The "Threadmill" Effect
How to Adapt and Conquer Instagram's New App Threads
Greg’s bookmarks:
5 things I found interesting this week:
Some gnarly creator statistics: 12% make > $50k/year 46% < $1k/year. A reminder: there’s no creator middle class in 2023
Reminder that technology doesn’t make a community, a community makes a community (example: YPO’s $400M/year community)
Coatue keynote deck on the state of the finance and tech markets. A few graphs got me rethinking my capital allocation…
Last week’s pod episode on selling picks & shovels in an AI world. YouTube, Spotify, Apple
Recommendation: Beam Dream powder lets me sleep like a baby every night. They gave me a promo code GREGISENBERG after i mentioned it last week. It’s 20-40% off. I’m obsessed with it, sleep matters.
The Threadmill Effect:
How to Adapt and Conquer Instagram's New App Threads:
Last week, a “thread” was something you did on Twitter.
Today, Threads have a completely new meaning. By the time you read this, 100 million people have gone out and downloaded an app called Threads by Instagram.
By next month, Threads will probably be bigger than Twitter from a monthly active user perspective.
Pause for a moment, let that sink in.
Why you should care? I have a few thoughts:
The Copycat Paradigm: Meta has a pattern - they observe, they mimic, they (attempt) to dominate. Sounds familiar? Just look at Instagram Reels. Yes, many of their attempts nosedive, but when they strike gold, it's a bonanza. It isn’t clear if this is an Instagram Reels or Poke App (an app that was supposed be a Snap killer in 2012) just yet. But all I know is the early adopters of Reels are now the industry leaders, making it rain with reach and revenue.
The Carefree Curation Principle: Threads brings a breath of fresh air. No public following count means you're free to curate your feed without worrying about the dreaded follower-following ratio. Here's the chance to follow generously, engage fearlessly, and build your audience organically.
The Diversification Directive. In the current landscape of ever-evolving social media, diversification isn't just beneficial, it's essential. With the renaissance of social media platforms - old giants rebranding, newcomers breaking through - diversification isn't a luxury, it's a necessity.
The Fertile Ground Theory: Each new platform presents a unique opportunity. An audience, fresh and exploratory, looking for new influencers. By establishing your presence early, you capture this audience when they're most receptive. Haters will say all the love will go to top Instagram creators already, but that’s a lazy thought. If Threads succeed, there will be a new class of creators that succeed with it.
The Content Laboratory Hypothesis: A new platform isn't just a new audience, it's a new set of rules. Twitter's punchy brevity might not fly on Threads' visually oriented platform. So experiment, tweak, evolve. You might just be an inventor of a brand new way to go viral.
So here's my message to you: In the high-stakes game of social media, adaptability is your best ally. Recognize the opportunities, be the early bird, and remember - fertile ground is for those ready to sow. Social media is more than a playground, it's your domain. Let's conquer it. Let the games begin.
And so, as we step off the “Threadmill”, remember - it's not just about keeping pace, it's about adapting, conquering, and owning the run.
If this post on Threads gave you an ounce a value, follow me on Threads. Seems like a fair deal, and you’ll get some extra posts out of me there.
Photo of the week [new section]:
When you’re ready a few ways my team can help you:
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Hire a design team that will blow your mind. Waitlist only. Design has mega impact and we use Dispatch for all our businesses. Free to set up a call. I jump into a few random sales calls sometimes too.
Work with Boring Marketers. Waitlist only. Ask them about the SEO audit that isn’t listed on their website.
Nice write up, Greg. I follow you on Threads but the link wasn’t working for me.