Why Threads Is Losing Traction -

Last month, I wrote about how Threads was making huge gains in the Short-Post Social Networking industry.

During that time, Threads was quickly appearing to steal ground from X (formerly Twitter).

At the same time, Threads was overcoming the challenges faced by both Mastodon and BlueSky.

It looked like there was a potential for Threads to overtake the long-time power hold that X had on the industry.

However, almost as quickly as it rose, it began to plateau.

What once appeared as a true contender to Twitter simply fell from its meteoric rise, and has remained close to the same level that it was a month ago.

So, what happened?

What was it that led to Threads faltering so quickly?

Social Media 101

One of the largest challenges people have been having with Threads is it has been failing to truly be "Social Media".

A key aspect of Social Media is the Social aspect.

This requires content to be able to get in front of an audience.

What people have been noticing is that there doesn't seem to be any way to really "build" your following organically.

If you had a following over on Instagram, that can get "exported" over to Threads, but it seems to stop quickly after that.

Most social media platforms (including Instagram and Facebook, also owned by Meta) have features that push organic growth.

Showing related content and utilizing hashtags to help define that content.

However, there doesn't appear to be anything of that nature that works in Threads.

If it does have it, it doesn't appear to be working very well overall for most users.

This has left people feeling that the app is dry overall.

If Threads could overcome this challenge, it would become a true "social media" app.

Failures In Connectivity

One of the features that Threads had going for it was its connection with Instagram.

It allowed content to be shared between those platforms quickly.

However, this too has also fallen flat.

Even though Instagram works well with Facebook, it seems Threads hasn't been directly added to these equations.

Instead, it only partially works with Instagram and completely lacks connectivity with Facebook.

What could be a content ecosystem with the three apps (similar to how Apple connects devices, or Microsoft connects productivity tools like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) ends up being more of a glitchy and painful-to-use process.

If Threads could successfully create an ecosystem, especially if there was a way to have content adapt from one platform across the other two in visually appealing ways that fit the different strengths of each platform, it could be a game-changer.

Failure In Capitalizing On WOM

A final aspect that launched Threads quickly was the volume of Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing that occurred.

There was a gigantic wave of hype that revolved around Threads due to a blitz of WOM marketing.

However, this also became part of the problem.

When people are moved by WOM marketing, they have certain expectations of what they are going to find.

Different ways to interact with their favorite creators.

Different types of content.

Ways to find other, similar content from others.

However, none of these were found.

Instead of finding different, interesting content and new ways of interacting or finding new content, they got what ended up being a fairly bland experience.

Quickly the same people that called so many of their own followers over to Threads were asking the question, "Is this it?"

When the same people that were praising you stop praising you, it's a quick ticket to mediocrity.

However, there is an opportunity that still exists within this.

If Threads could connect with their early adopters, discover what drew them over in the first place, what they were hoping would be "different", and then act on it, this would be another huge boon to Threads.

Final Word

Threads, though they have plateaued, is still sitting at the second most utilized app in the Short-Post Social Networking industry.

Mastodon has the same challenges that were introduced in my last article.

BlueSky hasn't become available to the wider public.

Which leaves X as the top company in the industry still.

However, X is still getting hatred toward it, as word of Elon Musk is beginning to spread that his ideas may not pan out as he hoped.

With this, if Threads could quickly tap into their opportunities, they could potentially overcome this plateau they currently face.

However, whether they will accomplish it is still up in the air.

They indeed have the potential, however, it takes more than potential to create a successful product and organization.

With the issues that Meta has been facing against TikTok and the political battlegrounds, it would be great for them to gain a win.

However, it also may become more difficult as word is spreading that Meta is planning on cracking down on their return-to-office mandates.

If they go ahead on those plans, I suspect (based on the growing data), that it'll only add more trouble to their growing list of challenges.

This is on top of their Leadership problems in failing to be Exemplars and the problems with "Fake Work".

Time will tell if Meta is able to capitalize on their opportunities, or if they will crumble under their own weight and failures in Leadership.