One week has now passed since Meta launched their latest social media app, Threads. It’s been a whirlwind week for the digital team here at ads creative solutions, but what have we learnt so far?
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It’s growing
Within the first couple hours of launching, it received over 6 million downloads, fast forward to the weekend and a whopping 100 million people had signed up by the start of the week (10th July). With that number continuing to grow.
It remains to be seen whether all those downloads will stick around and convert into monthly active users.
To put that 100 million sign-ups into perspective, here are the numbers other social platforms reach.
Instagram = 2.35 billion | Facebook = 2.95 billion | Twitter = 353.8 million | TikTok = 1 billion | LinkedIn = 930 million
Tone of voice
Threads is still mostly filled with positive content, which is expected on release. There is a lot of light-hearted content, with brands and individuals sharing humorous content, many at the expense of Twitter.
The platform, at the time of writing, could be described as almost “meme-based”, with a lot of accounts posting internal thoughts and seeing how far they can push the boundaries.
Rise of “For You” content
Like every other social platform, Threads doesn’t have a designated “following” feed, yet.
It is all based on a “For You” feed, in which the algorithm predicts content you might like to see. You are able to follow people, with their Threads appearing in the feed, but it will also be filled with content from others you may not want to hear from.
Meta is aware of users’ opinion on this and are planning on listening to feedback. Instagram boss, Adam Mosseri has said they were working on many new features, with a dedicated following page being one.
Is Twitter dead?
No, certainly not now it isn’t. Whilst Threads could be the final nail in Twitter’s coffin, almost all of Twitter’s downfall can and should be pinned on themselves and not Threads.
Accounts that are established on Twitter appear to not have been affected too much by the arrival of Threads. Their posts on Twitter are far more successful compared to the same post on Threads – this would be expected in the early days though.
What’s next for Threads?
We touched on Adam Mosser’s comments on what’s in the pipeline for the new platform, it’s safe to say they won’t be standing still.
The following feed is “on the list”, alongside other features like being able to edit posts, translation into different languages and the ability to easily switch between Threads accounts.
We’d also expect to see sponsored adverts once the platform meets critical mass – it is Meta after all.
In conclusion
A shout-out to all the digital marketing professionals across the past week, it’s been a complete whirlwind since the release of Threads. Whilst no one can say for certain what is in store for the app, we can only take an educated guess. Whatever happens, we’ll be sure to keep on top of it.
All photo credits and rights belong to Meta
