Since its launch, Threads has become a sensation. Ok, it has been losing more and more active users, but even so, it has managed to attract many creators and digital influencers who were never very keen on using Twitter.
These people are looking at whether Threads can bolster their online presence and help them reach larger audiences. Meta's new social network, however, still lacks several important features, which, according to creators and influencers, can help them get more followers than they have on Instagram.
Testing the platform
Brian Moller, radio personality and comedian, has been with Threads since its launch. Over there, he has been telling jokes and playing with users. He has, in recent years, built an expansive presence on social media such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube as a creator of short sketches poking fun at Gen Z and Millennials, as well as the way they see themselves.
He has nearly three million followers across all social media and video platforms. The only app he has never made a point of using is Twitter. “The vibe was low,” Moller said of the reception to his jokes and comedy sketch posts on Elon Musk's network. "It wasn't the platform for it."
Instagram heavyweights like Moller are a big reason why Threads dominated the top of the most downloaded apps list and then became one of the fastest growing consumer apps of all time, reaching 100 million users in the first week alone.
Twitter down?
With Twitter in shambles due to technical problems and several erratic behaviors by Musk as CEO of the platform (a few weeks ago, he appointed Linda Yaccarino to the post) that alienated many former loyal users, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg seized the opportunity to dispatch his rival once and for all while it was down. The problem, however, is keeping your users fresh.
Why has Threads already emerged big?
The meteoric rise of Threads happened, for the most part, because it is very easy for Instagram users to create accounts on the new social network and connect with those who already follow them on the photo network;
However, the app is showing signs of waning momentum, with online analysts Sensor Tower and Similarweb reporting falling engagement;
Earlier this week, Meta rolled out its first major update, including features that make it easier to find your followers and translate posts;
Still, Threads lacks key features that could help creators and influencers build audiences beyond their Instagram following, according to Lee. For example, you can only use the social network via the app – there is still no web version.
Moller is exploring how Threads can become the core service for your online existence and potential way to reach a wider audience. He hopes that the social network has the strength to remain active and that people continue to open the app during the day to engage them with their jokes and other forms of entertainment.
Threads is the really cute new kid in class that everyone wants to talk to. So over the next few weeks they should find out if there's anything else for the network.
Caspar Lee, youtuber
missing functions
Currently, Threads users are unable to search for topics or hashtags that represent hot topics. Feeding is algorithmic, based on who a user follows and content recommended by Instagram. There's a sense of randomness and disorganized chaos to it. You're not exactly part of the conversation.
There's a great thing about Twitter, TikTok and YouTube, which is you can go to a topic, trend, and you can have lots of people following you and consuming your content.
Caspar Lee, youtuber
Cooler than Twitter?
Instagram executives' stance on Threads is that it is a kinder alternative to Twitter, discouraging talk about news and politics, focusing more on lifestyle and entertainment content.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said Threads can cater to people interested in topics such as fashion, sports, music and beauty who have never encountered communities with these subjects on Twitter.
Conflicts are a problem on Twitter, which is sometimes used by big politicians to magnify their views and block those of rivals.
Moller stated that he understands that Threads is more welcoming than Twitter and enjoys being able to scroll and post without having to engage in real-time arguments.
One of the things he does on Twitter is read about sports. Still, the comments can be "so argumentative" as to be disconcerting, he said, adding that the combative nature of the discussions has only increased since Musk's acquisition of Twitter. Threads, at least so far, “does not have the same acidity”, he opined.
For Marcel Floruss, a fashion influencer with more than 580,000 followers on Instagram and more than a million subscribers on YouTube, he argues that it was a “smart move” by Meta to try to bring in disillusioned Twitter users, as well as people who have left the app for good.
However, he is still trying to understand how Threads can help him. He's built his career as an influencer by giving fashion tips and advice, and he's never found a way to “offer any value on Twitter,” which he says is more geared towards news, live events and politics.
Floruss also indicated that he will "play around" with the new social network, but he's not ready to make it a priority given the time he spends on other networks and places. “The potential benefit is outweighed by the amount of work I feel I need to put in,” he stated. And he's not the only one with this cautious approach.
Chas Lacaillade, CEO of influencer talent agency Bottle Rocket, said many of his content creator clients are keeping their feet on the ground with Threads until the app shows that it can be a place to jump-start their careers.
They're not going zero to 100 an hour on that network. It is very important not to dismiss what you found in your research as something that has not been proven or is the wave of the month.
Chas Lacaillade, CEO of influencer talent agency Bottle Rocket
For Lacaillade, creators might rather spend time deepening existing relationships than working on a new media service that could quickly run out of steam.
Remuneration
As it stands today, Threads cannot remunerate creators and influencers. There are no ads, so brands aren't looking for partners, and it's unclear whether the social network could become a conduit to help them get people to sites where they can buy merchandise or promote their patron pages.
A Meta spokesperson said the company's priority "is to build customer value first" to "explore how to build business value in a way that doesn't compromise the customer experience."
The spokesperson also referenced Mosseri's remarks, describing how Instagram was "fully focused on keeping the lights on and fixing bugs, but we're starting to prioritize the obvious missing features like a 'following' feed, the edit button and post search."
For their part, creators say YouTube remains the number one outlet for influencers to build lasting careers.
What other platform outside of YouTube has the ability to keep you or any viewer interested for longer than 30 seconds? You have the attention of people who are worth a lot of money to advertisers.
Marcel Floruss, fashion influencer
As Twitter struggles with advertisers, it tries to gain relevance among creators. The company recently started paying some verified users when ads appear in their conversations. That might lead some people to turn to Twitter instead of Threads, said Tameka Bazile, who works in artistic relations and marketing at Time.
Bazile noted that some Twitter users have posted that they have received payments of up to $35,000 (R$167,200) and that it could be an attractive way to attract “micro-influencers” or “nano-influencers”, who lack large audiences but have established some name recognition in certain communities. “The creator economy is hungry for regular monetization,” he said.
Sasha Kaletsky, co-founder and managing partner of Creator Ventures, said it was "nearly impossible" for Twitter's recent influencer pay plans to compete with brand deals from Instagram or YouTube.
As with Threads, creators will wait to see how Twitter works for their peers before "spending a lot more time creating content there," Kaletsky said.
Marketing influencer Jack Appleby said his income is derived from mixing brand sponsorships on platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn, and his own newsletter, as well as speaking engagements. For Threads to become important to creators, Appleby said the app needs to have better analytics so they can measure engagement and prove to brands that they have reach.
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