In the second week of this month, Elon Musk’s rebranded Twitter, known as “X,” appeared to be facing a severe threat from Instagram’s Threads platform. The first five days after Threads’ debut saw an astonishing 100 million new sign-ups. Given that Threads needs users to already have an Instagram account, joining the new network was rather simple for Instagram users already using the app. This implies, however, that removing Threads would also imply deleting their Instagram account.
Despite the early excitement, things have subsequently become more subdued. According to Reuters, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg disclosed that more than half of the 100 million people who signed up for Threads are no longer actively using the app during a recent company Town Hall meeting. Even yet, Zuckerberg observed that Threads’ retention rate was higher than anticipated, though he did acknowledge that it was “not perfect.”
The decline in Threads usage, according to Zuckerberg, was “normal” for a new platform and he expressed optimism that as more features are added, the retention rate will rise. A search functionality and a desktop version of Threads are upcoming additions.
Chris Cox, chief product officer of Meta, underlined the need of “retention-driving hooks” in getting users who had abandoned Threads to come back. Making significant Threads accessible to Instagram users is one strategy that may be used to increase the chance of their involvement with the site.
Recently, Threads updated its iOS and Android applications with a few additional capabilities. A “Following” feed, which shows postings from accounts users are following with the most recent post at the top, is one of these enhancements. The “For You” feed blends recommended posts with content from followed profiles. By touching the Threads symbol at the top of the screen and swiping on the screen, users may change between feeds.
In addition, Threads added the ability to translate posts, enhanced Activity’s notification filtering, added a Follow button for swiftly returning the favor, and made it easier for users with private accounts to authorize new followers.
The link is provided so people may access Threads on iOS. The platform may be installed by Android users by clicking on the relevant link.
In order to pique and hold users’ interest as the social media market becomes more competitive, Meta is fine-tuning Threads. In the future, the platform hopes to draw a larger and more active user base by utilizing new features and improvements.
