Threads Social Media
What is threads, and how do you create a threads account? How do you even use this new app?
All the advice in this blog is based on the current version of threads, their first release version of threads. So, if you’re reading this blog and it’s been two years since we posted it, you may need to read a more recent blog I’ve written, because I’m sure I’ve already written one by now!
What is Instagram Threads?
So, what is threads? Threads is a text-based conversation app that’s currently competing with Twitter. As much as we love to hate Meta, and by “we,” I mean me, you’ve got to give it to them because Threads has become the fastest-growing app ever in history, hitting 100 million downloads in the first five days. So good job, Meta, good job, Instagram – impressive! Currently, the simplicity of threads gives OG Twitter days and nostalgia, so people love it.
How Do You Create Your Threads Account?
To create a threads account, the first thing that you want to do, if you have multiple Instagram pages on Instagram, is make sure you’re logged into the Instagram page that you want to connect with threads. That’s the first step. Then you’re going to go into your App Store and download Threads. Once you download the Threads app, it will automatically connect to your Instagram and it’ll give you the prompt to create your own name, bio, and link where you can fill that out.
Alternatively, you could select the “Import from Instagram” button, which it will simply copy everything that you already have on Instagram and drop it into Threads right there. The next step that you go to will have you select whether you want to have a public or a private account. On a public account, anybody will be able to interact with you, and on a private account, only people you select will be able to interact with you.
Next, Threads will ask you if you want to follow the duplicate accounts you follow on Instagram. You can simply select “Follow All” to follow all the same creators, select just a few, or skip the step altogether.
Next, Threads will ask you if you want to follow the duplicate accounts you follow on Instagram. You can simply select “Follow All” to follow all the same creators, select just a few, or skip the step altogether.
Once you agree to their terms and service, you get taken to the home page, the main thread page. Now that you have your Threads account created, a common question that we get asked is, “Can you have multiple Threads accounts?” As of right now, with the current settings, you cannot go in and log into multiple different thread accounts. That’s why, at the very beginning, I recommended you make sure you’re logged in on Instagram with the account that you want to be associated with Threads. As of right now, you cannot delete thread accounts. Once you create a threat account, you’re in it for the long haul – you can’t delete it. If you try to delete your Threads account, you will also be deleting your Instagram that’s associated with it!
If I logged into Threads right now and wanted to delete my Threads account, it would also delete my Instagram. The only workaround would be to delete the app from your phone, delete all the data it remembers, and then try doing the whole thing again to log into another account.
Threads Terminology
Again, let’s talk about terminology. Some common terminology that you will hear in association with this app – the first one is “Threads” with a capital T, and that’s simply just the name of the app. Next, you have a “thread,” which is a lowercase t, and this is a post or the start of a discussion and conversation. Now on a thread, there are multiple ways to interact with it. You can reply to someone’s thread so you can reply to the discussion. You can repost, so when you repost a thread, you take that person’s thread and just slap it in on your profile. Or you can quote someone’s thread, so when you quote someone’s thread, you will bring their thread to your profile with your little comment. You have your little note; you can make your little statement. So reposting is just copy-pasted – you don’t get to say your peace of mind. Quoting, you get to add your own little flavor.
Navigating the Threads App
Now that you know the basic terminology, let’s learn how to use the app. This is your main Threads page:
Currently, there is yet to be an organization method with it. They are working on creating a “Following” tab where you see just people that you’re following and even chronological order. Again, this blog is just based on this first release, so here you get to see all the threads that people are posting. As you can see on a specific thread, there are those different interactions – you can like, comment, repost, and share. Liking and commenting, we all know. That repost option is where we get into the repost or quote, so that’s where you can copy-paste something to your profile or add your quote to it. And then, of course, share where you can add the thread to your story.
Your feed is where people are getting cool looks like this that look cool for their Instagram posts. It’s a brilliant way to create content mindlessly, well, not mindlessly, but working smarter, not harder. So I love that. And then of course, you can post your stories, tweet, copy link and share. Next, we have the search tab. So as of right now, you can only search for creators, not content specifically. So if I look up “Fitness,” this will show me accounts associated with fitness, not content associated with fitness.
