Threads launched last July in more than 100 countries by the parent company of Facebook, the microblogging social network Threads is now accessible in the 27 countries of the European Union. A powerful operation which did not fail to put X, its direct competitor, at Threads odds.
What are the features of Threads? And how to use the platform? Top Digital Marketing Companies gives you the keys to understanding how it works in four points.
What features Can Be Found on Threads?
On Threads, the functionalities are multiple. We find there :
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- A news feed to scroll endlessly and interact with content posted by other users
- A search bar to find a user or content relating to one or more keywords
- A notifications tab to track replies, reposts, and likes related to content you’ve posted or interacted with
- A Start a new thread feature to publish a text of 500 characters maximum, enriched with an optional voice, image or video
- A profile tab which lists all of your posts, replies and Republications
What are the Differences between Threads, Instagram and X?
News feed, limited number of characters, possibility of interacting in real time with other users via text, gifs, photos and videos: the text conversation application Threads looks, indeed, like X .
The platforms are identical, but with a few differences. Their functionalities are not quite configured in the same way.
- On X, the limit is 250 characters for texts, and 2 minutes 20 for videos. With a limit of 500 characters and 5 minutes on the video side, Threads favors slightly longer content.
- When it comes to hashtags, or tags on Threads, Meta favors more context. On Threads, although it is only possible to create one tag per message, this tag is not limited to a single word.
The elements of distinction can also be found in the philosophy of the two social networks. Where X is singled out for maintaining a climate of hatred conducive to disinformation, Meta intends to make verification, moderation and depoliticized content its trademark. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, now says he is working on “the extension of fact-checking programs” for 2024.
This ambition goes hand in hand with that of creating a “positive and creative space” similar to Instagram, but with a more conversational format. A philosophy that is felt in the user experience, since users on Instagram have the possibility of transposing their Instagram data – identifiers, name, biography, followers, account confidentiality, etc. – directly on the platform. The Threads profile tab also has the same aesthetic as that of Instagram.
Meta intends to play on this ambivalence between X and Instagram to make Threads “a public place for Instagram communities who have never really adopted Twitter”.
What is the benefit of Threads for advertisers and marketing professionals?
We could, rightly, wonder if Threads is of real interest to advertisers: unlike platforms like X or Instagram, Meta’s newborn does not allow advertisers to broadcast paid advertisements. Added to this is a second variable: the retention and engagement capacity of the platform still remains difficult to assess.
This uncertainty explains Méta’s positioning regarding sponsored advertising on its new platform. Mark Zuckerberg’s words are clear: monetization will only be possible when the Silicon Valley teams can decide that “the product works” and that the bar of “1 billion people” engaged will be reached.
Given the level of maturity of the social network, Meta therefore has no interest in authorizing sponsored content: the risks of defection from the network are too high to be able to benefit from it. The more the platform manages to capture a larger audience in a sustainable manner, the more it will be in a comfortable position to move into the monetization field.
In the meantime, the platform is more intended to allow brands to increase their visibility. From Netflix to Amazon, including Coca-Cola, several of them have already created their official accounts.
Where does Threads stand with regard to European Legislation?
Conquering the European market was not an easy task for Méta’s newborn. The Digital Markets Act (DMA), one of the European Union’s major projects in the fight against anti-competitive practices in the digital world, has largely slowed down the deployment of the social network in Europe.
As the version deployed last July did not comply with the DMA, Meta had to offer an alternative for the European market. The European version of Threads allows users to use the platform, without necessarily linking it to an Instagram account. The functionalities for these users are however reduced: they do not have the possibility of interacting with the content.
All that remains is to see how Threads will evolve in the coming months. According to SimilarWeb, the number of daily active users fell by 80% between July and August 2023, on the first version of the platform. In this context, it is on its ability to maintain the attention of users that Meta is expected to turn the corner.
