Whew. Take a deep breath, everybody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your leadership team asks you about the company Threads strategy, start here. Folks across your team \u2014 including you, boots-on-the-ground marketer \u2014 are probably asking all these questions. Or at least you all should, before you even consider fleshing out that Threads strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s so special about Threads?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nBuilt on open protocol ActivityPub, using Instagram account credentials, Threads is Meta\u2019s answer to Twitter \u2014 a text-based platform. Due to its ability to set up auto-following (as in, you can auto-follow the same folks on Threads that you already do on Instagram) in the onboarding flow, it\u2019s Instagram\u2019s largest accounts (primarily celebrities and mainstream lifestyle influencers) who are the heaviest hitters so far in Threads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Users need to download the Threads mobile app (no web\/desktop version yet), but they use Single Sign-On with their Instagram account to get started. A seamless process that surely helped Threads grow to 100 million users in its first five days. <\/strong>For reference, it took five years for Twitter<\/a> to grow to 100 million users, four-and-a-half years for Facebook, and two-and-a-half years for Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn second place for speed to 100 million users is ChatGPT, crossing that milestone only 64 days after launch<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd at the time of this blog post, the app crossed 150 million downloads<\/a> (on July 16).<\/p>\n\n\n\nNo performance marketing levers were pulled (at least, not to our knowledge at the time of this writing) for Threads\u2019 launch. Instead, growth has largely been fueled by network effects, influencer partnerships (mainstream influencers, celebs and brands like Gary Vee, MKBHD, the three Kardashian sisters, Shakira, Netflix, Animal Planet, HGTV and more got early access to the app), and opportunistic timing. When Twitter began limiting views of tweets<\/a> over the previous weekend, Meta hit back by launching Threads a week ahead of schedule. That genius move should be de rigueur<\/em> in product marketing classes for the next decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/social-media-platforms-MAUs-July-2023-sparktoro.png\")
July 2023 Monthly Active Users (MAUs) across social media \u2014 from the platforms themselves.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nSurvey findings: What\u2019s the current state of Threads and social media?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nBefore we dive into advice, perhaps it\u2019s wise to ask: How much do marketers care about this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we asked. Amanda and Rand put together an informal 10-question survey and sent it out to our audiences across our social media channels and blog. 315 people took the survey. <\/strong>Here\u2019s a breakdown of those respondents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- 26% of survey respondents work for a B2B brand<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 23% are solo consultants<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 11% are agency\/consultancy founders<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 10% are agency employees<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 7% are B2B founders<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 7% work for a B2C brand<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 5% work for a government, nonprofit, or educational institution<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 5% are creators, influencers or show hosts<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 4% are B2C or DTC founders<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- .3% fall into the Other category: freelance writer or blogger, retiree, sole proprietor, recruiter, employee of a creator\/media company, or run a community<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Of the 315 total respondents, 78% claimed their personal Threads account, but only 33% claimed their company or brand\u2019s Threads account. Here’s the breakdown of who claimed their personal accounts, filtered by B2C marketers, B2B marketers, and consultants:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/claimed-personal-threads-survey-sparktoro2.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHere’s who claimed their company or brand account:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/claimed-brand-threads-survey-sparktoro.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAnd there isn\u2019t much FOMO here! Only 14% of all respondents reported feeling pressure <\/strong>to create a Thread strategy. However, it looks like there’s more pressure felt among B2C marketers, 20% of whom feel like they need to create a strategy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/felt-pressure-to-create-threads-strategy-sparktoro.