Yes, It’s Time to Grow Your Threads Account

Meta’s “Twitter-killer,” Threads, launched on July 5, 2023. In just 5 days, the app had over 100 million downloads, the fastest to hit the milestone. Thanks to a nearly seamless integration with Instagram, the Threads app has enjoyed steady growth and rolled out a few key features that have made advertising on Threads more impactful – and convenient.

First, What Is Threads?

Threads uses a similar (that’s a polite way to say “nearly identical”) interface to Twitter, including an animated scroll refresh and a 500-character cap per thread. Users can post GIFs, photos, videos, and external links.

Threads Taps into Instagram to Ramp up Adoption

One of the unique advantages Meta enjoys with the Threads app is a nearly frictionless sign-up experience. Once Instagram users download the Threads app, they can use their Instagram profile photo, bio, and link to set up their account. Users can also follow all of the same accounts they follow on Instagram with just one tap.

It takes most users less than a minute to download the app and establish a rock-solid account.

How Many Have Signed Up for Threads?

Within 7 hours of the launch, Mark Zuckerberg announced that over 10 million people had signed up for Threads. (And yes, we signed up right away!) After 5 days, it hit 100 million, beating ChatGPT and TikTok, not to mention Twitter, for the fastest download rate in history.

As of Q4 2024, Threads had 275 million monthly active users and around 33 million daily active users.  

Related: How Twitter Has Changed Since Elon Musk Took Over

How to Add Threads to Your Social Media Marketing Mix

Marketers are dusting off their Twitter playbook as they ease into life on the new platform. The tone and types of posts are largely the same as Twitter, and recent feature updates have significantly closed the gap between Threads’ functionality at launch and what it can do today.

What’s (Relatively) New

Topics – Threads rolled out “Trending now” in March 2024. Trending now is its topic feature that promotes content based on engagement and the number of posts, mirroring Twitter’s “What’s Trending.” This is a big development for Threads users, who complained the platform wasn’t useful for following current events.

Hashtags – Threads added hashtag functionality just a few months before rolling out topics. Threads calls them “tags,” and you’re limited to one per post. Adding tags to posts is almost identical to adding hashtags on other platforms, but the actual hashtag symbol itself won’t appear in the post once it’s published.

Do hashtags work on Threads? Yes, here’s how:

1. Tap the “#” symbol and type in the topic you want to use, like “#digitalmarketing.”
2. Choose an existing topic (which indicates the topic is being mentioned by other users and will have some visibility) or create a new topic.
3. Keep typing, finish your post, and publish!

Analytics – Threads added analytics and reporting in August 2024, giving marketers their first insight into key metrics like impressions, reach, and clicks. So far, Threads is not a part of the Meta Business Suite, so you can’t see your Threads analytics in the same dashboard as your Facebook and Instagram accounts. Yet.

How to See Threads Analytics

You can view your account’s analytics on desktop or the mobile app by selecting “Insights.” You can see views, interactions (likes, replies, reposts, and quotes), your follower count, and demographic information like follower location, gender, and age. We expect paid metrics like cost per click to get added as soon as there are ads on Threads, which will probably be soon!

Speaking of Which, We’re Still Waiting on Threads Ads

When will we be able to run paid ads on Threads? It’s a billion-dollar question, but the analytics rollout is likely the precursor to launching paid advertising on Threads, possibly in 2025.

Once Meta opens up Threads ads, you should be able to create, manage, and analyze campaigns across Meta platforms from the Business Suite.

For small and medium-sized businesses, the ability to manage advertising on Threads, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp from a single account is a game-changing convenience; expect immediate adoption from advertisers already running ads on Meta.

What to Post on Threads

Threads users are passionate about the platform, and there’s solid evidence that a consistent, engaged presence can quickly build a large, qualified audience.

Focus on Delivering Content You Already Have (But Tweak It!)

With updated messaging, brands can quickly leverage existing Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter/X content on Threads. Remember that Threads, like X is a conversation – be ready to answer questions, comment on other posts, and expand your audience with consistent engagement. Users love topical, entertaining content and a good meme now and then.

Visuals Help

Like X, posts with images tend to perform better. Include a photo or graphic whenever possible and consider using different images if you’re posting similar content on other Meta platforms.

Save the Video for IG

Videos perform about the same as text, so unless you’ve got something really interesting, it may not be worth investing additional time in filming and editing if you’re only posting that content on Threads. Of course, if you’re using that video content elsewhere, you should absolutely slap it on Threads, too!

Get into the Comments

While most platforms reward engaging posts with increased reach, Threads prioritizes posts with a lot of replies and reposts. Avoid being the first comment on your thread, but if you get a reply, try to keep the conversation going!

Can You Schedule Posts on Threads?

You can! Meta opened up the Threads API to social media publishing tools in 2024, which means you can schedule Threads posts with tools like Buffer, Sprout, Hootsuite, and others. You can also schedule Threads within the app, though it’s limited to scheduling posts less than two weeks out.

Why Threads Makes Sense for Marketers

The Threads app makes joining the platform frictionless for marketers. Closely integrating all three of Meta’s core products creates a central platform for scheduling posts, analyzing results, and managing ads.

Of course, this raises the stakes concerning Meta’s dubious record on privacy and political influence. Meta couldn’t release threads in the European Union due to long-running regulatory concerns, and they probably haven’t paid off the record $1.3 billion fine levied by the EU in May.

Is Twitter/X Dead?

Twitter, X, or “the dumpster fire,” has been in real trouble since Elon Musk took the company private in 2022. After shelling out more than $44 billion to acquire the company, Musk’s leadership and sweeping layoffs caused public outrage and technical issues within days of closing the deal. Outside estimates now place Twitter’s value at around $9 billion after it lost as much as 80% of its ad revenue.

A slate of Twitter replacements has sprung up, including Bluesky, an app built by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. But Threads is different because it has successfully converted millions of users from its other platforms. The result? Meta needs just 1 in 4 Instagram users to make a Threads account to catch up to Twitter’s estimated 429 million users worldwide. It’s worth noting only about 106 million of Twitter’s users are in the US, which has historically been its most lucrative market.

Need Expert Help Managing All Your Social Platforms?

The dedicated social media marketers at Oneupweb are all-in on Threads. Whether you’ve already jumped in with both feet or need more time to see where this goes, Oneupweb can help you shape an effective full-funnel social media strategy. Get in touch or call 231-922-9977 today to get started!