Threads (Meta’s new competitor to Twitter) has now been live for a little under a week, giving us a bit of time to play around with it and see what is working best on the platform, so we figured we’re ready to give you a guide to Threads!
In this guide, we’ll talk you through:
- How to set up an account
- Why Threads launch was so successful
- Everything that seems to get results
- Our predictions for new features
So, let’s get started!
If you need any help setting up your company or personal Threads account, get in touch with us. Our team specialises in social media marketing and will be able to give you plenty of tips to make a lasting impression.
Why was Threads so successful on its launch day?
Threads had been teased for quite a bit by Meta, with many anticipating the new Twitter rival app for weeks, following Twitter’s slow decline. Searching the term ‘Threads’ on Instagram would reveal a ticket to invite you to the new platform, along with a countdown to the release time and your username, integrating the new platform with your existing account.
By linking Threads so tightly to Instagram, the initial set-up time was less than a minute to launch an account, meaning that people could be straight onto the platform and engage with ease. You’re able to keep the same username as your Instagram account, as well as import your entire profile if you’d like, meaning it is easy to keep brand consistency across all your social media. You can even import all of the accounts you follow, meaning there’s little time spent trying to find your existing network.
An extra touch we thought was particularly clever was the user of a number for each person who joined, showing how early (or late) you were to try out Threads. This almost gave it an exclusivity feel and saw lots of people sharing their low numbers, with others jumping on the bandwagon due to FOMO and not wanting to seem late to the club.
All of these features helped Threads launch so successfully that the platform managed to reach 1 million users in just 7 hours. For a little bit of context, this is how long it took other platforms to manage the same:
- Chat GPT- 5 days
- Instagram- 2.5 months
- Spotify- 5 months
- Facebook- 10 months
- Twitter- 2 years
- Netflix- 3.5 years
How do I set up a Threads account?
When downloading Threads, you’ll see your Instagram login already on the page, if using the same device. Once you hit log in, it’ll give you the option to either customise your profile for the app or import your current profile from Instagram onto Threads- we’d recommend doing this if you have already optimised your Instagram profile, as it’ll save you time and keep your profiles consistent and recognisable.
After sorting your profile, you’ll have the option to either import everyone you follow onto Threads (which will instantly send them a follow request once they join the app) or you can start fresh and follow people as you explore the app.
Importing your follow list is a great option to keep your connections if you have already built up a network and will also help you to grow your followers faster, through people choosing to keep their following from Instagram. Of course, you could always start fresh if you want to try out a new brand voice or move in a different direction- a brand new platform is the perfect place to experiment with this!
Options such as importing your following lists have helped Meta to emphasise the importance of using Instagram, as many people will be able to reign on the new platform if they have already built up an established audience previously. This also, therefore, rewards people’s loyalty to Meta if they have been actively using their previous platforms and performing well.
What gets results on Threads? 🤔
As Threads is still very new, we’re sure that everything we learn about the platform may change over the coming months as new features are added and the algorithm adapts, but here’s what we’ve seen working so far:
GIFs seem to be popular as always, allowing people to share funny reactions to posts beyond words. There isn’t a way to find GIFs via the platform just yet, so to use one on Threads you’ll need to save a GIF online into your phone’s gallery and then attach it to your post. I guess it’s time for us to build up a GIF bank on our phones again!
Many people are using Threads as a platform to ask questions and start conversations on opinions across a whole range of topics, whether that’s a favourite pizza topping or opinions on the latest developments in technology- there are so many conversations that can be had to help engage with your audience. Unlike Instagram, it’s also a great place to ask people to share photos on a thread, so could be brilliant for brands looking to build up user-generated content too.
As always, memes and funny posts are thriving, mainly at Twitter’s expense, currently. Do you think Twitter will make a comeback after Threads’ launch, or is it too late?
What can we expect to see on Threads in the future? 💭
Mosseri (the head of Instagram) confirmed on the app earlier this week that paid ads are not a priority for the app as of current and that they want to enhance the user experience and functionality of the app before anything along those lines were added. We do, however, expect to see some form of direct message appear on the platform shortly, to help connect people away from a public thread.
Hashtags being added are another feature on our radar, to allow people to find relevant content that they’re interested in not through the main feed. Currently, the search tab is purely targeted at finding users, so we expect to see this expand soon and maybe even include an “Explore” page as Instagram has.
Other things we’d like to see include a computer-accessible version of Threads, GIFs integrated into the platform and a customisation option to change the appearance of the interface, or even just a night mode to the pages.
What would you like to see added to the platform on the next Meta update?
If you’ve read this whole guide, then thanks for sticking around! The team at Infinity Digital will be available to help you with any Threads query you may have, including setting up your own personal or business profile to represent your brand.
We’ll be posting regular updates about Threads as the platform develops, so be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and of course, our Threads account!
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