It's here. Meta's text based app for sharing updates and joining conversations - that's how they're describing it of course.

But what is it? Should you be using it to market your business and if you don't want to, what does that mean? Is being on Threads detrimental to the success of your business? Highly unlikely.

With over 100 million downloads in 5 days though it looks like it's here to stay. So as a business owner, as a consumer, how can we use it?

In this solo episode of the Podcast I address all of this and more.

And PS - a reminder that this app is less than a week old and no one is yet an expert. In this episode I sharemy thoughts, opinions and ideas that have come from my own research and observations over the last week. 

Connect with Kristy

Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristypask/

Visit my website to learn more about working with me: https://kristypask.com/

Episode Transcript:

If you’ve been on any other of Meta’s platforms, Facebook or Instagram you will no doubt have seen that last week they launched a new social platform, Threads. 

And that is what we are going to dive into a little deeper today. What is Threads? Is it worth it? Should you be using it? How can you use it to market your business? And is it here to stay?

I myself have received quite a few of these questions from people this week, and I’ve also asked myself quite a few of these questions in this last week as well. 

What is it? Meta themselves have described it as a text based app designed for sharing text based updates and joining public conversations. I will however add that photo, video and external links can be added to posts, however the focus of the app is text based. 

In less than a week we’ve already seen around 100 million people sign up to Threads making it the fastest growing app in history. Based on that I also think we can safely say, it’s here to stay.

People online have described it as Meta’s competition to Twitter, and if all the rumours are true and if Elon really is threatening to sue Mark Zuckerberg and Meta for poaching employees to help them build their app, then it could be looked at as direct competition for Twitter. 

But what does this mean for you, the consumer, the business owner, and should you be using Threads as part of your marketing strategy? 

First off, I want to address a narrative that if you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while or if you’ve connected with me over on Instagram, you’ll know I strongly disagree with and I do not like…

And that is that you MUST or Have to or you need to get onto Threads ASAP, and if you don’t you’ll miss out and your business will suffer for it. 

You do not need to do anything and at this stage, if you have zero interest in getting on Threads, if the thought of it immediately makes you feel overwhelmed, pressured or just plain ikky, don’t do anything - your business will not suffer if you do not join Threads. 

What I wanted to do today was really dive into what we do know about the app, what are we seeing as some of the benefits of joining and how are businesses using it effectively, right now - remembering we are about 1 week into launch and absolutely no one is an expert just yet - even the Meta and Threads teams are still learning and it’s going to keep changing and evolving for some time.

Meta themselves have said content is lightly ranked, however they will be continuing to refine this and at this stage we’re not sure where it will land, there is also no paid advertising within the app, which of course will change over the coming months also. 

So how is this app different from other new social media app launches, before we get into it I just want to remind you these are my thoughts, my opinions and everything I am about to share with you has come from my own research and observations and I have no doubt that in a few months time things will look very different than what they do right now. 

One of the most interesting things about joining the threads app is that because it is an Instagram App - you create your account using your Instagram login and at the click of one button you are able to integrate or migrate all of your info - your user name, bio, external links etc into your Threads profile. 

From there, at the click of a single button again, you can follow everyone from your Instagram community that has already joined Threads, as new people join, they will automatically follow you, and you will automatically be connected with them.

So instantly you have a built in community, there is no searching for people to follow, no trying to look up hashtags - you are quite literally connected with people you already know, you already have a relationship with, inside the app.

This is the way it currently works, will it be like this forever, we don’t know - so if you’re thinking of joining early, this is definitely one of the pro’s.

What we are seeing now, one week in is that people are loving and thriving in this casual, conversational environment, this is not yet a place for selling - and people are very vocal about not wanting to be sold to inside this app, at this time. 

At the moment, we’re seeing a lot of conversation, a lot of questions - like: what’s the best piece of advice you ever received? How would you do x? Lot of conversations, information sharing, connecting. 

We’re seeing lots of quotes, so people reciting famous inspirational quotes, also people making statements and offering nuggets of wisdom and inspiration, designed to help others.

What’s currently going on is also making it a great platform for market research, a good place to ask questions, gather information, test ideas and get feedback. The algorithm, and the lower number of users to other platforms at the moment also means your content is very likely to end up being delivered to your community, when your community comments, they’re comment and your post are also shown to their community, so it is a good way to see some extra reach. 

So far, it’s been nice to see a slightly different side to some people - people are labeling themselves are spicier, rawer, funnier and more candid on the platform, but truthfully, while I do love this, I don’t quite understand why they aren’t showing this side to themselves on other platforms, and also finding the so called spicier side to some, is a little ruder and less understanding and empathetic towards others, which I personally don’t love and am finding really interesting at the moment, it’ll be really interesting to see where this lands. 

So if you’re not on Threads should you join, and if you are how should you be using it?

At this stage I want to say join if you feel called to, and if it’s not yet for you please know that not joining the platform right now isn’t going to be detrimental to the success of your business. 

Have some fun, if you don’t yet feel ready to start conversations just join them, get to know people, keep it light, let your full personality shine and just be you. 

Use it to connect with your people, find people who share your interests, who love to speak about what you love to speak about, people you can go deep with. 

With the click of a button people can come across and join you on Instagram so if they love your vibe on Threads, if they like what you’re about they can very easily come and connect with you over on Instagram too. 

You have no doubt seen a lot of content sharing across the 2 platforms, it’s very easy to create a thread and share to Instagram, be it to stories or your feed, so this provides a really great, really easy option for you to create one piece of content across 2 platforms.

One last thing that I wanted to mention about the launch of Threads, is that Meta themselves have said they launched it before it was perfect, before it was ready - but they just knew they needed to get it out there.

They’re now refining and adapting and working it out as they go. 

So if there is something you are waiting on doing, on launching, on creating, let this be a reminder to you that now might just be the right time. Don’t hold back. Just get it out there, done is always better than perfect, this also gives you a chance to get feedback, to learn what people really need and want from you so you can adapt and grow and make changes as you need to also. 

Please get in touch and let me know. Are you on Threads? Will you be joining Threads? How would you like to use it?

And of course if you have any questions please hit me up - find me over on Insta at KristyPask, any questions at all, about Threads, Social Media, Marketing and anything in between. 

Thank you so much for joining me today, I do hope this episode helped you - I’ll catch you again next week.