The Twitter killer: Meta’s new app ‘Threads’ gives Twitter a run for its money

The Hunter Communications team shares their top tips for businesses considering this new platform.

Are tweets officially a thing of the past? Mark Zuckerberg would have us believe so when released his newest creation in the Meta world last week - ‘Threads’, a text based conversational app which shares similar features to Twitter owned by rival, Elon Musk. 

After its first day, Threads saw 30 million sign ups according to their own internal data and after just five days, over 100 million.

Included in those 30 million on the first day were a few of the Hunter Communications team, keen to check out this new social platform and its potential for the people we work with.

After testing it for the last week, what did we think?

And how can it be used to benefit your business?

Setting up and using the app is easy enough.

With the app automatically linking to users’ Instagram accounts, the joining process is super simple. So that is a good start. If you have an Instagram account, you simply type threads into the search bar, a ‘ticket’ pops up and you are away.

The app allows account users to post a ‘Thread’ which captures short form text limited to 500 characters per post. Users can also post Gifs, videos and photos. Similar to Instagram, in fact almost identical, the app allows you to like heart, comment and share ‘Threads’ with the buttons appearing in similar spot as on Instagram itself. 

New features will continue to be added to the app too over time – follow Threads own Adam Mosseri for updates.

The feed is what one of the team coined a ‘time vortex’!

The app has an endless news feed which allows users to effortlessly (or aimlessly!) scroll for hours, reading threads by accounts they follow or that have been suggested to them. We are still trying to figure out exactly how the algorithm works, but time will tell.

At the moment, the lack of direct message feature could be a good or bad thing – we are not sure. It does make the app less personable and doesn’t allow for that private connection so many fan-favourite apps do.

However Adam Mosseri has said that search, hashtags, a following feed, graph syncing and ‘maybe’ messaging are on the list – so keep an eye out.

Some people have compared the quick shot to fame to photo sharing app ‘Be Real’ which encourages ‘authenticity’ by posting in real time. So far Threads has definitely seen a more authentic posting of content from people and brands. But we will see how long this lasts as more and more brands jump on.

As the days went on, more and more brands joined

It was fascinating to watch as more and more brands jumped on Threads. At first it felt like our feeds were more personal, but we get it, the urgency to jump on Threads as a brand is smart, as all social media folk know that joining early can help you long term.

Threads has launched without ads and when Facebook was launched, early adopters were able to grow their platforms organically. Facebook’s algorithms favoured organic growth, so these first movers were able to really thrive when paid advertising came in.

Some great examples the Hunters loved included retail brand BCF:

Local brand UWA:

And, of course. early adopters like Netflix:

All great examples of brands “reading the Threads room” and being human in their approach.

Food for thought for your brand.

Is social becoming less social?

Threads originally felt a little more social that some other platforms – which is maybe why the first few days seemed like such fun.

Everyone was fumbling their way around (especially in the first 24 hours) wondering how they should use it. But as more brands came on board – we were back to more content led /brand dominant posts. Not a bad thing necessarily – especially with the brands that did it well and adapted their content to the channel and users.

So, our conclusion – should you join Threads for your business?

Maybe. It is definitely worth considering in your strategy for the following reasons, but like any social media channel it takes time and resources.

So if you have time to invest in a new channel – we definitely suggest diving in, having a play and learning more. The great thing about any new digital platform is you can trial and test to see if it works for you and your business.

Reason #1 - Early adoption is good

Jumping in and having a play on a new social platform has its benefits.

Like all social platforms we do know that early adoption is helpful and the consensus is Threads is likely here to stay for a while, especially given it is built off the Instagram platform.

As a brand or business we would definitely suggest considering it in your strategy- but don’t go too hard on the promo content just yet, which brings us to point below.

Reason #2 – It is a really great to place to engage with your target audiences Q&A style

Given threads is a text-based conversation that people can reply to – it is a great place to ask your audience questions and facilitate discussions about your business. You could ask your audience for advice on which product you should launch first, their thoughts on a service offering or for a bit of gentle market research (of course being mindful not everyone who answers will be your target market!)

Reason #3 – if you want a platform where you can share authentic voice and something a little different, go for it

As we mentioned the brands we have seen doing it well so far are in there having a bit of fun with an authentic voice.