If you own or lead a small business, you’ve likely heard about Threads—Meta’s new social media app that’s proven to be the fastest growing social media platform of all time.

However, even if you’ve dabbled with the app, we know your plate is full. And, if you’re like most small business leaders, just the thought of having to make another social media platform part of your marketing strategy is overwhelming.

To save your valuable time and so that you can get the most out of Threads, we’re breaking down what you need to know about this new platform (as of late July 2023), how to use Threads as a small business, and 11 post ideas you can use to serve and engage your audience on the app.

 

What is Threads?

Threads is a text-based social media app that was released by Meta (the company that owns Facebook and Instagram) on July 5, 2023.

According to Meta, Threads is intended to be a space “where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow.”

 

 

Essentially, Threads is a social media app designed to foster connection and conversation about anything and everything users are interested in in a casual, no-frills, mostly text format.

 

What are the differences between Threads & Twitter?

 

 

When people started downloading Threads, many asked, “Is this just the new Twitter? Can we simply share our Twitter content on Threads?”

And, these are both fair questions. Threads has some pretty uncanny resemblances to Twitter—including the fact that it’s text based, focuses on real-time conversations, and has a similar functionality.

But, there are some key differences between Threads and Twitter that you should be aware of so that you can create the best content for each platform. For example:

• Twitter primarily focuses on ”news, politics, and public discussions.” In contrast, Threads fosters a more personal environment and primarily—at least for now—includes conversations around niche interests (e.g. running a small business) and lifestyle topics.
• Free Twitter users have a 240-character limit, while Thread users have a 500-character limit.
• Threads doesn’t utilize hashtags (at least for now), but hashtags continue to be important on Twitter.
• Twitter limits videos to two minutes and 20 seconds, while Threads allows videos to be up to five minutes long.
• Twitter has two feed options: one that is algorithmic (meaning it is based on users’ interests) and another that is chronological (meaning it displays Tweets in real time). Threads currently offers one feed that is algorithmic.
• Twitter has a DM option; Threads does not—meaning you can only communicate by posting a thread or commenting on a thread.
• Twitter recently launched Twitter Blue—a subscription service that allows users to unlock and access additional features; Threads has one user option that is entirely free.
• Twitter allows advertising, while (at least for now) Threads only allows users to share organic content—meaning Threads doesn’t have any paid advertising options.
• Threads integrates with Instagram, which allows you to share posts directly to Instagram stories and posts.

While Twitter and Threads certainly share similarities, many marketers speculate that Meta looked at Twitter and assessed what users liked and disliked about the platform and created a “better,” “kinder” version of the app.

 

How to Use Threads as a Small Business

Threads is still very new and is rapidly changing as the Meta team receives feedback from users.

As a result, it’s too soon for anyone to be able to say exactly how to use Threads as a small business. However, for now, here are a few things you can do to leverage this new social media platform:

 

1. Join Threads.

As a small business, it’s important to stay up to date with marketing trends. Plus, while this app’s number of users is growing at a record-breaking pace, this platform still has fewer users than many other leading social media platforms—meaning your non-paid posts being seen (AKA organic reach) is still likely.

So, if you’ve yet to do so, download Threads from the Apple Store or Google Play to claim your account!

Note: Threads integrates with Instagram, so if your small business already has an Instagram account, starting a Threads account will take no more than a few minutes. 

 

2. Use Threads to engage, connect with, & serve your ideal clients.

Yes, this is a new platform. However, like any other marketing tool, you want to use it to engage, connect with, and serve your audience.

While other platforms may have a more curated or professional feel to them, Threads is very casual and informal. Now, we aren’t recommending that you create a snippy alter ego for Threads. You should always stay true to your brand and tone. However, Threads is a great place to ask questions, make connections, and foster authentic conversation.

We’ll discuss post ideas below, but until the world knows more about this app, simply focus on using Threads to build and deepen relationships with your ideal clients and to serve your audience well.

 

3. Be active on the app.

Small businesses have a lot on their plates. As a result, we typically recommend batching social media content and even writing your content a full month ahead of time. However, at least for now, Threads is different.

Again, Threads is designed to foster community and to have real-time conversations, and like with any social media platform, in order to leverage this app, you need to use it as designed.

Because Threads focuses on real-time conversations, you don’t simply want to “post and ghost”—meaning you don’t want to share a “thread” (AKA a post) and leave the app. Instead, you want to engage with each and every response, spend time commenting on and engaging with your ideal clients’ and peers’ threads, and actually having conversations.

Again, as the app develops further, chances are, we’ll be able to share a more exact strategy with you. But, for now, we wouldn’t recommend batching more than a week’s worth of content so that you can see how it performs and make adjustments accordingly. And, we would recommend spending a little time (even if it’s just 15 minutes per day) either starting new conversations or participating in current conversations via Threads.

 

11 Post Ideas for Threads

 

 

 

 

Now, you might be thinking, “That’s great, but what should I actually post on Threads?” And, if so, we want to give you some suggestions.

According to Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, every thread should be focused on “starting conversations” and “making connections.” The following prompts and suggestions will allow you to do exactly that.