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAs for usage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- 33% said they would use Threads for personal use<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 10% said they would use it exclusively on behalf of a company or brand<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 33% said they would use it for both personal and professional purposes<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 24% said neither \u2014 I suppose they\u2019re not anticipating use Threads moving forward<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Now… what\u2019s the appetite for advertising? <\/strong>24% anticipate they\u2019ll probably or definitely advertise on Threads if and when Meta launches that offering. But 30% aren\u2019t sure, and 45% probably or definitely won\u2019t advertise on Threads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Screenshot-2023-07-20-at-4.53.51-PM-1024x579.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nRemember, these are mostly B2B marketers, so Threads\u2019 perception as more akin to Instagram and TikTok (where B2C advertising rules) may be lowering the numbers. Taking a further step back, we asked respondents about what value they seek from social media platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More survey findings: Perceived value across B2C, B2B, and consultants<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWe also asked marketers about the value they want from their social media usage, and the value they expect from the social networks we know. Since we had a diverse sample of B2C and B2B marketers and consultants (though still mostly B2B!), we thought this portion of the findings would be most interesting to see broken out by marketer type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We asked respondents to rate the value of the below use cases for social media:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Staying up to date with news I care about<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Skill building\/learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Consuming entertainment\/lifestyle content<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Connecting with professional peers\/networking<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Connecting with friends<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Selling my products or services<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Getting content ideas or marketing inspiration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Core to people\u2019s usage? Networking was the top use case, followed closely by staying up to date with news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Selling products or services ranked low on everyone’s list, but was most valuable among consultants. And of the three groups, it’s B2B marketers who most value following friends on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/what-do-you-value-in-social-usage-threads-survey-sparktoro-1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAsked on a scale from 1 (I don’t use social media for this) to 5 (This is core to my social media usage)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked how much value they expect these networks to bring (personally and professionally) in the year ahead…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Respondents indicated they see little to no value in Snapchat and Bluesky. They see a little more value in Mastodon and Pinterest. They indicated the most value in LinkedIn and YouTube, followed by Instagram. It’s interesting to see that already, folks see Threads as somewhat equally valuable to slightly more valuable as Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/value-from-networks-threads-survey-sparktoro-1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFinally, if we think about Threads vs. Twitter as head-to-head competitors, we also asked users if they think either of these will be top 5 social platforms in 3 years:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
45% said Threads will probably or definitely be a top 5 social platform. Only 24% think the same of Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Screenshot-2023-07-20-at-4.51.25-PM-1024x576.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Screenshot-2023-07-20-at-4.52.43-PM-1024x577.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nInitial takeaways: <\/strong>As a startup marketer, what\u2019s my read on these findings? Of course, this is just a temperature check. But a 315-person sample size isn\u2019t a bad one. I think it\u2019s interesting that more teams haven\u2019t claimed their company Threads accounts, though it makes sense if you consider there isn\u2019t a rush to squat on your handle as it\u2019s already reserved. I\u2019m surprised that the appetite for advertising is as low as it is \u2014 on Instagram, I’m targeted pretty frequently for B2B ads, so my light hypothesis was that there would be many B2B marketers who see an extension of the Meta ad ecosystem as a no-brainer. Personally, I\u2019m comfortable not having a current Threads content strategy and excited to find ways to test new types of content in a hopefully-engaged-but-not-massive-and-thus-safe audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat are the caveats of Threads?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nWe\u2019re only two weeks into Threads\u2019 existence. We don\u2019t know that the 150 million+ users will stick around. According to marketing intelligence firm Sensor Tower late last week<\/a>, Threads\u2019 daily active users declined on Tuesday and Wednesday (July 11 and 12, 6-7 days after launch) \u2014 down around 20% from Saturday. Time spent was also down by 50%, from 20 minutes to 10 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThreads also doesn\u2019t have an ad network, let alone analytics. So if your CMO is asking you for a full-fledged strategy (and hopefully they\u2019re not!), it\u2019s entirely fair to take a reluctant stance because there aren\u2019t even basic measurement tools, let alone full-scale attribution. Plus\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is your target audience even on Threads?