Hits and Misses to Learn from on Threads

When Threads launched on July 6th and shifted the social universe yet again, brands were suddenly faced with a new daunting decision. Social media managers across all categories were scrambling to come up with clever, engaging, and on-brand content for their first Thread posts.

Do we post products? What questions should we ask? Why am I being tasked with developing a Threads strategy the day it launched? While some brands hesitated to join or post, others embraced the new, uncharted social territory. They leaned into the chaos of the unknown. Still, some may still be wondering if they should have a presence on Threads.

HOW, a 5W agency, recommends that all brands have a Threads account as soon as possible. There’s no downside if you don’t overthink it. The Insta-connection and Twitter-style platform does a lot of the heavy lifting automatically in terms of followers and engagement. So, there’s no need to build out a brand-new Threads strategy yet, especially while it’s still in its infancy.

However, there are best practices brands should follow, and there’s a lot to take away by looking at the hits and misses we’ve seen so far. Let’s look at some of the brands that stood out on Threads, along with some key learnings that HOW recommends brands should use as guidelines:

Casper

Mattress brand Casper’s debut on Threads was seamless and clever. The pun may have been handed to them in a way, but it still was genius and hit just right.

Casetify

Casetify capitalized on the palpable pressure surrounding social media managers with a very relatable post, playing off demands to include products in posts:

Oreo

Oreo took the same approach, poking fun at the fact that no one really knows what content is “good” for Threads.

Complex

Like most brands, Complex wasn’t even sure if anyone was listening.

Burger King

Meanwhile, Burger King was straight-up transparent about its internal situation.

Wendy’s

Wendy’s quickly took a page from its Twitter playbook with a meme playfully coming for McDonald’s.

Netflix

Netflix plugged one of their hit series by comparing Love is Blind in a post that was a little cheesy. Although, it was quite spot-on– and consistent with Netflix’s tone.

Auntie Anne’s

Questions and polling the audience is always a smart strategy, but whatever the tone, the query needs to be thought-provoking enough to elicit responses. Don’t just ask a question for the sake of asking a question (although we love a great pretzel).

Ritz

Ritz quickly started an emoji trend among brands in the CPG, health and wellness, and beauty category, just to name a few. You can’t go wrong with posting who you are.

These examples paint a very clear picture that brands really aren’t sure what to do on Threads, and that’s fine, because, for most of them, that strategy is working. Here are a few key learnings that HOW recommends brands keep top of mind when posting on Threads:

• Embrace the chaos: No one is 100% sure what works best here, so now is the time to embrace all the timely chaos and make people laugh.
• Repurpose your Twitter strategy: Most of these examples point to repurposing an existing Twitter strategy, which HOW recommends as a first step. If brands are unsure of what to post, simply repurpose top-performing Twitter content, and follow that existing strategy until anything changes.
• Keep your tone of voice consistent: Threads is not the place to suddenly reinvent your brand TOV. Stay consistent with your themes on all platforms, particularly aligning Twitter content with what you’re sharing on Threads.
• Engage and ask questions: Netflix’s point about engagement speaks the truth; many brands who were unsure of what to do at first took the conversation route to engage with followers and start conversations– always a smart strategy.

Matt Caiola is Co-CEO of 5WPR and leader of its digital agency, HOW.