Here at 24 fingers HQ, we are always ones to jump on a bandwagon. Well, we kind of have to be, in order to be ahead of the latest social media trends, so that we can give you the lowdown on them. Which is why, when Instagram launched Threads this week, we were on that bandwagon faster than you can say Adam Mosseri.
So with that in mind, here’s Instagram Threads, all sewn up for you:
What is Threads?
Threads is Instagram’s answer to Twitter. Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, has said that they wanted to “create a space where [people] could engage in public conversations that is friendly and that is open.”
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The idea behind Treads is to take the engaged community that’s already on Instagram and translate it into a space that emulates Twitter. Meta are prayin’ wishin’ and hopin’ that the community that create such great images, videos, Reels and Stories on Instagram will create the exact same thing on Instagram, only using text.
How do I get started on Threads?
One of the interesting and most excellent things about Threads is that it uses your Instagram profile. If you already have an Instagram account, setting up your Threads account should be seamless; just log in using your Instagram handle, and you’ll be given the options to not only import your bio and profile picture from Instagram, but you’ll also be able to follow everyone that you already follow on Insta.
From here, if you’re an existing user of Twitter, or simply vaguely tech savvy, you’ll find the Threads interface very simple to use. You’ll have a 500 character count to play with, and you can add up to 10 photos or videos.
You’ll also need to be aware that Threads doesn’t currently support hashtags; you can certainly use them in posts but they’re not clickable and do not affect your post’s reach. It also has an algorithm which will show you posts that it thinks you’ll like; it’s not clear yet how accurate this will be in terms of whether they actually are posts that will interest you or not, but time will tell 😬.
How can businesses benefit from it?
As with anything new, at the moment it will all be about experimenting with Threads to see how it could work for your brand and company’s social media presence. At the moment we can see that it’s great if you have more text-based messages to put out, without the need to think of a visual to go with it. However, we can see that as with most social media platforms, an image will always be more eye catching than simply text alone. Plus with all things social media, make sure you’ve got the time to devote to building up your presence on (yet another) social media platform.
If nothing else, it’s worth taking a look and seeing if you can get your brand in front of different people; we’re noticing quite a few followers on Threads who are not following us on Instagram, so there’s definitely fresh blood threads there.
Our initial thoughts on Threads? It’s got the best of Instagram all stitched up
So we’ve been playing around with Threads for the last two days, and it’s certainly got our 24 fingers tapping. It feels like the best of Instagram, if Instagram were text heavy; we love that the feed is chronological (whether this will remain as the app gets bigger remains to be seen) and doesn’t have a scroll limit, although beware that the lack of scroll limit can have your (24) fingers falling down a rabbit hole of ever-intwining threads.
You also have the same sort of controls as you do on Insta, such as limiting who can reply to you and hiding like counts. It has a clean look and feel, too, which makes it very easy on the eye.
So far, the verdict is in, and we’re giving Threads a very high thread count: it’s certainly the most excited we’ve been about a new social media platform for a while. And with Threads hitting 15 million users in the first 12 hours after its launch, it seems that other people are in stitches about Threads, too.
Want help with Threads? We’ll get you all sewn up: get in contact today.