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIs there reason to believe your audience is using Threads? Given the platform\u2019s newness and unavailable API, the only data points we have are the gross numbers (150 million users, remember?) and Twitter\u2019s declining visits, per Cloudflare Co-Founder and CEO Matthew Prince<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/PS8LR5YNIAoVijX1bDlAeKAhNWA79gk53hZ40gt9E0aHyq58mCyC4SYmo_RSv-OejOYD71cgYFb0RIpvyUgHwlwoL1UE0neK9LvGj0JMaN9D_SemZxPz_1IHk-_uQfJFJm2m4ZsfwLizuQA-DZAYM0E\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe 150-million number alone suggests to me that your audience is probably at least starting to lurk<\/em> on Threads. But\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\nDoes your audience care about finding you on Threads?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\u201cGee, I can\u2019t wait to see <insert name of mobile app, consumer packaged good, or B2B company> on this new social media platform!\u201d said no one ever. While it might be FOMO-inducing to see brands like Cinnabon<\/a> or Wendy\u2019s<\/a> goofing around with meme-like tweets and jokes \u2014 and actually getting solid engagement \u2014 most of us don\u2019t have their mainstream reach. And those posts might be fun for a couple laughs but ultimately, as Amanda Hoover at Wired points out<\/a>, brands aren\u2019t what inspire users to keep coming back to a social network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/gX4ffDKBcCmQeHpXmD76a4CcTNtD9bUuWqDTY_8ZeNTmdqx-XqrEe1yh3lICAZEGVeTIFB-z4hzE_FSVPGfYPzz4QaAhmwloA4wYeknaYrXWr9ozpP0LKep_CsRmXXIc3GLeG6KHyKC0ZJeWolqKjjI\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat\u2019s the rush? It certainly wouldn\u2019t hurt to claim your account, set up your profile, and publish an inaugural post or two. Unless there\u2019s good reason to believe your die-hard fans are looking for your presence, a listen-and-learn approach<\/a> might be the safest path for now. It\u2019s a good time to see how folks in your target audience are using Threads, what they\u2019re talking about, and what they\u2019re engaging with.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBesides\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you even have the bandwidth?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIf you\u2019re asking your team to jump on Threads and start experimenting \u2014 make sure you\u2019re letting something else fall to the wayside. Or if it\u2019s your thumbs behind the Threads app, it\u2019s entirely fair to discuss priorities with your manager. It\u2019s also worth thinking about the past and current value you\u2019re getting out of Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri says<\/a> that \u201c[Threads\u2019] goal isn’t to replace Twitter,\u201d it\u2019s hard not to see both text-based platforms as competitors to each other. And if we\u2019re talking about text-based platforms, then Mastodon and Bluesky might not be out of the running yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/zFvZHirAlnq0osfKYLnaKxKtiug-KdqpKJgNsOBB6anK4_kS-AR6BOFOmDLdR8y310zMP8MlRajg8_JAcGr-oR3VGvEuoz3-xUx50Eeswj9Daee4eLwzqPAjcRxyunGtNkuXAgjEhN8QvtjEApdZyxE\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a>Take a closer look at the state of your Twitter account: Are impressions and engagement dropping? Have you previously seen Twitter as a source of business? If your answer to both of these questions is yes, and considering Twitter overall usage decline, it\u2019s probably worth taking a closer look and developing a content testing strategy for Threads, and perhaps even Mastodon and Bluesky. Consider keeping the lights on on Twitter, and carving out a few minutes per day to engage on the emerging competing platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf you proceed with Threads, start here\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nYou might as well pull out your Social Media 101 rule book. Many of the best practices probably still apply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Optimize your bio. <\/strong>You may be able to copy and paste from your Instagram or Twitter bio. Since Threads is a new-to-everyone platform, consider adding a line about what type of content users can expect from you. Some questions to ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- What type of value can users expect from you?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How might your Threads posts differ or be an extension from your Instagram content?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Are you actually going to use Threads as a Twitter replacement? If so, what did people see from you on Twitter and how would you explain that to a Threads user?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Publish your inaugural post.<\/strong> Introduce yourself. What can new followers expect from you? And can you incentivize your existing follower base to follow and engage with you? You may want to try asking a question and cross-posting the Threads post to your Instagram account.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStart with your greatest hits.