NDA has been gauging the view of the industry on the release of Threads by Meta.
Mike Khouri, Founder & CEO, tactical
“It’s another platform brands need to get to know. Is it a Twitter-killer? No, not yet. But it clearly has enough traction to get a brand’s attention. Plus, it’s migrating a huge Instagram audience that wasn’t previously active on Twitter.
“Threads will grow to have its own culture, as all platforms do. So, think big picture. For now, lock in your brand name and set up your bio. It’s too early for a channel strategy, but you should start spending time on the app to identify patterns.
“On first look, there’s an exciting opportunity to farm engagement. Think community management on steroids, but also publishing posts that trigger engagement. Just remember to always add value. Never spam, and never sell.”
Benjamin Arnold, President, North America, Adludio
“To Meta’s credit, it’s been an A+ launch campaign. Just look at the impressive take up of +10 million users in the first 7 hours of launch and the accompanying industry buzz and plethora of media headlines. Early users are highly engaged, creating a valuable target audience for first movers. Should this rate of growth continue then it will surely only be a matter of time before ads get switched on and brands flock to the platform.
“Brands are, of course, already posting on the platform. However, it seems to be largely the same content as Twitter, and in some cases, all of their other social media channels.
“It’s fair to say then that sustaining growth and engagement will be challenging – just as the myriad of other social media platforms have experienced when launching over the past few years. There also isn’t a discernible or innovative point of difference on this platform which means it really comes down to a popularity contest of the billionaires. Are you Team Zuck or Team Musk? Or neither?”
Dominic Tillson, Marketing Director at Azerion
“The launch of Threads couldn’t be more timely, just when its apparent doppelganger, Twitter, has been seeing a significant drop in daily active users and ad revenue. Whilst those on Team Zuck will be lapping up the launch of his shiny new toy, it’ll be interesting to see how average consumers will invest time into it. In all fairness, it’s not off to a bad start. The app reached 100 million users in its first five days.
“Threads doesn’t currently have any advertiser offerings, but if this user growth continues to accelerate, it won’t be long until advertisers will want to utilise the platform for its audience reach. Like other major social platforms, it has the potential to play a significant role in the marketing mix. But, for those in the ad industry wanting fewer, better ad solutions this may be more of a headache than an exciting new opportunity. Only time will tell.”
Tactical, Adludio and Azerion are clients of Bluestripe Communications, part of the Bluestripe Group, publishers of New Digital Age
