Instagram Threads: Will you be hopping on the trend?

Will you be hopping on the trend?

Threads is the new Mark Zuckerberg-backed rival to Twitter.

The new spin-off app officially launched on July 5^th in one hundred countries. According to a Threads post by Zuckerberg on Wednesday night the service gained over 10 million users in the first 7 hours of being live.

Threads is a direct competitor to Twitter made by Meta, the owners of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Additionally, it is is a “Public conversations app” which allows users to post Photos, videos, and text up to 500 characters.

There is a large focus on making the app compatible with other social media platforms and cross-posting. However, the access to a user’s Threads post will depend on the type of account they hold.

Private accounts will only display their content to people they have approved to follow them. While public accounts content will be visible to all Thread’s users.

This is the same format that Instagram uses and has been carried over to Threads. After its official release on Wednesday 5^th July, the number of active accounts had already risen to 23 million by Thursday morning.

How is Threads different to Twitter?

While Threads is being called a “Twitter clone” by many, there are still some key differences both good and bad.

One of the immediate positive differences is the word limit for the app, Threads posts allow 500 characters while Twitter only allows 280. As mentioned before several types of media can also be shared including links, photos, and videos.

There is currently no trending topics page or hashtags, two characteristics that Twitter are largely credited for. Therefore, all content on your feed will be from either people you know/follow, or content recommended for you.

Positives of Threads

• You can access Threads through your existing Instagram account.
• You can keep your existing Instagram username and find your followers easily.
• Your Threads posts can be managed easily to be visible by “anyone”, “profiles you follow”, or “mentioned only. This gives you great control over who sees your content.
• Meta is taking a “Safety based approach” with Threads. Enforcing Instagram community guidelines on content and interactions. Investing over $16 Billion since 2016 in building teams and technologies to protect users.

Negatives to threads

• You need an Instagram account to use Threads. – if you don’t have one don’t worry! When you create your Threads account it acts as both should you decide to become an Instagram user.
• When posting on the app, you are limited to 500 characters in your text.
• You cannot currently delete your Threads account without deleting your Instagram account too. You can now deactivate your account. however, it is rumoured account deletion will be one of the first changes to be made by Meta.

The business potential of Threads

With the new app, there is an easy crossover and accessibility from your Instagram account. As a result of this, there is some great business potential with this new app.

If your business already posts on Instagram you can quickly and easily set up a Threads account. This could be used purely for text and link promotional content where you could post live updates. Maybe you have a cancellation on an appointment that day, Threads is perfect with its open conversation style platform.

Furthermore, you can simply post text or a photograph with your open appointment and contact details and reach an open audience. This could be greatly utilised by local businesses to reach their followers.

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