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

Threads is a Meta social media app, introduced in 2023 as an alternative to Twitter (now known as X). Many of the creative and cultural organisations and individuals we support have been holding out on signing up for an account to see if the platform will last the distance. As Threads celebrated its first birthday in July 2024, we thought it was time to look at some of the app’s key features and whether you could be using Threads to grow your audience.

What is Threads?

Threads is a micro-blogging app launched by Meta in July 2023. It quickly became the fastest-growing social media platform to-date, with over 100 million users signing up in just 5 days. After this initial flurry, the number of engaged users dropped for a while, but by August 2024 the platform had reached over 200 million monthly active users.

Posts on Threads can contain up to 500 characters of text, links, and up to 10 photos or videos.

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. You need to have an Instagram account to sign up to Threads. Initially it was impossible to delete your Threads account without also deleting your Instagram account. While it is now possible to get rid of Threads without it impacting your Instagram, you can’t do the reverse and delete your Instagram account while staying on Threads.

Which audiences can you reach on Threads?

As Threads requires you to have an Instagram account, most users are also active on Instagram. In a way, Threads exists as an accompanying text-based app for the much more visual Instagram.

In terms of demographics, Threads is one of the younger platforms – over a third of the Threads audience (36.39%) are aged 25-34, while the second biggest age group (19.29%) are 18-24 (here’s the source for these stats). Interestingly, 68% of total users are male, which is similar to X’s audience skew. So, if you are looking to grow your younger male audience, this may be a good platform to choose.

The initial boom in Threads sign-ups was in direct response to everything happening with X in 2023, with Threads positioned as the direct competitor. Part of the appeal of Threads was the promise of it being a ‘kinder’ and friendlier online space without trolls, online pile-ons, and the open hostility exhibited by some audiences on other platforms. Whether the platform delivers on this promise remains to be seen, but one of the features that can help is the ability to curate your feed by removing posts containing specific words or phrases. To do this, head to your account Settings, select “Privacy” and then “Hidden Words”.

10 things to know about how Threads works:

1. Your profile picture, name and @handle will copy over from Instagram. You can’t unsync your name and handle from Instagram, 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 launched its API (application programming interface) in June 2024, meaning that social media tools and schedulers can access the backend of the platform. That means that you can now schedule posts on third party apps like Buffer, Hootsuite, etc. As of August 2024, Meta announced that it will be testing scheduling on the Threads platform itself.
4. Threads launched in-platform analytics on desktop in August 2024. Once you reach 100 followers you can find out more about who’s viewing and interacting with your content using ‘Insights’.
5. There is no advertising function on Threads yet, but this is expected to change soon. There have been signs of the company exploring ads on the platform, but Meta says that “there is no immediate timeline for monetisation.”
6. Threads doesn’t have its own DM (direct messaging,) but instead uses Instagram’s DMs. So, if you share a Threads post with another user by DM it will show up in their Instagram inbox.
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 essentially topic tags rather than a search tool – their purpose is to help you find relevant communities and users to follow. 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. 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 available to users in the UK yet. They were introduced in the United States earlier in 2024 and we presume will continue to be rolled out to other countries soon.

Should creative and cultural organisations and individuals join Threads?

So, is it worth if for a creative or cultural organisation or individual using Threads to grow their 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 growing but is it the right platform to speak to your audience? We know that this audience is predominantly a younger male audience, so, if you’re looking to speak to an older 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.

The recent addition of essential features, like in-platform analytics, makes the young platform a more useful addition to your social media portfolio. It is also worth noting that the platform is continuing to be developed, and features are constantly being tweaked and added.

At only a year old, Threads is still a baby in the world of social media apps. Given its youth, there is naturally some uncertainty about the life span of the app and whether it will continue to grow, which is another factor you may need to consider.

Something which initially prevented people from signing up to Threads is that originally it didn’t have a ‘following’ feed, only a ‘for you’ feed with the posts chosen by AI. This was rectified soon after launch. On the app you can click on the Threads logo at the top of the feed to toggle between recommended posts and posts from accounts you follow. On desktop there is a dropdown to choose between the two.

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) already 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 away from the noise of other social media platforms.
• 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, rather than anything else.
• 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, in 2024 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 year as a solid part of the social media landscape and can be a useful addition to your social toolkit. Whether it will perform as well as some of its competitors remains to be seen, as it’s still in its infancy. For now, 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 reading

What does public sector Threads look like in 2024? – Dan Slee

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.