With the recent controversy surrounding X and Elon Musk’s management of it, could Threads be the new social media app everyone’s on? A direct competitor to X, Threads has gained an unprecedented amount of users owing to its connection with Instagram. Yet, within a week the app lost almost half of its active users. Here we break down everything you need to know about Threads, and if it’s worth jumping on the bandwagon.
Should your finance brand be on Threads?
New social media apps often come onto the scene, but none have made as big of an impact in such a short amount of time as Threads. Linked to Instagram, Threads broke records by reaching over 150 million users within two weeks before half of these users dropping off almost a week later.
In direct competition with X, Threads allows users to create and share short, ephemeral messages. Still in its early stages of development, this new social media app could be a valuable tool for financial marketers.
When any brand joins a social media app for the first they should always utilise test and learn content marketing at the beginning. As executive creative director of The Dubs, Tristan Fawley explains, “As Threads is currently organic publishing only, any brand presence will be to test and learn.”
He adds, “It’s an opportunity to test how audiences interact on a new platform but my recommendation would be to start small and scale over time once audience engagement data is available.”
Pros and cons for financial marketers
Adopting new social media platforms comes with potential risks as well as a variety of pros and cons. Fawley explains the first few months can be the most risky with new social platforms.
“ Threads broke records by reaching over 150 million users within two weeks. ”
“It’s an opportunity to lead the field, but it comes with potential risk. The verification process is limited to ‘blue tick’ status (taken from Instagram) and doesn’t differentiate between individuals and brands. So, like any platform expansion, measures to minimise brand risk such as increased monitoring should be applied whilst in this early adoption phase.”
Pros:
- First mover advantage: By being an early adopter, your finance brand can gain a competitive advantage by establishing itself as a thought leader in the industry.
- Increased brand awareness: Being on a new platform can help to increase brand awareness and reach a new audience.
- Data-driven insights: New platforms can offer valuable data-driven insights that can help your finance brand to better understand its customers and target its marketing efforts more effectively.
- Testing and learning: New platforms can be a great way to test and learn new marketing strategies. This can help your finance brand to improve its results over time.
Cons:
- Platform failure: There is always the risk a new platform will fail. While Threads broke records for most user signups, engagement metrics plunged within one week, highlighting momentum may have stalled and gone backwards.
- Platform changes: New platforms are constantly evolving, which can make it difficult for financial marketers to keep up. This can lead to missed opportunities and ineffective marketing campaigns.
- Budget: Sometimes it can lead to wasted budget and ineffective use of spend.
What content will thrive on Threads?
According to Fawley X can be a great source of inspiration for Threads marketing content.
“As Threads is a competitor to X it makes sense to treat its content in the same way.” He explains, “Leverage X content first, test and learn what engages with audiences and then tailor it over time.”
Threads offers financial marketers another opportunity to adopt a multi-platform approach when it comes to content marketing. “A multi-platform strategy allows brands to reach audiences in different ways,” shares Fawley. “This leads to opportunities to blend niche and broader targeting, different targeting price points and different ad formats (editorial, video, carousels, etc.). This then allows the data to drive optimisation and increase engagement and cost-efficiency.”
X vs Threads
Amongst the recent controversy with X, Threads poses a nice opportunity for financial marketers to move to a ‘safer’ social platform that’s inherently the same. However, is this a good move?
Threads definitely hasn’t taken over X. X remains the dominant platform but this doesn’t mean financial marketers shouldn’t consider abandoning Threads. With the continued changes of X and controversies after Musk’s take over, Threads is a good option for financial marketers to utilise.
No one has missed the recent controversies at X, but how have they potentially impacted brands on the site? Fawley explains, “They have had an impact, but equally should be seen in the context of any social media platform.” He continues, “Hate speech, for example, isn’t unique to X and there are active ways brands can mitigate risk of their ads appearing alongside less desirable content. In addition, X is continuing to evolve how it downweights hate content.”
When it comes to other alternatives to X Fawley says, “Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram should be considered for B2B audiences. They can deliver very cost effective results and offer similar targeting options to LinkedIn.”
“In addition, blending social with alternative distribution platforms like Dianomi, Outbrain and Google Ads allows for budget optimisation whilst testing new ways to reach audiences,” adds Fawley.
Overall, the decision of whether or not to be an early adopter of any new social media platform is a complex one. There are a number of factors to consider, such as the size of your target audience, your budget, and your marketing goals. If you’re willing to take on the risks and are strategic, being an early adopter can be a great way to gain a competitive advantage and grow your organic audience.
