1 month of Instagram threads – Conclusion from an influencer marketing perspective

• #Marketing
• #Social Media

Does the platform have a future in the industry or is it just another trend?

Users in the EU have been able to use Instagram’s latest platform for just under a month: Threads has taken over app installations in Germany and was seen as the new hype, especially in the first few days. We have also been represented there as a brand account for just under a month and would like to share our first impressions and our predictions for the future of influencer marketing in this blog post.

What is Threads?

Threads is an app from the social media giant Instagram, which is supposed to be a direct competitor to X (formerly Twitter). Since the takeover of X by Elon Musk, resentment has spread and many users have deleted their accounts and left the app in protest. Instagram has seized this opportunity and launched its own version on the market.

Threads is therefore a text-based platform on which users can share their thoughts with a broad community in short texts (accompanied by images and videos). Users can also decide whether they only want to see threads from people they follow or whether they want to be entertained by a broader target group on the app’s general homepage.

Influencers on Threads

It is clear at first glance that Threads is not a classic influencer marketing platform. Quite the opposite: influencers experience a lot of hate here in the first few weeks – in general, there seems to be a lot of negativity on the platform. The “normal” users without much following want people who are already in the public eye not to post their “normal content” but to “adapt to the app”.

But since, as we have observed, not everything is negative, we would like to share our initial recommendations for action.

Threads for Creators

Authenticity and an exchange that is characterized by honesty is probably more relevant on Threads than on any other social media platform before. Testimonials are well received, while paid collaborations do not (yet) work. It’s not about sharing your seemingly perfect life, but about entering into a “relatable” exchange with others.

Creators therefore need to rethink – this is not Instagram or TikTok. However, this constraint can also have a positive effect in the long term. For example, new exciting (advertising) formats could emerge in the future.

Threads offer creators the opportunity to show themselves from a different angle and give followers the chance to get to know them better. New target groups can also be tapped into in this way.

Threads for Brands

As traditional collaborations do not (yet) work here, this naturally also has an impact on brand accounts on threads. It is therefore much more important for them to position themselves as a brand and provide an insight into their own work and services through humorous, exciting or honest formats than to place advertisements. The primary focus here should not be on sales, but above all on branding. If the platform continues to develop as part of influencer marketing, it is important for brands to come up with new, creative formats that work on the platform and for their target group.

Threads from an influencer marketing perspective

As an influencer marketing agency, we do not believe that Threads will become a flash in the pan. So you can’t compare it to platforms like Clubhouse, for example. At the same time, however, we also don’t believe that it will become THE new influencer marketing platform – at least not as the platform currently stands.

Rather, we see threads as an opportunity to position ourselves in a communicatively meaningful way and – in the future – to integrate the platform into a cross-platform campaign if necessary. It offers the opportunity to reclassify oneself from a marketing communication perspective and to use the resulting advantages for the holistic strategy.

It remains to be seen how the platform will develop in the new year 2024. We will keep you up to date.