Threads for Businesses Explained: Connect with Your Customers on a New App

9 min read

From the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Meta has released their latest social media platform, Threads. As business owners in an ever-evolving digital landscape, keeping up with the latest trends and platforms helps you connect with your audience.

Let’s learn more about Threads, explain its functionalities, and illustrate how you can use it to engage with your customers.

Unraveling Threads: A New Social Media Platform

Threads is a new app by Meta for sharing short text updates and participating in public conversations. It’s a separate app integrated with Instagram and is already tapping into Meta’s massive user base.

Posts on Threads can be up to 500 characters long. They can include links, photos, and videos (up to 5 minutes). You can share a Threads post to your Instagram story or share your post as a link on other social media platforms.

Examples of Threads posts by Meta

Since Threads integrates with your Instagram account, you log in using your Instagram credentials to create a Threads account. Your username, name, bio, profile photo, and the verification mark will carry over to your Threads account, plus other settings, like a block list. However, you can still customize your profile to make it unique to Threads.

With Threads, you can connect and follow people with the same interests as you, just like on Instagram. This includes people you follow both on Instagram and outside of it.

On Threads, you can see posts from people you follow. You will also see recommended posts from people you don’t follow yet.

Is Threads the Same as Twitter?

Now, let’s answer the burning question!

There are some similarities; after all, Threads is a text-focused app for sharing updates and joining conversations.

Ulta Beauty offers followers to take a trip down the memory lane

However, there are differences, too: unlike Twitter, Threads doesn’t have paid tiers and ads. Threads also doesn’t have long videos, private messages, or live audio rooms like Twitter.

Should You Make a Threads Account for Your Business?

No matter how excited (or not) you’re about new social media platforms, we recommend you create a Threads account and claim your business name there.

Threads launched on July 5, 2023, so users are still figuring it out. Most likely, Meta is still figuring it out too. So why should you even bother making an account yet?

Since your account name is carried from Instagram when you create a Threads profile, you want to claim your business name on Threads before someone else. As a business, you want your business pages to be easily accessible on any social media platform. To ensure ease of access, use your business name for all social media accounts so that your customers can find you no matter the app.

Users can easily find Anthropologie on social media using the same name

Even if you decide later to not use Threads, it’s better to stop using it than to try making an account later and find your business name already taken by someone else.

Note: Keep in mind that you can’t delete your Threads account without deleting your Instagram account. It might change in the future, but for now, ensure you or your social media team do not accidentally delete your Instagram account.

What to Post on Threads: 5 Ideas for Businesses

Social media has been around for quite some time already so you’re familiar with the most common types of content posted there. Educational, informative, and entertaining posts appear on all platforms in different forms—you can make a 30-second TikTok video on the same topic as an hour-long YouTube podcast.

When it comes to posting on Threads, do whatever fits your brand and is relevant to your audience. That said, remember that Threads is a short text-based app. Some types of content would look better on Threads than anywhere else.

A simple text post by Sephora generated almost 400 replies

Another thing to keep in mind is that Threads is designed to foster positive communication and discussions, so it’s great for community building. Doubling down on posts that promote conversations is a surefire way to make the most of Threads.

Pro Tip: To jumpstart your Threads account, post your evergreen, best-performing tweets there (if your brand has a Twitter page). This way, you’ll start your Threads journey with content that has already proved successful.

Wendy’s is well known for its roasting tweets, so its first post on Threads follows the same narrative

How can you leverage Threads to engage with your audience? Here are a few suggestions:

Post Bite-Sized Tips

Social media users love bite-sized, easy-to-digest, useful tidbits. Provide followers with advice about your brand or industry. Such content is very shareable and has the potential to be reposted.

Bread gives hair care tips and answers questions about their product

Use it for Community Building

Threads can help build a tight-knit community around your brand. Start discussions to foster engagement by posting questions that prompt reflection and debate. Ask for feedback and encourage people to share content about your brand.

Nat Geo WILD does a good job with their first post on Threads by inviting users to share their content—great for generating engagement in the account

Post Exclusive Content

Use Threads to show your most loyal customers exclusive content. Share sneak peeks of a new product, behind-the-scenes looks at your operations, early access to a sale, limited-time offers, flash sales, and whatever else you can think of.

ButhcerBox runs a flash giveaway on Threads

Share Short Updates, News, Announcements

Regularly share updates about your brand, product releases, events, or industry news to maintain your followers’ interest. You want to create anticipation to keep your audience engaged. However, consistency is essential. If you want to use Threads, make it a habit to stay up-to-date.

Netflix shares industry news on its Threads account

Experiment with Content

These are the first days of Threads, so there are no guidelines or best practices yet. Some brands copy their Twitter strategy while users post whatever comes to their minds. In the meantime, you have a unique opportunity to experiment with content you’ve been postponing.

The perk of Threads compared to any other new app is that it already has a huge audience, so you’ll see which experiments pay off faster.

Olipop makes their Threads account very informal and “unfiltered,” which differs a lot from their polished Instagram page

Take the Plunge into Threads

In an age where personalization and close connections are becoming increasingly important in marketing, Threads offers an exciting way for businesses to connect with their audience.

Whether you decide to use Threads to share exclusive content, behind-the-scenes peeks, news, or limited-time offers, remember that the app is especially great for community building. You can’t go wrong with focusing your Threads strategy on fostering discussions among your audience.

The potential to create deeper connections with your audience awaits. Dive into the world of Threads today and watch your business thrive in the social media landscape.

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Jul 14, 2023

About the author

Anastasia Prokofieva is a content writer at Ecwid. She writes about online marketing and promotion to make entrepreneurs’ daily routine easier and more rewarding. She also has a soft spot for cats, chocolate, and making kombucha at home.