It’s perhaps unsurprising that Twitter is now threatening to sue the newly launched Threads app by Meta. After all, the social media app nicknamed the “Twitter Killer”, had over 30 million downloads within the first 24 hours of its launch. This comes on the heels of Twitter struggling with dipping ad revenues, a chaotic management style, and a content moderation war being waged by internet trolls.
Built on the backbone of Meta’s Instagram app, the download and signing up process is seamless, giving you access to all your Instagram contacts and other followed accounts. While the newly-minted Threads is presently ad-free, there are no prizes for guessing that the app hopes to displace Twitter as the world’s public square and siphon away its ad revenues.
Puneet Bajaj, VP, Strategy, FCB Kinnect says that no doubt this is a timely move by Meta, given the waning confidence in Twitter over the last few months. But how Threads performs will depend on multiple factors.
“One, the inertia of the existing IG users in embracing a text-heavy format, given their affinity towards pictorial and video content. Secondly, the willingness of the active Twitter users to consider Threads as a viable (and better) alternative,” he says, adding that both these points will depend on how Meta advertises Threads and which audience it pushes the product to.
“Given Meta’s pervasiveness in the advertising ecosystem, I’m expecting an aggressive push from their sales team to their clients to start using the platform. How fast and big that usage becomes is something which will depend on the users who flock to the app and the way Meta promotes it,” adds Bajaj.
Oindrila Roy, Managing Director, Publicis Worldwide likes many things about it already, apart from the easy signup and easy access to followed accounts. "I like the excited posts announcing their fastest follower counts, indicating its instant popularity. By and large, the chatter on Threads has been interesting. It’s heartening to see that some quick-witted brands are already having fun on the platform."
Opportune moment?
The launch of Thread, Twitter's rival, expands advertising opportunities with a broader user base and cross-data mining capabilities. “This enables advertisers to create precise and targeted campaigns based on detailed audience insights. The unconventional rivalry between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk raises speculation about their motives, leading to increased interest from consumers and marketers,” points out Naman Surana, National Business Director, FoxyMoron, Zoo Media, while observing it remains unclear if this tactic aims to drive rivalry or eventually merge for market dominance, but the strategy is generating significant attention and engagement.
Shrenik Gandhi, Co-founder and CEO, White Rivers Media agrees that with Threads seamlessly integrating with Meta’s advertising ecosystem, advertisers can leverage their existing ad campaigns and data to enhance their reach and efficiency on the app.
“However, competing established platforms like Instagram and Twitter will pose stiff competition as they already command a significant advertiser’s share of attention and budget. The app’s timing of launch is particularly interesting given Twitter’s ongoing period of changes and challenges,” he says.
Indeed, Threads has already invited some advertisers, mostly entertainment entities like Netflix and Bravo, to test out advertising on the platform.
Shivani Kamdar, Associate Creative Director, SoCheers, who downloaded the app and went through it, was struck by the similarities to it and Twitter. “But when I put myself in the advertiser's shoes and look at this move, I think it's a great move by and for Meta. It's no secret that Instagram is the platform of choice for so many brands, and now introducing a P1-P2 platform that is definitely going to help not just the brands but Meta drive in a concentrated business.”
This for a fact helps as Twitter clearly is struggling in the ad world as a platform, while Meta meticulously and strategically embraced the only thing that pushed the brand onto the platform: threads. “Brands and marketers mostly consider Twitter for creating Twitter "threads" or banters (both text-based),” adds Kamdar.
“The world of Twitter is a meme-heavy, text-based one. Bringing an experience like that to Instagram (a place where we have a curated, image heavy space) means that advertisers are now looking at some very interesting storytelling possibilities,” notes Hayden Scott, Creative Head APAC, Virtue Worldwide.
“We can have a running commentary on a series of images (Threads allows us to post up to 10 images) or we could play with multiple-choice Bandersnatch style storytelling...the possibilities are endless,” says Scott, adding, “Given that it has very meticulously cloned the best aspects of Twitter and added a few extra features, I see it doing very well. I do have privacy concerns but that's a Meta thing in general...”
Indeed, Threads has already been flagged as collecting far more user data than Twitter (watch this space for more), and experts are advising caution before unraveling all on Threads, especially for advertisers, many of whom have already gotten burned at different social media altars.
… or waiting game?
Samir Asher, Co-founder & COO, Tonic Worldwide, points out that there's naturally an early euphoria and a rush to try a new platform. “However, it’s too early for advertisers to invest in the platform. There are obvious comparisons with Twitter, the biggest advantage is that it syncs with your Instagram contacts and followers instantly creating an ecosystem for engagement.”
"It’s like a new restaurant or a pub in town. In the initial days, every curious person drops in and it's buzzing, what happens to it eventually is oftentimes unpredictable. In the meanwhile, I - the perennial curious bystander, am currently enjoying the eyes of full stories that the platform is dishing out," adds Roy.
“It is too early to say it is a threat to Twitter, in my opinion. We have seen lots of social media platforms, which have come and gone. There should be a reason for people to shift from an existing platform where they are active. Download does not mean active usage. We have to wait and watch how Thread fares compared to Twitter. Advertisers will also wait before they start exploring a new platform for advertisement,” asserts Rohit Varma, Founder, narrative.
Hitarth Dadia, CMO and Partner at Nofiltr Group, agrees that from an advertiser's perspective, it may be premature to capitalize on the current hype. Instead, they could join threads and share content related to their own brand, following the example of other brands that create lighthearted posts.
“In the meantime, I suggest the brand takes a more observatory approach, monitoring user demographics to gain insight into the age groups that are joining. While we may have our assumptions, the data will provide a clearer picture. Therefore, I recommend waiting at least seven days to assess the direction threads are heading,” he says.
Sanjay Deshmukh, CEO at Garage Worldwide, says that when regarding Meta's extensive user base on Instagram and Facebook, the ability to use the same username on Threads creates a smart integration. Even if Threads manages to attract only a fraction of Instagram users, it can still be considered a promising start.
“However, building a community of users on a text-based platform like Threads may not be as straightforward as on a visually oriented platform like Instagram. The success of Thread will depend on its ability to attract high-profile user accounts whose opinions hold significance, similar to what contributed to Twitter's success,” says Deshmukh.
The positioning of Threads is yet to be understood, unlike Twitter, which has established itself as a platform for breaking news and unfiltered access to opinions, although not always consistently. The direction Threads takes will ultimately determine the type of audience it can attract.
As Gandhi concludes, “'Conversations' are the true social currency for content creators and brands, and 'Threads' comes bearing profits! The success of ‘Threads’ doesn't necessarily mean the failure of other platforms. In fact, it is an exciting time for social media, where competition can drive growth and innovation for the benefit of users and marketers alike.”
