Threads: The business of social media is filled with as much drama and entertainment as the feeds themselves. After a few years of Twitter tantrums (sorry, we are still getting used to calling it X), we have Zuckerberg and Musk threatening to don fighting shorts and treat us all to a cage fight!

Leaving all the fun aside, what are the chances of Threads dethroning Twitter (Sorry again, X)? We would say Meta-backed Threads has done some things very right, and overall, the future looks fairly bright for it.

1. The Timing Couldn’t Be Better

With X’s (yes, we are getting into the habit of using its new name) unending in-house drama and negative press, it is no surprise that competitors were circling for a chance to take over their market share. Threads release was perfectly timed to take advantage of a wobbling Twitter, and it paid dividends immediately. Threads crossed 100 million users in just a week!

2. Brand Positioning

While the format mimics X/Twitter and the brand is making an obvious play for Twitter users, it has been very careful to present itself as a community-first model. A positive, apolitical space, Threads emphasises storytelling and nudges people to post curated content that is more immersive, rather than the real-time news-like model followed by X.

Naturally, this provides a good contrast to the negative controversy surrounding Twitter/X for the last few years.

3. Backed by Meta’s Power

User loyalty and exhaustion make launching a new platform hard work; it takes sustained marketing and support to reach the critical mass of virality. Fortunately for Threads, money and reach are not problems. Belonging to the Meta portfolio ensures that it will be given the resources and the time to grow into a stable and popular community platform. Threads has already gone down in history as the fastest-ever app to surge past 150 MILLION downloads. 

Does a Strong Start Guarantee Inevitable Success?

Well, it can’t hurt! However, acceptance of social media platforms has been notoriously hard to predict or replicate. Despite a boardroom full of strategists, one cannot deny that there is an ephemeral ‘something’ that guards the dividing line between virality and mediocrity. It cannot be manufactured; however, there are several ‘checkboxes’ a social media platform can tick to make success easier to come. Let’s see how Threads fared on these points:

Usefulness

Different users are looking for different things from a new platform. Threads offers casual users a safe space where discussions and interactions are nurturing. They also benefit from the close relationship between Instagram and Threads, which makes the transition to a new platform very seamless.

For businesses and advertisers, Threads presents a fresh, uncluttered canvas to showcase their brands that is unblemished by controversies. However, at present, there is no way for businesses to leverage paid promotional opportunities; it is organic all the way!

Scale

Twitter/X is a notoriously hard platform to build a large following on, especially for new businesses. Its ad platform is expensive, and the ROI of organic content strategies is low. Threads gives everyone—businesses and users—a level playing field where they can build new communities from scratch.

People want to be where their friends and target audiences are. As Meta reached scale almost immediately and gave its users all the functionalities of Twitter without any of its problems, audiences looking for a viable Twitter/X option are seriously considering the switch.

Too Enmeshed With Instagram?

Threads seems almost like an extension of Instagram in a different avatar. The login is with Instagram account credentials, and the accounts are linked. While this provides a smooth experience, it also presents a problem, as you cannot delete a Threads account without also losing the Instagram profile.

Also, unlike the political and breaking news focus of X, Threads leans more towards leveraging its Instagram following, dotting the Threads feed with celebrities, influencers, and brands.

The format and the brand positioning might be angled towards eating into Twitter’s user base, but Threads has a totally different vibe, and it remains to be seen how users react to it.

What Will Tomorrow Bring?

The answer to the Threads vs. Twitter battle depends on how you frame the question.

If the question is, will Threads become more popular than Twitter? Then the answer is – very possibly! It is already on its way to becoming the next big social platform, and the might of Meta will ensure it stays around to gain followers.

On the other hand, if the question is: will it replace Twitter? Well, that’s not 100% in the bag. People are looking for an alternative to Twitter, and Threads provides one, but it is not Twitter/X. Will it ever become one? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, if you need to establish a solid foundation for your brand on Threads, then as an experienced social media marketing agency, we can help! 150 MILLION to get ahead of your competitors.