Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, launched a new social media platform called Threads on July 6 that’s said to be Twitter’s competitor. 100 million people signed up for Threads in five days, making it the most rapidly downloaded app of all time. Here’s what you need to know.

What Is Threads?

Threads is a free social media app built by the Instagram team for sharing text updates. Users can create posts up to 500 characters long with links, photos and videos up to five minutes in length.

While Instagram is the platform for billions of people around the world to connect over photos, Threads was created to be more text-focused, according to the Meta website.

“Our vision with Threads is to take what Instagram does best and expand that to text, creating a positive and creative space to express your ideas,” the Meta website said.

Just like Instagram, Threads users can follow and connect with friends and creators. Each user has a personalized Threads feed with posts by people they follow and recommended content from new creators. Users can easily share a Threads post to their Instagram story.

Threads includes tools to enable positive conversations, so users can control who can mention them and add hidden words to filter out replies to their threads. Instagram’s Community Guidelines will be enforced on Threads, as well.

Meta is planning to make Threads compatible with the open social networking protocol, ActivityPub, which would make the platform interoperable with other apps like Mastodon and Wordpress. This would allow new types of connections that have not been possible on other Meta platforms.

The Meta website says its vision is that people using compatible apps will be able to follow and interact with people on Threads without having a Threads account, and vice versa, to allow for a new era of diverse networks.

“Threads is Meta’s first app envisioned to be compatible with an open social networking protocol – we hope that by joining this fast-growing ecosystem of interoperable services, Threads will help people find their community, no matter what app they use,” the Meta website said.

How Do I Use Threads?

Threads is a separate app from Instagram, so you can go to the App Store or Google Play on your phone and type “Threads, an Instagram app” into the search bar.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, you can log in with your Instagram account, which is required to use Threads. Conveniently, the same profile information carries over and users can choose to follow the same people they do on Instagram.

The bottom of your screen will have a row of icons to navigate the app.

• The first icon on the left, shaped like a house, brings you to your feed, which will show posts from people you follow and recommended users you don’t follow.

• The magnifying glass icon takes you to a search page to find people you wish to follow.

• The pen-and-paper icon is what you’ll press to create a new thread.

• The heart icon shows your account activity, such as who followed or mentioned you.

• The human figure icon takes you to your Threads profile to see your activity. You can change privacy settings by editing your profile and choosing whether you want your profile to be public or private. You can also add a bio and link for your account.

You can like, reply, repost and share other people's threads by clicking on respective icons.

Is Threads the New Twitter?

Both Twitter and Threads have newsfeeds, interaction features and short text blocks, but there are some notable differences between the apps:

Since Musk took the reins, there have been several attempts to woo users away from Twitter, but Threads is by far the most popular. Invite-only app Bluesky, for example, recently reached 1 million downloads after about four months in existence.

Is It Worth Joining Threads?

Threads’ growth and potential is certainly worth looking into as a tool for your brand – after all, social media presence is critical to engage with customers. Hundreds of major companies including Nike, Amazon and Walmart have already activated their accounts. However, there is some risk involved in hopping on a new platform, according to Forbes.

“The risk for brands and retailers is that social media becomes even more political than it is already,” the Forbes article said. “There is a trend evolving where the medium defines your political views, and now that’s extending to social media, too.”

The Forbes article discusses how a member of Congress already said they’re sure Threads is “a Marxist style social media experience” that will be used to “steal elections.” Others claim Twitter is the opposite and is morphing into a far-right social network.

It’s unknown what Threads will turn into, but the next few weeks will give direction to how it will shape up. After less than a week, Threads seems to have high potential to threaten Twitter, so brands’ marketing strategies might have to change.

On the positive side, if you already have an Instagram account, Threads is simple to set up, since your profile information will carry over. The reposting option is also a great way for your supporters to share your content with their followers. While there are no advertising options yet, those will likely come soon and be easy to place with Meta. For a promotional products supplier or distributor already on Instagram, it’s definitely worth a try – especially since you don’t have to build a following from scratch.

If you want to try out Threads, ASI Media recommends keeping the content casual. For example, Crumbl Cookies’ account is full of simple threads, including, “Cookies … I’m not sure what we’re supposed to say on here yet,” and one that fills all 500 characters with cookie emojis. As the brand has over 230,000 followers, its strategy seems to be successful.

Infographic by Siena Christopherson