It’s not just the big-name industry players and businesses that are jumping on the Threads bandwagon. Small and medium businesses across Australia are also taking the world of Threads by storm — and they are determined to have some fun with it.
Threads was launched on July 5 by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, with more than 30 million users signing up within 24 hours of launching.
According to data site Quiver Quantitative, the platform has now reached 116 million sign-ups as of 8pm on July 20.
Sydney-based luxury bedding and homewares company Bed Threads, founded by Genevieve Rosen-Biller and Alan Biller in 2017, was quick to join in the fun on the Threads platform with a light-hearted joke about the platform’s name for the brand’s first ‘thread.”
Rosen-Biller says for the company, the Threads app is really about going back to basics and having a conversation with the Bed Threads community.
“As a brand, we have always put community first on our organic social media platforms — and we’re simply iterating on this for Threads,” she tells SmartCompany.
“We’re listening to the conversations on the platform, observing what people want and leaning into this with our Threads content. People are on Threads to have fun and connect authentically, which has become increasingly more challenging on other established platforms.
“So, we’re taking this opportunity to foster conversations, build our community and connect with our consumers in new and playful ways.
“When Mark Zuckerberg announced Threads on Instagram saying “Welcome to Threads”, we saw the opportunity to jump in and share it with a light-hearted response that said ‘We’ve been here for years. Welcome @zuck’ for our first ‘Thread’. Our community loved it!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CuVj4sgB6Zr/
Bed Threads currently has 35,000 followers on Threads and 504,000 on Instagram.
Rosen-Biller believes the new social media platform is here to stay.
“It’s still early days, but there are a few reasons why we anticipate that Threads is here to stay and why brands should be getting involved,” she says.
“Firstly, the platform is so intrinsically linked to Instagram that people are really gravitating towards Threads — 10 million activated accounts in 7 hours after launch says a lot.
“Secondly, people are after a genuine connection with the brands they subscribe to. Community, advocacy and listening to your audience are vital in cultivating a strong affinity with your brand and Threads allows for us to do just that, but in new and innovative ways.
“Plus, Threads is still an ad-free platform, which makes building an organic following and engaging with your audience all the more vital.”
Another business that has already jumped onto the social media platform is beauty brand and Perth startup The Quick Flick, which was founded by Iris Smit in 2017.
“I see Threads as a great opportunity to create two-way communication with our customers and followers, in a genuine and conversational way,” Smit tells SmartCompany.
“A big part of our community building and R&D processes come from open dialogue with followers on other social media platforms, so I look forward to having another avenue to take people behind the scenes of The Quick Flick and the fun that we have!”
The app is used for sharing text updates and joining public conversations, with users able to make posts up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos.
For Sydney-based business Hero Packaging & Sell Anything Online’s husband and wife team Anaita and Vik Sarkar, Threads is a chance for them to showcase their personality.
“The launch of Threads is a chance for brand founders to step out from behind the heavily curated, image and video driven platforms like Instagram and TikTok and showcase their personality in witty, bite-sized pieces,” Anaita Sarkar tells SmartCompany.
“It’s a chance for entrepreneurs to give customers and peers a peek at who they are outside of their business, in a very low effort way.”
Even fashion designers are getting in on the Threads action, with fashion stylist and owner of jewellery brand The Treasured Edit Tina Abeysekara using Threads as an opportunity to re-introduce herself.
“Instagram is important for business but it does have a discoverability issue. Also, we are more than just the right trending sound or pretty pictures,” she tells SmartCompany.
“At the moment I’m using Threads as an opportunity to (re-)introduce myself to existing and new audiences in a fun group chat setting (key to its success so far).
“As Threads is a conversation starter it allows me to share my styling expertise as responses to other people’s Threads on my feed, showing a snippet (not repost) of what I have to offer over on other platforms/businesses.
“It’s also a place to be candid, sharing fun questions and memes, which in turn makes me feel connected to my community and overall humanises brands and businesses. I can see Threads being a valuable research tool for real-time insights to trends for my target audience.”
Equalution co-founder and CEO Amal Wakim says the app’s potential as a brand-building tool is significant.
“Threads offers a fresh and engaging way to participate in trending topics. Its immediacy sets it apart, allowing brands to connect with their followers on a more personal level, creating meaningful interactions,” she said.
“By leveraging Threads, Equalution can deliver valuable educational content, contribute to industry conversations, and enhance the brand’s visibility. This strategic approach enables us to forge stronger relationships with current and new audiences.
“By doing so, we aim to expand our brand’s presence within the ever-evolving digital landscape, generating greater reach and impact.”