<\/strong> You\u2019ve been creating all that great content for a while now. You might as well leverage the highest-performing content. Audit your top performing social media content over the past year or so. Consider how that can be repurposed into a text-first format. For instance, a top-performing Reel might be good source content for a thread on Threads, with images to support the text. Or a LinkedIn carousel might be able to be broken up into a couple of standalone Threads posts. Or start even simpler with that, and copy and paste prior top tweets into your Threads account. After all\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\nNew network + no metrics = experimentation FTW<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nWith a constantly-changing algorithm in an app that\u2019s clearly a work in progress \u2014 as I type this, there isn\u2019t yet a Following feed, Edit button, post search, hashtags, or web presence, although those are features that are in the near-term roadmap \u2014 this might be a phenomenal time to try out more unique types of content, and possibly even some influencer\/celeb bait (if you’re B2C or a bigger brand name). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the first week or so, it appeared that content distribution via links were pushed to the bottom of users\u2019 feeds, and that the algorithm prefers text posts and image posts. Though at the time of this writing, I started seeing lots more posts with links from accounts I don\u2019t follow pushed into my feed. What\u2019s also notable is that not all of these accounts have massive followings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0981-832x1024.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0982-770x1024.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0983-1024x1001.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.sparktoro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0984-848x1024.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nBut we\u2019ll see. If nothing else, it’s clear the Threads team is constantly updating the algorithm. I still have a feeling that leading with Zero-Click content<\/a> will end up proving crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSo don\u2019t forget that link in bio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
—<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Follow us: <\/strong>And by the way, don’t forget to follow @sparktorohq<\/a>, @amandanat<\/a>, and @randderuiter<\/a> on Threads. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you work in marketing, there\u2019s a good chance your leadership has asked you about Threads. If you work in social media marketing, then leadership has almost certainly asked for your early reaction to Meta\u2019s Twitter clone. Should we make an account? Should we cross-post from our top-performing social media channel? What\u2019s our content strategy?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,21],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-8165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marketing","category-social-media","tag-threads"],"yoast_head":"\n
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In second place for speed to 100 million users is ChatGPT, crossing that milestone only 64 days after launch<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And at the time of this blog post, the app crossed 150 million downloads<\/a> (on July 16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n No performance marketing levers were pulled (at least, not to our knowledge at the time of this writing) for Threads\u2019 launch. Instead, growth has largely been fueled by network effects, influencer partnerships (mainstream influencers, celebs and brands like Gary Vee, MKBHD, the three Kardashian sisters, Shakira, Netflix, Animal Planet, HGTV and more got early access to the app), and opportunistic timing. When Twitter began limiting views of tweets<\/a> over the previous weekend, Meta hit back by launching Threads a week ahead of schedule. That genius move should be de rigueur<\/em> in product marketing classes for the next decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we dive into advice, perhaps it\u2019s wise to ask: How much do marketers care about this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we asked. Amanda and Rand put together an informal 10-question survey and sent it out to our audiences across our social media channels and blog. 315 people took the survey. <\/strong>Here\u2019s a breakdown of those respondents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the 315 total respondents, 78% claimed their personal Threads account, but only 33% claimed their company or brand\u2019s Threads account. Here’s the breakdown of who claimed their personal accounts, filtered by B2C marketers, B2B marketers, and consultants:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s who claimed their company or brand account:<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there isn\u2019t much FOMO here! Only 14% of all respondents reported feeling pressure <\/strong>to create a Thread strategy. However, it looks like there’s more pressure felt among B2C marketers, 20% of whom feel like they need to create a strategy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for usage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now… what\u2019s the appetite for advertising? <\/strong>24% anticipate they\u2019ll probably or definitely advertise on Threads if and when Meta launches that offering. But 30% aren\u2019t sure, and 45% probably or definitely won\u2019t advertise on Threads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember, these are mostly B2B marketers, so Threads\u2019 perception as more akin