsplash.
Media agencies are assessing the viability of advertising on Threads after Meta announced advertising will be available on the platform.
When Threads launched as a rival to X (formerly Twitter), Meta committed to keeping the platform ad-free during its first year to focus on user experience.
The introduction of advertising suggests Meta now considers the platform mature enough to monetise, after launching it as an ad-free platform.
All eligible advertisers can now include Threads in their existing Meta campaigns without additional resources. While ads will appear in the Threads feed by default for new campaigns using Advantage+ or Manual Placements. Advertisers using Manual Placements can opt out.
Ads will run in the Threads feed via Meta’s existing systems, including Advantage+ and Manual Placements, and advertisers may opt out of specific placements.
COO for GroupM's activation teams in North America, Jim Kensicki, said the company will actively engage with Threads advertising.
"GroupM is committed to supporting innovation in the digital advertising ecosystem by participating in the early testing of Threads," said Kensicki.
"Early insights into audience engagement on emerging platforms like Threads enables us to predict and adapt to the continually evolving media landscape and ultimately steward our client’s media investments more efficiently and effectively.”
Awaken CEO, Chris Parker, said the company had been looking at Threads in relation to brands with a tech-savvy, or early adopter, audience. However, the platform has yet to reach the heights he expected.
“Being connected to Instagram should help Threads keep growing, but it hasn’t taken off as fast as we expected, probably because it’s hard to compete with the dopamine hit of endless video scrolling,” he said.
“Right now, Threads doesn’t deliver the incremental reach we can get through broader Meta buys or by adding in other social platforms. We’re looking at it for niche categories like crypto or tech, but for mass brands, it’s not yet a priority.”
General manager, product and operations, at Yango, Rob Nagy, said advertising across Threads was something to consider moving forward.
“The latest numbers suggest that the platform attracts around 1.3-4M AU active users, so it is sizable,” said Nagy.
“That is compelling for advertisers who are already active within the Meta ecosystem who want to expand their reach and enter a new environment with the same rich audience data which Meta offers on its other properties.
“The cost of entry is competitive in context of the rising cost of Facebook and Instagram.”
Nagy said due to Meta’s targeting capabilities and plans to innovate, Threads could deliver long-term value.
“However, effectiveness will ultimately be determined by its ability to deliver campaign objectives for clients,” he added.
CEO of Magic, Shah Ghaffurian, said advertisers shouldn't overthink Threads as a platform.
"Meta has been pushing advertisers to distribute creative across multiple placements—Facebook Feed, Instagram Stories, Reels, Marketplace, the Explore tab for quite some time. Threads will just become just another placement in that mix," said Ghaffurian.
"Given the creative assets seem to be similar, my opinion is that the placement doesn't really matter, it's about the audience: if the right users are spending time on Threads, then it makes sense to reach them there. This will be driven by Meta’s algorithm. If it can find high-performing audiences on Threads efficiently, budgets will naturally flow in that direction.
"Advertisers don’t need to overthink the platform, if the system sees performance, it will spend there."
Head of digital at The Media Store, Nick Hayes, said it’s worth it for agencies to advertise on Threads regardless of the current MAUs on platform.
“Threads’ global MAUs are proportionate to what Twitter’s were in 2019-2020; a company that had a very mature ad product in market at that stage of their growth. So, from a global sense, the scale is there." he said.
"Instead of framing it as a new advertising channel, think of it as opting into another Meta Feeds placement, alongside Stories, Reels, In-stream and Audience Network etc.
"This will scale budget across the placement based on the requisite campaign performance and frequency capping factors, while giving advertisers some data as to how it performs."
As of May 2025, Threads has more than 350 million monthly active users. Representing an increase from previous estimates, with Meta reporting a 35% increase in time spent on the app due to improvements in its recommendation system.
Meanwhile, Director at Lexlab, Alfie Lagos, likened Threads advertising as 'flying blind'.
"Meta has been a little shy with the reach numbers and for good reason. Roy Morgan’s latest data shows Threads reaching just over 2% of Aussies, with 25 to 34 year olds its strongest crowd at just 3.5%," said Lagos.
"Not exactly blockbuster. Compare that to X, sitting comfortably at 35% overall with 45% of that same 25-34 year old age group tuning in.
Lagos said the CPMs, sitting between five and ten dollars, are fair, and line up with Meta’s other channels and competitors.
"But value depends on the goal. Reach is cheap, but reach alone does not move the needle. Engagement and action-based buying costs more, and for good reason," he said.
"That is where the impact lives in social and it is what we would recommend to any client looking for meaningful outcomes."
Right now, Threads is one for the curious digital tinkerer. A test bed for brave brands. For the rest, it is worth waiting until the numbers catch up with the hype and Meta stops playing coy with the reach data.
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