Threads, with its 72+ million signups within the first three days of the July 5 launch, is making quite an impact.
Threads is available (on iOS and Android) for all Instagram account types from creators to businesses to personal accounts in more than 100 countries (at this time Threads is not available in the European Union, European Economic Area, or Switzerland).
As described by BMG360's contact at Meta, “Threads offers a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations. Soon, we plan to make Threads compatible with the open, interoperable social networks that we believe can shape the future of the internet.”
While advertising is currently not supported on Threads, (Meta’s priority is to build consumer value first, which will allow them to explore how to build business value), Meta encourages businesses to experiment with Threads as a part of their organic social strategy, where it makes sense. And some brands are already establishing themselves on the platform in creative ways.
Here are our recommendations and best practices for how to use threads to support your paid tactics and overall business growth:
Build your Community
Your Threads account is linked to your Instagram account, so you can easily import your existing Instagram community or set up a new account and find new prospects, industry accounts, and colleagues. Growing your following and authority early will set you up for success when Ads and additional functionality are rolled out.
Be Engaged
Join conversations and ask questions to encourage engagement on your Threads account to feed the algorithms early and strengthen your account from the start.
Share High-Value Content
As you’re building your community, sharing helpful content, resources, and company updates can help to build trust, as with any strong organic content marketing strategy.
Listen and Gather Insights
While hashtags are not (currently) yet rolled out on Threads, follow the posts and conversations of prospects, competitors, and relevant industry accounts, for a new gold mine for valuable research and insight.
Plug Relevant Content
While we encourage using Threads for genuine conversation (this is likely going to feed the algos in the best way), you can also use Threads to promote your brand, product, and/or services and drive more website traffic by joining relevant conversations and linking back to your blog or resources related to the topic being discussed.
Just be sure to keep it genuine – authenticity and value is the key to a strong organic strategy.
Keep in mind that while it’s tempting to be on every channel, spend your time and efforts where you get the most business value, rather than diluting impact and spreading yourself or your team too thin. Our team can help you evaluate whether this is a good complement to your existing strategy, and more specifically, how to get the most out of adding this to your existing mix.
Of course, Threads is in its early stages. We expect Threads will eventually roll out ads, as all new Meta products eventually do, and Meta has also said that DMs, trends, and search functions will be added to the app soon.
We’ll continue to monitor updates and advertising capabilities, and will be sure to share our recommendations and best practices as we learn more!