You have the middle one, which is starting and creating your thread. We’ll get back to that in a second. Then you have your activity page. A fantastic post that I saw from one member explains what all of the symbols mean on Threads. The heart symbol in your activity feed means “liked.” The arrow is a reply. The @ symbol is a mention. The recycling icon always means reposted. The little person means followed, and the quote means somebody quoted your thread. That’s a quick breakdown of what all the icons mean on your activity page.
Of course, if you wanted to filter at the top, you can see replies specifically, mentions, and engagements from other verified accounts. Then you have your profile. This is where you can view your threads and everything that you reply to, so every time you reply to a thread, that is also documented on your profile. When creating your thread, you can write your text here and then post as is.
You don’t have to use any hashtags right now because they don’t have any sort of hashtag functionality written or embedded into the algorithm of Threads, so they don’t exist as of right now. So I wouldn’t worry about it too much.
You could also attach photos, videos, or whatever to a thread. Now, something that I like to do – I like to use GIFs, whatever you want to call them. So, if you have the Giphy app on your phone, a really easy way to post a GIF is to search for it on the app, select the GIF you want, click “Copy,” and I’m going to paste it here. And now I’ve turned a GIF into a thread.
Additional Features
Additional features that Threads included in this rollout are hoping to help creators tune out the noise and host more productive and positive conversations. We have one – you can control who can mention or reply to you. You have “Anybody,” “Profiles You Follow,” and “Mention Only” as your three options. Something else that is cool is if you’ve already blocked an account on Instagram when you create your Threads account, they will also block that Threads user. So that’s a seamless integration that they created. And if you need to go that extra step of unblocking or blocking, restricting or reporting accounts or thread profiles, you also have the ability to do that by going to the three dots and selecting the action that you need to take.
Then, of course, similarly to Instagram, you can filter out or have certain hidden words. So if you don’t want to see a specific word pop up in your comments or on your profile or your thread, you can add hidden words to block comments that use those words. Now, as of right now, there are two more need-to-knows when you dive into creating on Threads.
The first is that, as of right now, you cannot edit your threads that you make. So if there’s a typo or a mistake, you can’t go in and edit it – you can only delete it and then repost it. Now, speaking of deleting, the second thing you need to know is if you are reposting someone else’s thread, you can’t delete your repost. So if I see an article from CNN and I just “Oh I want to share that,” repost it to my profile, I can’t delete that repost. I don’t know why you can delete your posts but can’t delete reposts. It’s something that you’ve got to be aware of going into the Threads community.
Now I’m sure you’re wondering, as a content creator using Threads, how do you use threads? What do you post on Threads versus Instagram? How do you grow using Threads? How often should you be posting? All the questions – I’m sure you are wondering. And my answer to you is, honestly, we don’t know. I don’t know yet. And if anybody, and I mean anybody right now at the time of this blog, is aware of how to answer those questions and they’re telling you “This is how you grow, this is what you’ve got to do,” I would double check.
I would scratch my head. I’d fact-check because right now, the app is so young; it is so new that we don’t know what it will evolve into. And it’s fair for us to give it some space to evolve into whatever it wants to evolve into.
I want to avoid going into Threads with these strategies we carry from Instagram. It’s like, okay, everybody, let’s use the same strategy: Pick your niche, be consistent, provide value, go, go, and then force Threads to become a social media platform that we already have or we don’t need or is just the same as all the others.
Let’s not go in with a specific strategy in mind. Let’s give it some time to evolve into its own thing. And right now, simply just use it as a playground. Use it as, hey, this is the only app where it doesn’t matter – there is no right or wrong way. Just start using it. If you’re curious how I’m using it right now, I’m using it as if I were to text my best friend or something. So, if there’s something on my mind or a picture of me I want to post in my pictures, like random thoughts, random things, I’m playing around with it. There’s no strategy, I don’t have one, and that’s okay. Let’s give it time to evolve into whatever it is meant to evolve over the next few months.
Let’s not go in with a specific strategy in mind. Let’s give it some time to evolve into its own thing. And right now, simply just use it as a playground. Use it as, hey, this is the only app where it doesn’t matter – there is no right or wrong way. Just start using it. If you’re curious how I’m using it right now, I’m using it as if I were to text my best friend or something. So, if there’s something on my mind or a picture of me I want to post in my pictures, like random thoughts, random things, I’m playing around with it. There’s no strategy, I don’t have one, and that’s okay. Let’s give it time to evolve into whatever it is meant to evolve over the next few months.