As I write this blog Threads by Instagram is just 24 hours old
It has over 50 million users.
I signed up just after midnight as was user number 85,656.
As many people are considering is the only really serious contender for a Twitter competitor, we take a look at the Pros Of Threads by Instagram and also the Cons Of Threads By Instagram.
This blog is correct as of 7th July 2023 – but I imagine as it’s a Work in Process they’ll try and overcome the cons listed below
PROS OF THREADS BY INSTAGRAM
SIGN UP FOR THREADS
The Easiest sign-up process I’ve ever had on social media – 3 clicks and I was set up
I wish all sign up processes were this easy and it’s unusual for Meta to make things this easy.
We’ve all been there and struggled with Meta Business Suite.
My hope is that Meta learns from this and simplify Facebook / Business Suite up.
FOLLOWER GROWTH ON THREADS
Threads is connected to your Instagram account – so you can opt to automatically follow your Instagram following list
Within hours I had 72 followers and 24 hours later I have over 500 followers
It means that when i’m posting engagement happens instantly rather than waiting to build an audience.
Interestingly the same posts I’ve posted on Twitter and Threads – Threads are out performing them in terms of engagement.
I’m also seeing people that follow me on Instagram engaging on threads, despite them rarely engaging on Instagram.
NO TOXICITY (YET) ON THREADS
I’ve put the yet in brackets because it’s early days and sadly only a matter of time before people ruin it.
I’ve already unfollowed one person involved in politics because I can see already they’re wanted to take the politics of twitter over to threads.
If we look at all the things that ruined Twitter it was politics and hate – Brexit, Trump, The Pandemic and all the isms
We need to keep threads a safe space that doesn’t turn into a ranting playground.
BETTER QUALITY COPY ON THREADS
One thing Instagram is terrible for – copywriting.
People are still in the mindset of a pretty picture / viral sound is enough and to hell with the words that go with it.
All of the poor elements of Instagram aren’t going to work on Threads as it’s about the power of language and communication.
Experience Twitter users have the trump card here.
They know the power from the days of 140 / 280 characters.
Now is time to up your game and start considering that words have power!
CONS OF THREADS BY INSTAGRAM
THE THREADS NEWSFEED SHOWS YOU PEOPLE YOU DON’T FOLLOW / NO CHRONOLOGICAL FEED
Ok
We’re used to that on Twitter.
On TikTok we love it.
It’s still a little frustrating to see irrelevant people in your newsfeed. Since joining I’ve seen posts from Leeds United and Cold War Steve – I have no interest in either.
And since this is supposed to be a real time social network, there is a lack of chronological feed – which they’ve already said they’re not addressing.
LACK OF SEARCH ON THREADS
You can only search for people rather than topics or keywords.
Serious limitations here and if we’re comparing it to Twitter this is where it falls down.
I post about Social Media, Marketing, Business and Altrincham / Manchester – you’ll only see those posts if you follow me or it randomly pops into your feed.
You can’t search for content like that which means discoverability is an issue.
CONVERSATION TOPICS
This will be short term
At the moment it’s everyone talking about threads (because it’s the 1st day) – but give it 2 weeks and the topics will be more varied
NO INSIGHTS / ANALYTICS
It’s a work in progress and you can see how many likes and comments you have, but you can’t see the overall reach of your posts.
As a marketer this is often one of the measurements so it would be good to know as a comparison point with other platforms.
LACK OF SCHEDULING
Is this a con or pro?
It depends on how you look at it.
On one side you’ve got the lack of scheduling means lack of posting in ghosting
On the other hand, it’s stressful to have another place to post where you can’t use tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, Agorapulse etc
As a social media manager having all these platforms to be on is so stressful – luckily yourself as a business owner you don’t have to be on every platform.
NO EDIT BUTTON
“I’ve already made a typo” was one of the comments from a follower.
An edit button is something people have wanted on twitter for years.
And Threads hasn’t delivered.
It would have been an easy win here.
NO MULTIPLE ACCOUNT OPTIONS
On Twitter and Instagram you can switch between a number of accounts.
On threads you have to log out and back in again to switch.
So if you have a personal threads and a business threads account it’s a barrier.
It’s also the reason why we’re saying to clients at the moment – we can’t manage your threads at the moment.
SITTING ON THE FENCE ABOUT THREADS BY INSTAGRAM
Does Twitter still seem more exciting or is this the place to be?
I’m still unsure.
What are your initial thoughts?
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