24 hours. That’s how long it took Threads to reach 30 million users.
It’s an incredible stat, but Threads’ overnight success has dwindled rapidly since July 2023. In fact, the number of daily active users on the platform has been steadily declining over the past six months.
But this month, we’re seeing a stack of new features and announcements from Threads that indicate things might be changing. Not only are we expecting Threads to (finally) launch in the EU, but the platform is heavily investing in new functionality to boost engagement and usage globally.
In other social media news, Instagram Stories are scoring a new ‘Hype’ option, and TikTok reveals its trend prediction report for 2024. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s dive in.
Threads is set to launch in the EU in December
In exciting news, we finally have a predicted date for the launch of Threads in the EU: December 14th.
Not only does the desktop version of Threads currently display a countdown timer for EU users, but app researchers have already spotted references in the app’s code for a December EU launch.
Why does this matter? Well, the EU launch of Threads has been held back by new EU data privacy rules and regulations. Essentially, the Threads and Meta teams have needed to build out new functionality to comply with these new regulations (which was predicted by Threads Chief Adam Mosseri to take “many months”).
It’s come at the right time, with social media usage expected to climb over the holiday season. Plus, more users are seemingly turning away from X (formerly known as Twitter) due to Elon Musk’s erratic leadership decisions.
Threads was always launched as a direct alternative to X, offering a new text-based social media platform for topical conversations. While the platform has been plagued by poor engagement and low user retention, the addition of potentially millions of EU users this month could revive and reignite organic engagement on Threads.
What does this mean for you as a brand, business or creator? With users spending more time on social media platforms (like Threads) in the coming weeks, make sure to keep your social media presence active during the holiday break. Plan ahead, batch your content creation and schedule everything in advance – and don’t forget about emerging platforms, like Threads, either!
Topic Tags + Keyword Search are being rolled out globally on Threads
But that’s far from the only news from Threads this month. In fact, Adam and the team have been rolling out new functionality around Topic Tags and Keyword Search to help users find relevant conversations on the platform.
Post by @mosseriView on Threads
First up, Topic Tags are being rolled out globally to help creators and brands accurately categorize their posts and find relevant conversations on Threads.
As you’ll notice, Topic Tags appear almost like hashtags, helping to categorize and group posts together around broad topics. But these tags differ from standard hashtags in a few key ways:
• Limit of 1x topic tag per post, meaning you have to be specific and selective with using the most relevant Topic Tag for each post.
• Topic Tags can only be added by the creator manually (meaning you have to add these natively when composing a post in Threads).
• Topic Tags can include spaces, meaning they appear more naturally like written copy in your posts (rather than being one word using the ‘#’ symbol).
Interestingly, when searching for content by a specific Topic Tag, posts don’t appear chronologically. This is a deliberate design decision to weed out spammy content (like we commonly see on X, formerly known as Twitter), and rewards creators for original, engaging, high-quality content.
As Adam explains, “To avoid getting overrun with bad actors and bots, search products need some ranking. You can show results in chronological order, but you then need to omit bad content that doesn’t quite cross the line and qualify to get taken down.”
Post by @threadsView on Threads
The second exciting update is the expansion of Keyword Search, now available in all markets. After first launching to select markets in August 2023, the global launch of Keyword Search means users can search for content like they would on search engines like Google.
Even if a Thread doesn’t use a hashtag or Topic Tag for that exact term, Threads’ Keyword Search feature will ensure topical, relevant content is prioritized in the search results.
What’s particularly interesting about this update is that it shows an evolution of social SEO away from keyword-stuffing and excessive hashtag usage. Keyword Search is more mature in its ranking of content: Threads are shown based on a range of factors, such as relevance and quality.
For creators and brands, now is the time to broaden your approach to social SEO to design content that answers common audience questions and queries rather than focusing solely on hashtags and keyword-heavy captions.
Instagram is trialling a new ‘Hype’ mode on Stories
Over at Instagram, Stories is scoring a new engagement option designed to boost organic interactions.
The new feature is called ‘Hype’. Rather than responses to your Instagram Stories going straight to your DM inbox, Hype comments will be visible to anyone who views your story.
While creators can switch off this feature, it’s an exciting new engagement opportunity within Stories. It’s a new feature that makes sense, given what we’re seeing when it comes to where Meta is investing its time and energy.
DMs and Stories are said to be two of the most popular places for users to interact on Instagram. Features like this look to bridge the gap between one-to-one conversations in DMs and one-to-many broadcasts via Stories.
As we head into 2024, we predict to see Meta rolling out even more tools and features related to DMs and Stories. Our tip for brands and creators? Start designing content for Stories and the Feed with DM engagement in mind, whether that’s adding a specific call to action or offering exclusive content and rewards to users who DM your brand on Instagram.
TikTok reveals its ‘What’s Next’ 2024 trend report
Last but not least, we have a brand new trend report hitting the press from the team at TikTok. As a platform driven by trends and viral moments, it’s not surprising that the TikTok team are getting on the front foot and making calls about what will dominate user’s For You Pages in 2024.
The overarching theme that TikTok predicts will dominate content is this: Creative Bravery. Essentially, the team believe users are becoming fatigued by standard storytelling formats where there is a predictable beginning, middle and end.
According to TikTok, ads intended to make users curious keep them watching for 1.4x longer.
Instead, TikTok believes users will flock to content that piques their curiosity, opens with the end of the story (yes, traditional story arcs are being thrown out the window) and bridges the ‘trust gap’ (a.k.a. Ensuring brand trust and values are clearly communicated).
What does this mean for you? It’s time to continue experimenting with your bite-size vertical videos and trialling new hooks and storytelling structures. Why not share the end of your story first in the opening three seconds of your video? Track your results to see what impact this has on your content.
Psst… Want to know what trends are going to influence the world of social media in the new year? We’ve got the inside scoop on the biggest trends you need to know about to boost your reach, inspire engagement and drive conversions on social media.
What are you waiting for? Download our FREE 2024 Trends guide today and stay one step ahead.
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