In recent years, social media marketing has been dominated by platform giants like Facebook, Twitter (now rebranded as X), and Instagram.
However, Instagram’s new text-based app, Threads, gained traction as one of the fastest-growing social platforms in 2023. Threads now has more than 150 million monthly active users, making it the perfect platform for marketers who want to supercharge their brand exposure.
The more a brand is seen, noticed, and recognized by audiences on social media, the more its social media following and revenue grows.
This article will explore how to use a range of Instagram Threads marketing strategies to supercharge your brand’s exposure in 2024 and beyond.
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What is Instagram Threads?
Threads is a text-based social media and microblogging platform launched by Meta’s Instagram team on July 5, 2023, as part of the fediverse. Although Threads operates as a stand-alone app, you need an Instagram account to access it.
Instagram Threads was launched to take on Twitter and give users another text-based app for sharing text and joining public conversations. In fact, Elon Musk’s Twitter even threatened to sue Meta when Threads came out.
However, with Twitter facing many challenges since Musk bought the platform, Instagram Threads offers a great alternative with many of its own unique features, such as:
- Lengthy text updates: Instagram Threads allows you to post text updates with a character limit of 500 (220 characters longer than Twitter updates). Threads text updates can also include photos, carousels, videos up to five minutes long, and external links.
- Lengthy replies: Instagram Threads allows users to reply to posts with up to 500 characters and additional media.
- Following feed: Instagram Threads has a dedicated following feed where users can see specific creators and accounts.
- Customizable settings: Instagram Threads allows you to customize who can mention you or reply to your Threads. You are also able to filter out unwanted content.
- Integration with Instagram: Your profile information on Instagram will sync with Threads when you create an account.
Within five days of its launch, Instagram Threads gained the record for the fastest online platform to reach 100 million sign-ups, outpacing OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
7 Instagram Threads Marketing Strategies
As more users sign up for Threads via their Instagram accounts, marketers should consider how to take advantage of the emerging social media platform. Here are seven Instagram Threads marketing strategies to supercharge your brand’s exposure in 2024:
1. Use Visual Content
According to Hostinger, 91% of businesses create videos as a promotion tool, and 96% value videos as an integral part of their marketing strategy.
Luckily, even though Instagram Threads is a text-based app, you are able to add visuals, including GIFs, images, and videos up to five minutes in length.
Visuals will keep your brand’s Instagram Threads profile vibrant, help you attract new followers, increase brand exposure, and boost engagement rates while the human attention span is at an all-time low.
Take Ooni, for example, a pizza oven company based in Scotland. They use their Threads account to share drool-worthy visuals of their best-looking pizzas as well as other brilliant meals you can make using a pizza oven.
Switching up your content formats on Threads is a great way to keep your engagement high.
Simply create videos, photos, and graphics that relate to your brand and aim to encourage a response in the comments. This could be a behind-the-scenes video of a product release, a humorous brand meme, or some stunning UGC visuals. The key here is to create visual content that not only attracts attention but also encourages followers to share your content on other social platforms.
2. Share Exclusive Content
Sharing exclusive content on Instagram Threads will make your followers feel like they are a part of the community, encourage them to interact with your content, and boost engagement.
Exclusive content could include limited-time discounts, flash sales, giveaways, previews of upcoming products, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with your team.
Sharing exclusive content on Threads will increase your following and supercharge your brand’s exposure because others will want access to the exclusivity, such as your Instagram followers.
The key here is to use searchable keywords for maximum visibility on the platform. As you can see below, like X, Instagram Threads allows users to search for a term like the word ‘Tennis’ and instantly see all content containing the desired buzzword.
If you’re struggling to come up with the perfect caption for your content, why not consult Plann’s AI content and caption generator? Here, you can discover trending topics, keywords, and phrases to add to your exclusive content for a greater shot at going viral on the platform.
3. Collaborate with Influencers
Gen Z—those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s—generally trusts influencers more than celebrities. This is because influencers have established trustworthy connections with their followers, whom they can expose your brand to.
Consider collaborating with influencers who have a sizable following on Instagram Threads by offering them compensation in exchange for creating engaging content that promotes your products or services.