to Instagram and TikTok (where B2C advertising rules) may be lowering the numbers. Taking a further step back, we asked respondents about what value they seek from social media platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also asked marketers about the value they want from their social media usage, and the value they expect from the social networks we know. Since we had a diverse sample of B2C and B2B marketers and consultants (though still mostly B2B!), we thought this portion of the findings would be most interesting to see broken out by marketer type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We asked respondents to rate the value of the below use cases for social media:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Core to people\u2019s usage? Networking was the top use case, followed closely by staying up to date with news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Selling products or services ranked low on everyone’s list, but was most valuable among consultants. And of the three groups, it’s B2B marketers who most value following friends on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked on a scale from 1 (I don’t use social media for this) to 5 (This is core to my social media usage)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked how much value they expect these networks to bring (personally and professionally) in the year ahead…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Respondents indicated they see little to no value in Snapchat and Bluesky. They see a little more value in Mastodon and Pinterest. They indicated the most value in LinkedIn and YouTube, followed by Instagram. It’s interesting to see that already, folks see Threads as somewhat equally valuable to slightly more valuable as Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, if we think about Threads vs. Twitter as head-to-head competitors, we also asked users if they think either of these will be top 5 social platforms in 3 years:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 45% said Threads will probably or definitely be a top 5 social platform. Only 24% think the same of Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initial takeaways: <\/strong>As a startup marketer, what\u2019s my read on these findings? Of course, this is just a temperature check. But a 315-person sample size isn\u2019t a bad one. I think it\u2019s interesting that more teams haven\u2019t claimed their company Threads accounts, though it makes sense if you consider there isn\u2019t a rush to squat on your handle as it\u2019s already reserved. I\u2019m surprised that the appetite for advertising is as low as it is \u2014 on Instagram, I’m targeted pretty frequently for B2B ads, so my light hypothesis was that there would be many B2B marketers who see an extension of the Meta ad ecosystem as a no-brainer. Personally, I\u2019m comfortable not having a current Threads content strategy and excited to find ways to test new types of content in a hopefully-engaged-but-not-massive-and-thus-safe audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re only two weeks into Threads\u2019 existence. We don\u2019t know that the 150 million+ users will stick around. According to marketing intelligence firm Sensor Tower late last week<\/a>, Threads\u2019 daily active users declined on Tuesday and Wednesday (July 11 and 12, 6-7 days after launch) \u2014 down around 20% from Saturday. Time spent was also down by 50%, from 20 minutes to 10 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Threads also doesn\u2019t have an ad network, let alone analytics. So if your CMO is asking you for a full-fledged strategy (and hopefully they\u2019re not!), it\u2019s entirely fair to take a reluctant stance because there aren\u2019t even basic measurement tools, let alone full-scale attribution. Plus\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is there reason to believe your audience is using Threads? Given the platform\u2019s newness and unavailable API, the only data points we have are the gross numbers (150 million users, remember?) and Twitter\u2019s declining visits, per Cloudflare Co-Founder and CEO Matthew Prince<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The 150-million number alone suggests to me that your audience is probably at least starting to lurk<\/em> on Threads. But\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGee, I can\u2019t wait to see <insert name of mobile app, consumer packaged good, or B2B company> on this new social media platform!\u201d said no one ever. While it might be FOMO-inducing to see brands like Cinnabon<\/a> or Wendy\u2019s<\/a> goofing around with meme-like tweets and jokes \u2014 and actually getting solid engagement \u2014 most of us don\u2019t have their mainstream reach. And those posts might be fun for a couple laughs but ultimately, as Amanda Hoover at Wired points out<\/a>, brands aren\u2019t what inspire users to keep coming back to a social network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s the rush? It certainly wouldn\u2019t hurt to claim your account, set up your profile, and publish an inaugural post or two. Unless there\u2019s good reason to believe your die-hard fans are looking for your presence, a listen-and-learn approach<\/a> might be the safest path for now. It\u2019s a good time to see how folks in your target audience are using Threads, what they\u2019re talking about, and what they\u2019re engaging with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re asking your team to jump on Threads and start experimenting \u2014 make sure