He was one of the first to sign up for Threads, but now he’s not so sure. It is not all it was cracked up to be, he feels.
A new social media platform you can handle ?
Social media influencer and radio host Alex Leibner, like millions around the world, was quick off the mark when Threads launched.He thought it was a new social media app he could handle in his work.
“It is the ease of use, because you can literally copy and paste your Instagram account,” he says.
“I think there is an element of FOMO in wanting to be first on a new platform, but what happens after the initial spike?”
“I wouldn’t call it revolutionary”
Millions are finding out. In the early heady days of Threads- set up by Meta in competition to Twitter- Leibner has taken time to assess the new platform.
“Right now, I am mostly using it as another channel to redistribute content, which is also on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and the like, and apart from having a few more words to include, I wouldn’t call it revolutionary. We might need to give it some time to move beyond its initial offering but it would need to do so pretty soon, or they might just find themselves joining the group of similar apps that never really got enough traction for the long haul,” he says.
Overall, he thinks the platform leaves a lot to be desired.
“It doesn’t necessarily fill a gap.”
“The biggest problem is that it doesn’t necessarily fill a gap in the market. It’s more an extension of Instagram at the moment, and for those who might have never used Twitter, might find it novel,” says Leibner.
“For those still on Twitter, with established content feeds and a strong following, it’s a hard sell to have to start all over again – and what would they do differently on Threads?”
Leibner also believes the usage may also struggle to measure up to Twitter.
“It’s really hard to say what makes it vastly different”
“Usage is very basic and lacks some of the elements that gave Twitter its stickiness, like trending topics and hashtags etc,” he says.
“It’s really hard to say what makes it vastly different and that’s probably the problem. What is the unique selling point ? Right now you would just set up an account , follow the same people that you follow on Instagram, and then tell them the same things you are telling them on other apps already.? Doesn’t bode well for the long term.”
And what does he think will be in the long term?
“It might gain some sort of usage, or following, but it’s hard to tell if this is enough to become the next big social media phenomenon as it does very little new in the ecosystem of social media.”
Get an edge over competitors.
Yet, Jon Morgan, the co-founder of small business advisor Venture Smarter, is more optimistic about the future of Threads.
“Threads is yet another opportunity for small businesses to increase visibility for their brand…This is important as companies with a good level of brand visibility and awareness have an edge over competitors,” says Morgan.
“Now is a good opportunity for small businesses to start posting while there remains a lot of hype around the platform; the algorithm may promote their posts to a wider audience than when bigger brands get onboard.”
The verdict on Threads, is in your hands.
