Does Threads now pack more punch than Twitter?

But fear not, I'm here to steer you through your response to these people and understand the role of Threads for your brand. Given that this app is still completely brand new, I’ll also weigh up some of the early strengths and weaknesses you might want to consider, with some brand examples for good measure.

First of all, yes, it is a threat to Twitter. In the first days since launch, I’ve observed the following themes emerging when it comes to brands on Threads:

• Most brands are just copying and pasting what they already post on Twitter

• Some are experimenting with a less corporate voice

• A few have acquired profiles but haven't yet posted

Adopting your Twitter approach to Threads is an easy win if you want to experiment quickly. I’m loathe to use ‘engagement’ as an indicator of success, however, it’s all I’ve got at the moment in terms of signals. So let's go compare the results from McDonald’s, Burger King and RyanAir who have used the same posts across both channels.

McDonald's

Twitter replies: 10k likes: 196k / Threads replies: 5.8k likes: 36k

Burger King

Twitter replies: 197 likes: 366 / Threads replies: 94 likes: 275

RyanAir

Twitter replies: 23 likes: 831 / Threads replies: 27 likes: 658

With this incredibly robust measure of success, it looks like Twitter still gets more engagement for brands. Perhaps it’s better to try and replicate a different social network on Threads if Twitter still has a place…

The second camp of brands are seeing Threads as a space to try a more playful tone of voice which they likely couldn’t adopt on Twitter because it was a customer service channel or because they might get lots of hate in their replies.

Brands like Screwfix and PlayStation are arguably extending the tone of voice used in their Instagram and TikTok captions into standalone text posts on Threads.

Screwfix

Playstation UK

So with all this early excitement already, do you need to get on Threads?

Recently at a conference in Greece, Michael Corcoran, head of social and content at RyanAir, shared the secrets to its success on TikTok and rather amusingly, the entire premise of his talk was ‘there is no secret, we were just first to the platform so we got lucky’.

Getting in at the start of something new gives you an unfair advantage. It gives you the opportunity to set the benchmark for what good looks like and can be a growth driver for your brand if ‘the shiny new thing’ becomes mainstream. In the case of RyanAir, its goal is to reach as many people as possible to drive brand awareness. Its organic TikTok reach is 26m uniques a week which comes as a result of early adopter luck.

If you are considering launching a Thread account for your brand with your sights set on this potential new growth opportunity, then my advice is to f*** around and find out whilst being conscious of what your brand’s position in the world is.

These brands have been quick off the mark to have a play:

Oreo, known for its childlike wonder and playfulness.

Burger King, cheeky and self-aware.

Netflix, your TV binge bestie.

Even these brands in arguably more ‘serious’ industries are trialing the platform.

Natwest for Business

TfL

Each day that passes, the opportunity to climb to the top gets harder. Until ads are introduced to Threads, getting scale early requires lots of posting. This isn’t exclusive to Threads, but any new social platform that launches comes with a high level of organic experimentation to figure out how to communicate your value to consumers.

If you’re a little less experimental and prefer a process, then I propose asking yourself the following three questions:

1. Is my audience there? Yes/No/Maybe

2. Is there enough people to make a sizable impact? Yes/No

3. What’s the role of this platform in my audience’s lives and therefore what value can my brand then bring?

At the time of writing, Threads had hit 100m+ users in a week, (that stat is now two days out of date so use your imagination). This suggests that the scale is there to deliver an impact to your potential customers.

On the flip side, the strength of Threads will be in the sticking power. Zuck made it incredibly easy to sign up, with an auto-follow and sign-up option being presented to Instagram users. It’s unlikely the user numbers would have been as high if it had launched as a stand-alone app.

In addition to this, at the time of writing the app is not available in the EU as it currently doesn’t comply with the rulings in the EU Digital Markets Act (2022) - as an extension of Instagram the app ports user data between both apps which it can use for advertising purposes. There are of course ways around this.

Jack Dorsey, ex-CEO of Twitter and Founder of Bluesky tweeted the following in response to Threads’ launch:

All your Threads are belong to us https://t.co/FfrIcUng5O pic.twitter.com/V7xbMOfINt

— jack (@jack) July 4, 2023

I don’t see the harm in at least acquiring a profile because this helps to stop other people impersonating your brand in your absence. We don’t need another Twitter Blue impersonation scandal.

Ultimately, the app is less than a week old. Weighing up whether Threads is right for your brand today might have a completely different context in a month’s time. But for what it’s worth, the general sentiment around Threads in my social circle is ‘It’s just like Twitter, but with less hate’.