How To Develop a
Threads Strategy

Digital Marketing / July 20, 2023

There’s a new kid on the block and it goes by the name Threads. While building a content strategy with little to no information on the platform can be quite the challenge, we love discovering new features and seeing how each brand makes the platform their own. Now (spoiler alert) – building a strategy is going to take a little longer than a day to do effectively.

What is Threads?

Threads is a new social media app created by Meta (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp). It’s quite similar to Twitter, with a feed that mainly consists of text-based posts. The concept allows users to have real-time conversations with others on the platform about various trending topics. The key word here is: spontaneous. 

01. Try Different types of content

While Threads focuses mostly on text posts (with a 500-character limit) and conversations, it does offer several other content formats similar to those already found on Instagram and Facebook: Photos, Videos (5-minute limit), Carousels, and URL links.

In order to efficiently develop a Threads strategy for your business, it’s important that you discover the platform for yourself and try new things. The advantage with Threads is that your following from instagram transfers automatically to Threads, so you’re not starting completely from scratch.

A lot of businesses have been experimenting with Threads from the very first day it launched. We had a look around and found that what differentiates high performing posts from the rest is the personality that comes through and the tone of voice that’s used. You need to speak your audience’s language. And just like Instagram and TikTok, humor is definitely the type of content that performs best.

02. Be part of the conversation

First thing you’ll notice when starting on Threads is, there’s only one news feed. No FYP, no followers-only feed. The app is in discovery mode at the moment and the algorithm needs time to get settled in. This means it’s important to be willing to do trial and error in order to determine exactly what works for you and what doesn’t.

You need to interact with others and get in on the trends and big conversations that are happening on the app. This will ensure visibility and will give you a good idea of what your place is as a business on Threads.

This can be done by commenting on posts, liking comments, reposting and responding to posts. Below is examples of a threads that started a few days ago which now thousands of business accounts are participating in.

03. Use Keywords in Your Bio

Are #hashtags a thing on Threads?

If you’ve been exploring Threads for a little bit, you might have noticed that hashtags aren’t clickable… yet! This seems to be in the cards for the future, according to Adam Mosseri, the head of instagram (and Threads, for that matter!).

At the moment, we’re also unable to search for content by subject in the search engine. The only results obtained when searching for keywords are accounts that contain those words, so think about your SEO when writing your bio!

But like Mosseri said: “it’ll take time”. So we need to be patient.

Can you advertise on Threads?

Right now, you won’t find Instagram’s branded content tools on Threads. But guess what? Instagram is actually hustling to make them available on Threads real quick! This means marketers will soon have the chance to start experimenting with paid promotion, even before advertising kicks in.

According to insiders at Meta who spilled the beans to Axios, Threads won’t be introducing ads until it has a solid user base. They’re all about reaching that critical mass first (they’re well on their way if I do say so myself, with over 100 million users as of July 18th 2023).

While we’re waiting for Threads to get its act together with the branded content tools, brands are being told to play it fair and square by clearly disclosing any paid partnerships through text or hashtags. Gotta keep it transparent, you know?

Should you be on Threads?

Early adopters of a new platform always benefit from increased visibility right from the start. This can be extremely advantageous. Taking TikTok as an example, if we’d known how big the platform was going to get, we’d all have wanted to get on TikTok sooner! Right?

We do believe Threads is a great opportunity for the majority of companies/creators who want to stand out and expand their digital presence. But as a social media agency, we understand (we really do) that it’s not everyone that has the resources to manage multiple platforms. While it’s a lot of fun to discover a new platform, this new addition definitely won’t help social media manager fatigue. So maybe check in with your team!

That said, we’re very optimistic and see a lot of opportunities for companies that will at least take the time to test the platform and be active on it for a while! From what we’ve seen so far, companies are having a hoot on there and being – for lack of a better word – unhinged! And we love to see it!

We hope this article helped you understand Threads a little better.

If you’re looking for a Social Media Agency, contact us today!