There’s a new social media platform that is taking over. Meta released Threads, their answer to Twitter, on 7/5, and had over 10 million signups in 7 hours. Sew, what is Threads, how does it work, what do you need, and should your brand have one? Let’s take a look! (Yes, more thread and sewing puns scattered through this blog.)
Let’s tackle what you need, and what it is first.
It’s easy to create a Threads account. It’s actually tied to your Instagram account, sew when you create that account it will pull your bio, profile picture, and who you follow over with you. This means as people you follow join Threads you don’t have to try and find them, you will automatically follow them, or send a follow request depending on how they set up their account. However, if you get on Threads and decide it’s not for you, you won’t want to delete your account because it will also delete your Instagram account! You can deactivate your account and make your profile private if you decide you don’t want to continue threading.
It works very similar to its counterpart, Twitter. You have a 500-character limit, and you can attach photos, gifs, and videos up to 5 minutes. Right now there isn’t a way to create photos or videos in the app natively, sew you will have to “attach” your assets. The sharing ability gives you options to share directly to your Instagram feed or story, copy the link, or share via text, email, etc. There is a repost option, as well as a cool “quote” option. Quote is similar to how a post looks when you share it on Facebook, with the original thread showing below your post. Yes, you can still @ people in comments and threads. There is also a plus sign by the profile pictures in the feed sew you can easily follow someone as you scroll.
Now, there is one thing missing from Threads that Facebook and Instagram have….DMs! There are no DMs on threads. The goal of threads is to have conversations, they want this app to be used for engagement and more back and forth. You can also limit who can reply to your thread to make sure you keep bots away. In your profile, you’ll see the IG logo, and yes, it will take people directly to your Instagram account.
Sew, should your brand jump on Threads? Well, it’s tough to have a strategy right now since it’s new, however, getting on there and engaging can take your brand to a whole new level. Brands and influencers are on there having fun and engaging like crazy. This platform has a little more sass than the other platforms and brands are running with it. Our best advice, make sure it matches your brand standards before you start threading the needle.