We’re living in the age of technology, and as exciting as that is, it can be extremely hard to keep up. Recently, Meta launched its latest social media site, Threads. The app, which closely resembles Twitter, saw huge success in its first 24 hours, with over 30 million users signing up.
This included influencers (obviously), media companies, and of course, beauty brands. We’re nearly a week into signing up to Threads, and while we don’t fully understand how best to use it, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that it might be the next big thing.
The reason behind that could be its simplicity. The app is entirely text-based, and while you do have the option to share photos and videos, it isn’t necessary. So the question is, how can brands utilise Threads and use it to their advantage?
First of all, sign up. Secure your username and jump on it before everyone else does. Threads has already seen some fantastic social media strategies by brands such as NYX Cosmetics, with some of its posts receiving upwards of 600 likes. Its profile boasts over 200,000 followers, and while you can tell it's definitely trying to figure it out like the rest of us, the social media managers at NYX seem to be well ahead of the curve.
The brand’s success could lie in its shareable posts — clever quips that make people laugh and feel as if the person behind the brand truly understands them. Although Threads requires cleverness, you don’t have to be a comedian to be successful at it.
“Give people a reason to follow you. Are you sharing knowledge or hacks? Are you making people laugh? Are you speaking in jargon or real words? One of the biggest shifts in social the last couple of years is the move from ‘brand voice’ to ‘person representing brand’ – people want to connect, and knowing there is a genuine person behind a brand account is more engaging in a cluttered social feed,” says Elise Wright, Social Media Strategy Manager at Are Media.
We know what you’re thinking, “It took us so long to build a following on Instagram, and now we have to start from scratch on Threads?”. The frustration is understandable but not necessarily accurate. Thanks to Meta’s seamless integration, the potential to quickly amass followers is unmatched by other social media platforms. When signing up to Threads, users have the option to follow everyone they’re already keeping up with on Instagram, and because most people value convenience, they hit the yes button.
This means, a lot of your Instagram followers will transition over to Threads, so your hard work won’t be wasted.
However, it’s not all roses and sunshine. With Threads being so new, there’s still plenty of work to be done.
“The app’s final form is TBD. Right now there are no analytics, no ads, and it still has that ‘first day of school’ vibe. 100 million people might have signed up already, but that’s not active users. Time will tell,” says Wright.
It’s also not for everyone. As with anything this new, certain features and possibilities are still being ironed out, so no one really knows just yet how brands will manage to capture people’s attention. It may work or it might completely flop.
“This is a rebooted version of Twitter. If you’re a Twitter fan and your brand communicates well in text and memes, then go forth. If Twitter was never your jam, then this won’t be either,” noted Wright.
Will Threads become the new TikTok? Only time will tell, but it doesn’t hurt for brands to test the waters.
