Wherever there is audience, attention, and access, brands make sure they use it to the fullest. Especially if there is a millennial and Gen Z audience. It is only a matter of time before Threads is added to marketers’ playbooks, experts say. While the platform is ad-free at the moment, there is potential for both creators and brands alike.
“No one’s succeeded at making advertising at scale in the history of the world better than Mark Zuckerberg. Obviously, the volatility around Elon Musk-Twitter now suggests that there is suddenly a genuine opportunity to compete,” said Gautam Reghunath, co-founder at creative agency Talented.
Advertising has never been Twitter’s strong suite, so the arrival of Threads is a huge threat, according to Reghunath.
Even while meme marketers use Twitter aggressively, it has never been a brand favourite. There used to be political advertising at one point, but that too stopped in 2019. There have been talks around relaxation of the ban but there has been no concrete announcement.
What brands said
Marketers are not even comparing the two platforms.
“We are in the world of hyper socialisation. Both Twitter and Threads may have certain similarities, but they serve different purposes. Twitter, for instance, is a platform where policy and politics are often discussed, while Threads, in its current form, seems more personal and private,” said MVS Murthy, CMO at Federal Bank.
From a brand point of view, Murthy said Twitter has been the place where consumers tend to voice their complaints for quick redressal, Threads has the potential to become the platform for campaigns and pitches.
Shubhranshu Singh, Vice President, Marketing, Commercial Vehicle Business, Tata Motors felt the same.
“Twitter is hardly the most aspirational story to motivate the launch of a rival social network. No one else has managed to succeed be it Mastodon or Truth Social but this time Meta has timing and opportunity well identified.
Twitter has lost users and advertising. Its policies have been erratic. Meta is good at copying with pride be it Instagram Stories or Reels,”Singh said.
“If the blue tick monetisation wasn’t bad enough the user paywall may just do the needful to promote Threads.
Yes it will get advertising traction because the overlap audience set with Facebook and insta will be of value,” he added.
Shivani Kamdar, Associate Creative Director at SoCheers, feels that since Instagram is the preferred platform for so many brands, introducing Threads is definitely going to help not just the brands but also Meta in driving a concentrated business.
Will Insta influencers work on Threads?
Where there are brands, there is content and creators. However, creator success is often dependent and restricted to platforms. For instance, even within Meta, a Facebook creator might have a decent follower base on Instagram but not elsewhere.
Ambika Sharma, founder and MD at design, creative, and technology agency Pulp Strategy, said it is not yet clear whether Instagram influencers will automatically be Threads influencers.
However, it is evident from today that Meta is closely integrating threads with Instagram , including automatically following your favourite accounts.
“It is likely that Meta will create opportunities for influencers to migrate their content and followers to Threads. This would make sense as Threads is designed for friends and family, and influencers often have a close relationship with their followers. If this migration is possible, it could be a win-win for both brands and influencers. Brands would be able to reach a wider audience, and influencers would be able to connect with their followers in a personal way,” she said.
A lot depends on algorithms
Even if the initial traction of Threads looks promising, its long-term success will rely heavily on brands’ ability to derive a strong return on investment.
“A key determinant of Threads’ triumph will be the algorithm’s ability to allow brands and creators to experience growth without constant changes,” said Sahil Vaidya, co-founder at digital marketing agency, The Minimalist.
Additionally, as per Vaidya, the platform is still in its early days and will require massive UX upgrades — from serving the right content to ensuring UI fixes — to improve stickiness
“The world of marketing sorely needs new platforms that aren’t suffering from over-monetisation and clutter, and it’ll be interesting to see if Threads can find the right balance to fill that gap,” he added.
Challenges
There are also some potential challenges that brands and influencers will need to consider. For example, Threads is a new platform, and it is not yet clear how it will be monetised. This could make it difficult for brands to measure the ROI of their campaigns on Threads.
“Threads is a more personal platform than Instagram, and this could make it difficult for influencers to share sponsored content. This could limit the opportunities for brands to collaborate with influencers on Threads,” said Sharma.