you\u2019re letting something else fall to the wayside. Or if it\u2019s your thumbs behind the Threads app, it\u2019s entirely fair to discuss priorities with your manager. It\u2019s also worth thinking about the past and current value you\u2019re getting out of Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri says<\/a> that \u201c[Threads\u2019] goal isn’t to replace Twitter,\u201d it\u2019s hard not to see both text-based platforms as competitors to each other. And if we\u2019re talking about text-based platforms, then Mastodon and Bluesky might not be out of the running yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>Take a closer look at the state of your Twitter account: Are impressions and engagement dropping? Have you previously seen Twitter as a source of business? If your answer to both of these questions is yes, and considering Twitter overall usage decline, it\u2019s probably worth taking a closer look and developing a content testing strategy for Threads, and perhaps even Mastodon and Bluesky. Consider keeping the lights on on Twitter, and carving out a few minutes per day to engage on the emerging competing platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might as well pull out your Social Media 101 rule book. Many of the best practices probably still apply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Optimize your bio. <\/strong>You may be able to copy and paste from your Instagram or Twitter bio. Since Threads is a new-to-everyone platform, consider adding a line about what type of content users can expect from you. Some questions to ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Publish your inaugural post.<\/strong> Introduce yourself. What can new followers expect from you? And can you incentivize your existing follower base to follow and engage with you? You may want to try asking a question and cross-posting the Threads post to your Instagram account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start with your greatest hits.<\/strong> You\u2019ve been creating all that great content for a while now. You might as well leverage the highest-performing content. Audit your top performing social media content over the past year or so. Consider how that can be repurposed into a text-first format. For instance, a top-performing Reel might be good source content for a thread on Threads, with images to support the text. Or a LinkedIn carousel might be able to be broken up into a couple of standalone Threads posts. Or start even simpler with that, and copy and paste prior top tweets into your Threads account. After all\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a constantly-changing algorithm in an app that\u2019s clearly a work in progress \u2014 as I type this, there isn\u2019t yet a Following feed, Edit button, post search, hashtags, or web presence, although those are features that are in the near-term roadmap \u2014 this might be a phenomenal time to try out more unique types of content, and possibly even some influencer\/celeb bait (if you’re B2C or a bigger brand name). <\/p>\n\n\n\n For the first week or so, it appeared that content distribution via links were pushed to the bottom of users\u2019 feeds, and that the algorithm prefers text posts and image posts. Though at the time of this writing, I started seeing lots more posts with links from accounts I don\u2019t follow pushed into my feed. What\u2019s also notable is that not all of these accounts have massive followings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But we\u2019ll see. If nothing else, it’s clear the Threads team is constantly updating the algorithm. I still have a feeling that leading with Zero-Click content<\/a> will end up proving crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So don\u2019t forget that link in bio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n —<\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow us: <\/strong>And by the way, don’t forget to follow @sparktorohq<\/a>, @amandanat<\/a>, and @randderuiter<\/a> on Threads. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you work in marketing, there\u2019s a good chance your leadership has asked you about Threads. If you work in social media marketing, then leadership has almost certainly asked for your early reaction to Meta\u2019s Twitter clone. Should we make an account? Should we cross-post from our top-performing social media channel? What\u2019s our content strategy?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,21],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-8165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marketing","category-social-media","tag-threads"],"yoast_head":"\nSurvey findings: What\u2019s the current state of Threads and social media?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMore survey findings: Perceived value across B2C, B2B, and consultants<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat are the caveats of Threads?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Is your target audience even on Threads?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Does your audience care about finding you on Threads?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Do you even have the bandwidth?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you proceed with Threads, start here\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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New network + no metrics = experimentation FTW<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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