Is Threads the answer to Twitter’s problems?

Instagram Threads by Meta launched on Thursday 6 July, and within the day, gained over 30 million sign-ups. This new app has gained a lot of hype over the past few weeks, and we’ve been testing it out to see how it fairs. 

As the future of Twitter remains uncertain, it seems like Threads has come at the perfect time. But the question is, does it tick all the boxes?

Here’s some information on this new social media platform and how it impacts charity comms professionals: 

How does it work? 

To sign up for Threads, you have to have an Instagram account because the two are inextricably linked. As soon as you’ve logged in, it asks if you want to follow all the accounts you already follow on Instagram. 

In one post, you can have up to 500 characters, including images, gifs, and videos of up to 5 minutes in length. 

It looks a lot like Twitter – short text-based pieces of content, likes and reposts, and you can quote a thread similar to quote tweeting. 

Is it worth setting up an account? 

Definitely see how it works and have a play around with it. However, it’s worth assessing whether it’s right for your charity before diving straight into it. Don’t feel as if you need to rush into it just because there’s hype around it at the moment.  

The key thing to think about is your audience. Will they also be there? Although it now has had around 150 million sign-ups, it doesn’t mean that your particular audience will be on it yet, so review and strategise first. 

Does it have any downfalls? 

It doesn’t have important features for comms professionals 

• It’s completely linked to Instagram, so if you delete Threads, you delete your Instagram account. Unfortunately, the two can’t be separated. 
• It’s an app, not a website, and therefore difficult to use if you’re a comms professional without a work phone. 
• You can’t schedule posts on the app or even a third-party platform like Hootsuite. 
• You can’t toggle between your Instagram and Threads account easily. 

It’s failed to prioritise accessibility in its launch 

• There is currently no in-app captioning function which helps users who have difficulty processing auditory information.

It’s very disappointing that Meta has not included key accessibility features within their new app. However, even though it currently has issues, it does have potential. We have to remember that it’s the first version of the app, and hopefully it will only get better. 

For us at DSC, we’ll be testing the water a bit. We’ll keep up our Twitter account while assessing Threads as a potential platform. 

What’s your plan? Let us know on Twitter by tagging us @DSC_Charity