Threads Launches with Expected Advertising Impacts

Facebook parent company Meta late last week launched Threads, a social media platform that closely mirrors Twitter, in 100 countries. Though still very new—and leading to a lawsuit from Twitter's owner, Elon Musk, the app is already generating a lot of excitement. According to Meta, the app garnered 30 million downloads in just its first day.

Threads allows users to post up to 500 characters and has many features similar to Twitter. The service is linked to Meta’s Instagram photo-sharing app; people will be able to use their Instagram usernames on Threads and follow the same accounts on Threads as they do on Instagram. They can also like, share, and comment on other people's posts, just as they can on Twitter. Threads users can also share links, photos, and videos that can be up to five minutes long and share their Threads posts via Instagram's story feature.

And while it still has a long way to go to build, scale, and retain an audience, many in the CRM world are predicting that Threads will have very positive advertising impacts for Meta, its companion Facebook and Instagram sites, and its subscribers.

Forrester Research Principal Analyst Kelsey Chickering notes that though Threads still has many challenges ahead, "the easiest part for Meta will be monetizing Threads, because if there's one thing the company excels at, it's advertising."

Meta, Chickering adds, already outshines Twitter in its advertising offerings, commands the lion's share of social media budgets, and has the most mature offering across the social media advertising maturity spectrum.

Meta, she said further, "consistently delivers unmatchable scale, efficiency, and sales performance," while at the same time, "Twitter's reach and growth trajectory aren't notable, and advertisers haven't seen great performance with their lower-funnel advertising.

"Meta's advertising backbone will position Threads as a strong Twitter alternative because it will be set up to slip into Meta's dynamic actions and deliver results across the customer lifecycle," she added. "Meta will enable Threads to deliver ad experiences that meet customers at every stage."