Harnessing the Power of Threads: A Guide for Small Business Owners
Hello, digital marketers and small business owners! Today, we're going to introduce you to a game-changing social media platform that could revolutionize the way you connect with your audience. Meet Threads, a new app developed by the Instagram team, specifically designed for sharing text updates and engaging in public conversations.
What is Threads?
Threads is a separate space for real-time updates and public conversations. It's designed to take what Instagram does best - connecting billions of people around the world - and expand that to text. This creates a positive and creative space for you to express your ideas and connect with friends, creators, and customers who share your interests.
Getting Started with Threads
Getting started with Threads is as easy as logging in with your Instagram account. Your Instagram username and verification will carry over, and you have the option to customize your profile specifically for Threads.
Your feed on Threads includes threads posted by people you follow, and recommended content from new creators you haven’t discovered yet. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length. You can easily share a Threads post to your Instagram story, or share your post as a link on any other platform you choose.
Safety and User Controls
Threads is built with tools to enable positive, productive conversations. You can control who can mention you or reply to you within Threads. Like on Instagram, you can add hidden words to filter out replies to your threads that contain specific words. You can unfollow, block, restrict or report a profile on Threads by tapping the three-dot menu, and any accounts you’ve blocked on Instagram will automatically be blocked on Threads.
Interoperability with Other Networks
Threads is planning to become compatible with ActivityPub, the open social networking protocol established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This would make Threads interoperable with other apps that also support the ActivityPub protocol, such as Mastodon and WordPress. This means your posts would be accessible from other apps, allowing you to reach new people with no added effort.
The Future of Threads
Threads is being rolled out in more than 100 countries for iOS and Android. In addition to working toward making Threads compatible with the ActivityPub protocol, soon they’ll be adding a number of new features to help you continue to discover threads and creators you’re interested in, including improved recommendations in feed and a more robust search function that makes it easier to follow topics and trends in real time.
Why Threads Matters for Small Businesses
As a small business owner, you're always looking for new ways to connect with your audience and grow your brand. Threads offers a unique opportunity to do just that. By creating a space for real-time updates and public conversations, Threads allows you to engage with your audience in a more personal and direct way.
Whether you're sharing updates about your latest products, hosting a Q&A session, or simply engaging in casual conversation, Threads provides a platform for you to connect with your audience on a deeper level. And with its planned interoperability with other social networks, Threads can help you reach new audiences and expand your brand's reach.
So, are you ready to take your digital marketing to the next level with Threads? We can't wait to see how you use this new platform to grow your business and connect with your audience in new and exciting ways.