Should you be using Threads to grow your social media audience?

Threads is a social media app, introduced in 2023 as a text-based alternative to Twitter (now known as X). It’s owned by Meta and tied to your Instagram account, making it easy to sign up and post to the Threads platform. While the app began as an alternative to X, it’s since come into its own with a large, loyal audience using the platform daily. 

What is Threads? 

Threads is a micro-blogging app. On its launch in 2023 it quickly became one of the fastest-growing social media platform to-date, with over 100 million users signing up in just 5 days. By January 2026, the platform had around 450 million monthly active users and for the first time has overtaken X in daily active mobile device users.  

Posts on Threads can have up to 500 characters of text in the main post, links, and up to 10 photos or videos. You can also add additional longer text (up to 10,000 characters) using the text attachment feature. 

The Threads app is available on Android and iOS and a desktop browser version is also available. 

Threads is linked with Instagram, Meta’s photo and video sharing social media app. In the UK, you need to have an Instagram account to create a Threads profile, although Meta has been experimenting with alternate sign-up options in some parts of Europe. You can delete or deactivate your Threads profile while keeping your Instagram account active but deleting your Instagram account will also remove your Threads profile.  

Which audiences can you reach on Threads? 

Most Threads users are also active on Instagram due to the connection between the platforms. In a way, Threads exists as an accompanying text-based app for the much more visual Instagram. 

In terms of audience demographics, Threads is one of the younger platforms – 28.8% of users are aged 25-34, and 20.4% are 18-24. Over 57% of users are male. So, if you are looking to grow your younger male audience, this may be a good platform to choose. 

Part of the appeal of Threads was to escape the trolls and hostile interactions on platforms like X. While many users do find the experience less hostile than on X, negative interactions such as harassment, provocative replies, and engagement bait still occur on Threads – as they do on all social networks. 

14 things to know about how Threads works: 

1. Your name and @handle will copy over from Instagram and you can’t unsync them, but you can change your profile picture. 
2. A useful aspect of the platform is that you can auto-follow everyone you follow on Instagram, so accounts have a head-start on growing their audiences rather than starting from zero. 
3. Threads offers native in-platform scheduling on desktop and mobile, or you can use third-party social media tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, and Sprout Social to schedule posts. 
4. Once you reach 100 followers, you can access Insights to see who is viewing and interacting with your posts. Analytics are available on desktop and mobile, showing metrics like impressions, interactions, and audience demographics. 
5. Threads now has advertising in the UK, including static, video, and carousel ads. While ad formats are still expanding, businesses and creators can now run campaigns to reach audiences within the platform. 
6. You can only use Threads direct messaging (DMs) on the mobile app, this function doesn’t work on desktop.
7. You can cross-post from Instagram and Facebook to Threads. 
8. Hashtags work differently on Threads. Unlike on other platforms, here you can only use one hashtag per post. These are topic tags – their purpose is to categorise posts and connect them to topic feeds or relevant communities. The tag text in your post will be highlighted in blue. Also, unlike any other social media platform, you can use spaces and punctuation in these tags. 
9. You can edit posts after publishing. The ability to edit posts was always the most requested feature on Twitter, and Meta clearly paid attention, including this functionality early on. 
10. Trending topics are not yet available to UK users. While Threads has launched an official trending topics feature in the United States, it has not been rolled out to other countries, including the UK. 
11. Threads allows you to attach longer text (up to 10,000 characters) via a ‘text attachment’. This is key for creators who want to publish longer content without splitting it across multiple posts. 
12. Threads has introduced ghost posts – are temporary posts that disappear from public view after 24 hours. These show up in followers’ feeds with a special icon and auto‑archive after a day. Unlike regular posts, replies to ghost posts go privately to your inbox and are not publicly visible, which can encourage more spontaneous, casual sharing. 
13. You can switch between a ‘For you’ feed with recommended posts and a ‘Following’ feed which only shows content from accounts you’re following. To toggle between the two, on the app click on the two horizontal lines top left, and on desktop there’s a dropdown box at the top centre of the page. 
14. An AI-powered feature called ‘Dear Algo’ lets you tell Threads what you want to see more or less of in your feed. To use it you type ‘Dear Algo’ in a public Threads post, followed by what you want to see more or less of. 

