Threads 101: A Crash Course on How to Use Threads
Wondering how to use Threads? You’re in the right place. This revolutionary text-based app has taken the digital world by storm, and whether you’re looking to learn the basics or Threads tips to build a thriving community, this blog post has you covered. Let’s dive in!
WHAT ARE THREADS?
Made by Instagram, Threads is a new text-based social media app that has rocked Twitter’s world, to say the least. While Instagram excels as an image-first platform, the team wanted to create a space where they could “take what Instagram does best and expand that to text, creating a positive and creative space to express your ideas.”
As a platform for real-time updates and public conversations, posts, also known as threads, can be up to 500 characters long and include:
Text
Links
Photos
Videos up to 5 minutes long
These posts are then shared to your profile, as well as the home feed, which is comprised of:
Threads posted by users you follow
Recommended threads shared by users you don’t follow but the algorithm believes you’ll enjoy
THREADS VS. TWITTER (NOW KNOWN AS “X”)
Commonly compared to their competitor, Twitter (aka “X”), Threads has quite a few similarities and differences, including:
Continue reading to learn more about the pros and cons specific to Threads.
HOW TO USE THREADS: BENEFITS FOR BRANDS
EASY TO SET UP WITH AN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
Right off the bat, the first benefit of Threads is how easy it is to set up with an existing Instagram account. Because the two platforms are sister apps, your Instagram username and verification will automatically carry over to Threads upon account activation. The app also gives you the option to automatically follow Thread users that you follow on Instagram, preventing brands from having to start from ground zero on this channel.
Here is a step-by-step article detailing more on how to create a profile on Threads.
IDEAL FOR COMMUNITY BUILDING
Threads is a community management goldmine! Because keyword and hashtag searches aren’t available, the primary way to get discovered is by interacting with other users’ threads and vice versa. Not only will brands want to make it a priority to engage with other users’ content but they’ll also want to keep shareability and engagement top of mind with their own threads as well.
NO AESTHETICS NECESSARY
With the emphasis on community management in mind, Threads is not a place for brands interested in sharing overly branded or salesy content. We’ve shared before that the evolution of social media was heading in this direction, but this platform especially is far too casual and light-hearted for that kind of content.
Instead, brands should spend the majority of their time focusing on top and middle-of-funnel initiatives, fostering a community with their current and potential audience. In doing so, they’ll simultaneously build trust with their audience and boost their discoverability on the platform through their engagement efforts.
Overall, content should be low-pressure and low-aesthetic. Entertainment and relatability are key!
HOW TO USE THREADS: LIMITATIONS FOR BRANDS
FAST-PACED TREND CYCLE
Now onto the limitations of the platform. If you’ve spent any time on Threads, you’d know that, like Twitter, it has a fast-paced trend cycle. When trends come and go quickly, it’s important to have a social media manager readily available to monitor and hop on new trends while they’re still relevant.
For many brands, this time commitment and impromptu creativity can feel like all too much to handle. That’s why we recently added Threads as a channel within our social media services - check it out!
DRAFTS + SCHEDULING UNAVAILABLE
Another time-consuming aspect of Threads is that everything needs to be manually published. Unlike Instagram, drafts and auto-scheduling are not available at this time. We’re hoping this should be resolved soon, though!
DISCOVERABILITY IS LIMITED (FOR NOW)
As we mentioned, discoverability on the platform is somewhat limited. While it’s easy for your existing Instagram followers to find you on Threads, it can be difficult for those that have never heard of you to discover your account without being able to search for keywords or hashtags. At this time the only other way to discover new accounts is through username search, recommended posts on the home feed, and interacting with other users’ threads and/or vice versa.
To boost reach, in addition to hashtag and keyword searches, we’d love to see Threads roll out:
Polls
Quizzes
DMs
Ads (tastefully)
A dedicated “Explore,” “For You,” or “Trending” feed
HARD TO MEASURE ROI
Perhaps the biggest dealbreaker for brands at this time is the limited access to analytics, which makes it hard to measure the results on the platform. Some analytics we’d love to see Threads develop in the near future include:
Reach
Impressions
Threads taps
Link in bio website taps
Profile views
BRANDS WE LOVE ON THREADS
Looking for Threads tips or inspiration to build a thriving community? Here are a few brands we love following and taking notes from on the app:
Overall, there’s still a lot of development to come for Threads, but we’re so excited to watch it all unfold! We hope you found this blog post helpful in learning how to use Threads. For help managing Threads, check out our service offering here. For more social media and Threads tips, be sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our digital marketing newsletter. Chat soon!
xx,
The Homies