 

1. Ask questions.

Arguably the simplest way to start a conversation—both in real life and on Threads—is to ask questions. So, ask your audience questions like:

• We’re curious. How do you feel about ___?
• Would you rather [INSERT OPTION A] or [INSERT OPTION B]?
• When it comes to ___, what’s your biggest struggle?

Make sure these questions are true to your brand and specific to your ideal clients, and don’t get discouraged if you don’t receive massive numbers of responses. Instead, pay attention to what works well and what doesn’t and continue threading and showing up accordingly.

Note: Threads is a great place to get feedback from your audience. So, if you have a question for your ideal clients and want direct feedback, don’t be afraid to ask on this platform!

 

2. Share BTS content.

While apps like Instagram have become very curated over the years, Threads is a very casual app. So, don’t be afraid to share behind-the-scenes photos and videos to give your audience a glimpse of what your process looks like.

 

3. Share quick tips & tutorials.

While Threads’ 500-character limit is drastically more than Twitter’s 240, 500 characters still isn’t a lot. However, 500 characters is the perfect amount of text to provide quick tips and/or tutorials that your audience can easily digest.

With this in mind, focus on giving your audience how-tos. This is going to look different for every business, but as a marketing agency for small businesses, we might share a quick video tutorial of how to install Google Analytics to a Showit website or a thread that simply gives our audience some insight into how to grow their small businesses, like:

“Small businesses, not sure what you should be doing on this app?

“@threadsapp is still a very new platform, and the ‘best’ strategies are still unclear. However, like any other marketing tool, you want to use it to engage, connect with, and serve your audience. So, for now, focus on nothing more than that!”

Sharing tips and tutorials will both serve your audience well and demonstrate that your small business knows exactly what it’s doing.

 

4. Link to blog posts, podcast episodes, & other content on your website.

Like almost any other marketing tool, you want to use Threads to drive people to your website—your most powerful marketing tool. With this in mind, use Threads to share your blog posts, podcast episodes, downloads, and any other resource that lives on your website so you can (1) better serve your audience and (2) bring potential customers to your site to lead them into your sales funnel.

Note: You can share links on Threads. However, with a limited character count, you may need to use tools like Short URL to make your URLs shorter.

 

5. Share industry news.

While Twitter primarily focuses on political and world news, Threads is quickly becoming a great place to share industry news.

As a result, if something changes in your industry and you want your audience to be aware, share links to relevant articles or reshare threads from industry leaders on the topic. (We’ll discuss resharing more in depth below.)

 

6. Share “relatable” content.

Because Threads is a more casual-feeling social media platform, it’s a great place to show your audience that you “get them.”

With this in mind, share posts, gifs, photos, and memes that make your clients think, “I’ve been there,” or, “I feel this in my bones!”

 

7. Inspire your audience.

Threads is also a great place to inspire your audience. So, share posts, quotes (graphics or just text in the post), photos, or whatever else to lift up your audience and/or inspire them to take action.

 

8. Reshare content.

Like you can “retweet” posts on Twitter, you can “reshare” posts on Threads. So, as you’re engaging with your feed and other accounts, reshare posts that your ideal customers would find engaging or valuable.

 

9. Tell stories.

As we often say at Treefrog, telling stories is one of the best ways to help your audience remember your small business. With this in mind, use Threads to tell stories about:

• How your business came to be
• Why you do what you do
• A real client’s predicament and outcome
• Your BrandStory

 

10. Share updates & announcements.

Threads is a community-building, real-time app. As a result, Threads is a great place to share updates and announcements about your business, upcoming events, and happenings in your community. The next time you have an update to share, be sure to include the information on Threads.

 

11. Test new ideas.

Again, Threads is still a very new platform. Consequently, it’s too soon to say, “You should be posting X times per day/week,” “Video performs best,” or anything definitive about this platform.

As a result, now is the perfect time to experiment. Test new posts; try new ideas; and see how your content performs and how your audience engages. Then, make adjustments moving forward so your content can slowly but surely improve.

 

Threads isn’t a social media platform you want to ignore.

Again, we know your plate is full and your time is valuable. As a result, you and your team likely can’t be on all social media platforms or try every new app that’s released. (For the record, you probably shouldn’t be using every platform. You only need to utilize the apps your ideal clients use.)

However, Threads isn’t just another new app and it isn’t a platform you want to ignore. You see, most social apps are startups, and many of these platforms fail to have a lasting impact due to funding and various other issues. But, Threads is owned by Meta—the world’s leading social media conglomerate.

Meta has the funding and knowhow to create a social media platform that users love. As a result, Threads is likely an app that will become a normal part of our society. Thus, we want to encourage you to both join Threads (whether via Apple or Google Play) and start leveraging this new social media platform sooner rather than later. Because, if your ideal clients are on Threads, putting time and resources into this platform will likely prove to be an excellent investment for your small business.

 

 

See the growth you’ve been working so hard to achieve with our proven, four-step flywheel marketing strategy.

Treefrog Marketing is a marketing agency for small businesses located in Lafayette, Indiana that builds marketing systems that bring clarity, structure, and growth. We specialize in strategic marketing and advertising, digital marketing, graphic design, web design, social media, SEO, and more. For more information, please visit our website. You can also connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.