As Thread is a text-based platform, influencers can share written content, such as in-depth reviews of your products or services, alongside links and unique discount codes. You can also ask influencers to host a Q&A session to educate their followers about your brand.
Ensure you identify influencers who align with your brand values and have followers who would actually be interested in your products or services. For example, a sports equipment brand might compensate a fitness influencer to write a thread about their latest treadmill.
Take this example from streaming company, Hulu for instance:
Asking his audience the simple question, ‘Which Futurama character are you?’ sparked over 141 replies, over 700 likes, and a great deal of visibility for Hulu’s show release.
This form of collaboration introduces your brand to a wider audience within your niche and builds trust and credibility through the influencer’s endorsement.
4. Use polls to understand your audience
Creating a poll on Instagram Threads is ideal for collecting feedback from your followers and understanding more about their needs and expectations.
You can add a poll to your Thread by clicking on the icon. When you build a poll, make sure it’s short (you’re allowed up to five answers on Threads) and simple, making it easy for people to answer without thinking too much.
Based on the responses, you can improve your products or services and adapt your Threads marketing strategy to increase brand exposure.
A great example of an Instagram Threads Poll comes from the American Red Cross. The nonprofit organization uses the platform to explore new types of content formats to engage with its younger audience.
“It’s okay to have fun, engage with other brands, and explore different types of content to see what works. Threads is continuously rolling out updates and features to enhance the user experience—like polls and trending conversations,” says Rebecca Torriani Márquez, Manager of Social Engagement at the American Red Cross.
By asking viewers to choose what items they are unable to live without in an emergency, the poll sparks engagement while still demonstrating the importance of being prepared.
5. Promote your Threads on other platforms
To supercharge your brand exposure on Instagram Threads, you should promote your content on social media platforms where your brand is popular. For example, you can share links to your threads on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Incorporating featured snippets and direct links to your Threads account within your website design is also a great way to boost the exposure of your new platform. The key here is to opt for website themes (if you are already using any) that allow you to embed your social media content on site. This provides site viewers with a streamlined route straight to your socials.
Promoting your threads on other platforms will help you drive more traffic and encourage those who are following you on other platforms to connect with you on Instagram Threads, increasing your brand exposure.
To do this, why not use Plann’s social scheduling tool, which allows you to not only schedule your content for Instagram, but its cross-posting feature makes it easy to effortlessly share your post on multiple platforms.
6. Host a Giveaway or Competition
Another excellent way to boost brand exposure and awareness is to host a giveaway or competition on Instagram Threads. This way, you can reward people for engaging with your content.
In most cases, participants must share and repost your giveaway details to enter, placing your brand in front of a wider audience of their Threads followers and generating a buzz.
In addition, you could ask your followers to submit photos or videos with your product as part of a competition with a great prize. When a follower of theirs sees the post and also wants to participate, your sales and brand exposure will both increase.
Giveaways and competitions are a robust word-of-mouth marketing strategy that can be leveraged on any social media platform.
7. Participate in Conversations
Don’t just share content and then forget about it. Participate in conversations below your Thread and reply to your followers to create authentic and genuine relationships with your audience.
In addition, comment on Threads posts made by members of your target audience, as this will increase your brand exposure and help you be seen as a thought leader in your niche.
What’s Next For Instagram Threads Marketing?
Threads may be connected to Instagram, but Meta has yet to open it up for monetization, so marketers can’t run ads.
However, Meta has been regularly adding features to Threads since it first released the app, so it’s only a matter of time before advertising opportunities will likely occur.
Instagram Threads is a powerful social media platform with great potential for supercharging brand exposure.
There’s a range of marketing tactics that you can use to gain leverage on the platform, from sharing exclusive content and participating in conversations to creating polls and collaborating with influencers.
Streamline Your Threads Marketing With Plann
If you’re new to creating content for Instagram Threads, why not use Plann to help create content that drives engagement?
Using features such as our AI content and caption generator and our all-in-one social media manager tool, you can easily stay on top of a demanding social feed on a number of different platforms.