Should creative and cultural organisations and individuals join Threads? 

So, as a creative or cultural organisation or individual should you be using Threads to grow your audience? Let’s get into it. 

There are two things to consider before you rush off to incorporate any new social media site into your toolkit:

1. Do you have the capacity for a new platform?

Are there the staff resources available to use another social media platform? Think about the time and skills required to create posts, monitor responses, engage with the audience, and build up a new online community. Remember, Threads is a text-based platform, so the goal is to have conversations, not just pop on a post and disappear. 

If the answer to whether you have capacity is “no”, but you think Threads would be useful, then is there another platform you can retire or spend less time on? Or other tasks that can be cut to make time?

2. Are your audience here?

The audience on Threads is large and catching up to X’s audience size now, but is it the right platform to speak to your audience? We know that this audience is skewed towards a younger male audience, so, if you’re looking to speak to an over 60s local female audience, for instance, then your efforts may be better invested in Facebook activities. 

It is better to be using a few platforms effectively than trying to spread yourself thinly across as many social media apps as possible. 

If you have the capacity and it feels like a good fit for you, then Threads can be effective in growing your audience and building communities. The platform integrates directly with Instagram, making it a useful addition to your Meta portfolio. Threads is designed to be the text-based sister app of Instagram, where you can expand on the visuals and videos you share there, to tell your stories and connect with your audience. Social media is all about entertaining, educating and informing. With Threads you can share detailed updates on your progress, talk about your subject, passion, and experiences, share the inspiration and meanings behind your work or the story of your organisation. 

Still undecided? Here are some questions to ask yourself. 

• Are other organisations, artists, or individuals that you work with (or would like to work with) on Threads? It is worth having a poke around on the platform to see who you know and how actively they are using it. It could be a place to have conversations and form meaningful relationships. 
• What is your objective in using Threads? Are you looking to grow your reach and raise awareness of your organisation? Increase audience engagement with your work and posts? Are you hoping to get more people subscribing to your newsletter or buying tickets? Understanding your objectives will help to shape what you use the platform for and identify whether it is right for you. Text-based social media platforms are great for storytelling and having conversations so Threads might be more useful for chatting with your audience and driving up awareness and engagement. 
• Is your brand tone of voice on Threads going to be different to other platforms? Some organisations have used new platforms to try out something entirely different that will appeal to a new audience – for example, RSPB’s TikTok personality is completely different to their presence on other platforms. Sometimes a fresh platform will give you an opportunity to experiment and to use your findings on other channels. 

In summary 

Whereas in the past there were a few staple social media platforms that everyone used, nowadays there are lots of different platforms with new ones springing up all the time. It would be impossible for most organisations or individuals to effectively run accounts across every platform, and the return on investment would not be worth the time spent. Therefore, you need to choose the platforms that work for you, within your resources or capacity, depending on who and where your audiences are. 

Threads has established itself over the last few years as a solid part of the social media landscape and can be a useful addition to your social toolkit. You may want to consider including Threads in your marketing strategy if you’re looking for a text-based alternative (or addition!) to X, or as a place to experiment with your social media content, creatives, and brand style. 

If you are still not sure whether Threads is right for you or you would like to take a closer look at your social media presence, reach out to Digital Culture Network today for free one-to-one support from our Social Media Tech Champion. 

Further support

The Digital Culture Network is here to support you and your organisation. Our Tech Champions can provide free one-to-one support to all creative and cultural organisations who are in receipt of, or eligible for, Arts Council England funding. If you need help or would like to chat with us about any of the advice we have covered above, please get in touch. Sign up for our newsletter below and follow us on X (Twitter) @ace_dcn for the latest updates.