The launch of the Threads App by Instagram was (in our opinion) a quiet launch, not many people other than creators knew this was happening, yet hundreds of thousands showed up.
What is the new Threads app?
Threads is a new text-focused social media app created by the Instagram team, both owned by Meta.
Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri, says, “For those of you trying to think about what to post here on Threads versus on Instagram, my take is it’s less about text versus photos and videos and more about what public conversations you want to have. Do you want to engage in more of a back-and-forth, Threads make sense. If not, great, probably Instagram…”
While Threads is a text and conversational-focused platform, there are still features for photos and video. We’re particularly fond of the picture carousel user experience design on Threads.
Unlike Instagram, you can see multiple parts of the carousel before you start swiping, making it great for making quick points and asking questions to start conversations. We’ll get into more Threads features later in this blog.
How do I get engagement on Threads?
Initial engagement was off the charts and has now dipped slightly, but then again, compared to other social media platforms, it’s one of the most engaging platforms at the moment. This isn’t a trend that has dropped off, everyone loves Threads and keeps showing back up.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, says, “I’m very optimistic about how the Threads community is coming together. Early growth was off the charts, but more importantly, 10s of millions now return daily. That’s way ahead of what we expected. The rest of the year focuses on improving the basics and retention. It’ll take time to stabilize, but once we nail that, we’ll focus on growing the community. We’ve run this playbook many times (FB, IG, Stories, Reels, etc) and I’m confident Threads is on a good path too.”
Threads has, so far, been the fastest growing app with 10 million sign-ups in 7 hours and 100 million in 5 days, isn’t that insane?!
That’s why we believe joining sooner rather than later is better. By jumping into the game early, you’ll have a head start, and don’t worry if you’ve not joined yet, but what are you waiting for?
Threads will help you to connect and converse with your desired community. This can be great for connecting likewise businesses or starting conversations with your customers, clients and all potential clients.
Unlike the comments section on other social media platforms, there is no room for photo/ video distractions to get in the way of stopping the conversations you want to start or be involved in.
Ultimately Threads was only launched 2 weeks ago, we’re all still learning how we want Threads to work for us and how Meta wants Threads to function.
We’d say, just like all other social media platforms, interaction is key (and consistency of course)!
After all, that’s exactly what Threads is all about, conversations! Make sure you’re not only starting a conversation, but you’re replying to your community and getting involved in the wider community’s conversations.
Features We Love!
Threads is the first app created where you’re able to transfer a following. While Threads is not Instagram, it is closely intertwined as it was made by the team at Instagram and owned by Meta.
This makes joining Threads super tailored because as you join Threads via your Instagram account, you’re given the option to follow everyone you follow there, likewise, your followers are given the same option.
As they join Threads, you’ll gain a following that are already wanting to see more of you!
As we’re all entitled to free speech on Threads, sometimes hateful and untrue comments can get us down.
To protect your mental health, Threads has a feature to limit who you let speak into your life. Before posting a Thread, you can limit replies to “Anyone”, “Profiles that follow you” and “Only people you’ve mentioned in your Thread” this helps keeps conversations friendly and personalised to your preference.
For those of you who don’t know, hidden words are a great feature that allows you to hide replies or messages using specific words on both Instagram and Threads.
You can also add your own custom words to the list if you’re getting harassed or brigaded and need some help managing all the inbound comments.
Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri, says they’re integrating safety features like hidden words, restrict, and community guidelines, emphasising that Threads should be “friendly and open.”
Saving the best until last, we love that your username is transferable! No more different usernames across platforms or trying to come up with a clever way of making it as similar as you can make it to another platform.
If you’re @mosaicdigitalmedia on Instagram, you’re @mosaicdigitalmedia on Threads, too, we’re in love!
What Threads features are being worked on?
The creators of Threads have acknowledged that there are some major general features which most social media platforms have, missing from Threads.
All things we mention, Threads have said they are working on and will add to the app soon (we hope!). Below we’ll go through some that we feel are important…
There are no hashtags on Threads. Because we’re used to hashtags for things like discoverability and tagging posts, it’s unusual that when you’re using a #hashtag that it’s not clickable.
At the moment on Threads, hashtags won’t boost your post any further. Our theory is that when (and if) hashtags become a feature, everyone who has already used that hashtag will appear in those results automatically, as Instagram’s CEO uses hashtags on Threads while knowing they are not currently active. Shown here:
“Hidden gem: Those of you who don’t know hidden words is a great feature that allows you to hide replies or messages using specific words on both Instagram and Threads. You can also add your own custom words to the list if you’re getting harassed or brigaded I need some help managing all the inbound. #hiddengems.”
After all, that’s just speculation, but of course, there is no harm (and no gain at the moment) of using hashtags on Threads.
Secondly, one limitation of Threads is that posts cannot be edited once they have been posted. This is uncommon compared to other social media platforms, where you usually have the option to edit your posts after they are published.
Whether you need to correct spelling mistakes, improve grammar, or refine terminology, editing capabilities are currently unavailable on Threads.
While Threads has been released in more than 100 countries, at the moment, there is no translation feature on Threads.
For an app that is for community conversation, we believe the translation feature is crucial in the company’s mission.
Threads is currently unavailable in the EU (European Union), which may be the reason for holding off on the translation feature, but who knows.
We hope this feature is added sooner rather than later as global conversations can occur when we all understand one another.
A commonly asked question is “if I delete my Threads account, will it delete my Instagram account?” Instagram’s Help Centre says “You can only de-activate your profile once a week.
By deactivating your Threads profile, you hide your profile and content from being visible on Threads. You also have the option to delete individual posts – all without deleting your Instagram account.
As Threads is powered by Instagram, you will have to delete your Instagram account to delete your Threads profile and data. Note that we’re looking into a way to delete your Threads profile separately.”
Contact Us
Contact our amazing team today for more information on Threads or Mosaic Digital Media!
Call 01925 563 960, email info@mosaicdigitalmedia.co.uk or use our online enquiry form here!
