What You Need to Know About Threads
For once there was no question around what we would write about for this month—we need to talk about the elephant in the room that is Meta’s new social media Platform. Threads is of course still new to us as well as to you, since it’s only been in our lives for a few months. But we’re going to share with you everything we’ve learned in that time.
Firstly, Threads is linked to your Instagram account, which means it’s super simple to set up. You don’t even have to write a new bio. It also means if you’ve already put a lot of work into your Instagram and have a decent following then you’ll have a bit of a head start on gaining an audience on this new platform. However, if that’s not the case for you then you are going to have to spend some time building new followers by posting regularly and commenting on other people’s Threads frequently.
Once you have your account set up, you’ll likely find your home page is fairly generic/irrelevant to start with, but this refines as you interact within the platform and show what you’re interested in. It is not a platform where you will suddenly see all of the posts from people you are following though—a lot of them will remain popular posts from celebrities, influencers and brands. This also means that for us we are not going to get loads of interaction straight away on the majority of our Threads. So be realistic in your expectations.
Speaking of our Threads, how do you actually create one? Here’s our answers to a few frequently asked questions:
Should you use hashtags? No. Hashtags do not work on Threads and therefore serve no purpose. This makes Threads really easy and quick to post to, but can make it harder for people to find you.
Can I use pictures and videos? Yes. You can use any media that you use on Instagram, including reels you’ve made. It’s common to see lots of different sizes of images on Threads too, and they all format nicely. Carousels can also be posted. Like Instagram, it’s a very visual platform.
Can I post links? Yes. Unlike Instagram, and more like Facebook, links are clickable on Threads. It’s early days to say whether or not links in general do worse than other types of posts or affect your account’s visibility, but at the moment we are inclining towards ‘no’, although that may change of course.
What should I say? If your Instagram post captions are fairly short, there’s no real reason why you can’t reuse the same content, but as it’s so easy to create a Thread, you may want to consider creating something bespoke. The main thing to bear in mind is that Threads is about getting people to join the conversation. Your post is not really meant to stand alone, but have a string of comments and photos underneath it. So ask for recommendations, opinions, examples, and other comments. Another thing to bear in mind with your post captions is that Threads is designed to be a friendly space, and a lot of brands are really having fun with it. Try to lean in to this and keep things positive and lighthearted if your business allows for that. Don’t take it too seriously.
We hope these tips will take some of the fear away if you’re thinking about getting Threads but not sure what to do on it. You may decide from this article that it’s not for you, and that’s a win, too. Now you can stop wondering about it. But if you love Instagram then chances are you’ll love Threads—it has a similar vibe, but a lot less pressure and it’s super easy to create posts. Why not give it a go, and get in touch with us if you need any further help?