Threads Sees Significant Decline in Usage, but Opportunity for Disruption Stays

While Elon Musk continues to tinker with Twitter, and push users towards paying to get full functionality within the app, Meta’s Twitter challenger Threads has seemingly stumbled from its initial launch, based on the most recent third-party usage stats.

You’ve little question seen the numbers. Sensor Tower has reported that Threads each day energetic user count has dropped by around 70% since launch, data.ai reports that Threads downloads have slowed significantly, and various pundits have already predicted that Meta’s real-time news app is destined for failure, following its record-breaking ascent to 100 million members.

A few of that is predicated in hope, with Musk’s most distinguished supporters seeking to amplify the news of Threads’ demise nonetheless they will. And while it’s too early to actually gauge what its potential could also be, the numbers do raise some legitimate concerns.

So is the Threads hype train already over, and as such, must you even trouble constructing a presence within the app?

There are a few key considerations here. First off, Threads continues to be very basic, with limited functionality and options for posting. A key addition shall be a ‘Following’ feed, in variance to the present, AI beneficial ‘Home’ timeline, which, based on recent screengrabs from Instagram chief Adam Mosseri’s posts, is coming very soon.

As you possibly can see in this instance, there’ll soon be a ‘For you’ and ‘Following’ feed within the app, which shall be a giant assist in enabling users to get a stream of content from only the profiles that they’ve chosen to follow, much like Twitter.

The downside to that shall be more limited post exposure, which could see per post engagement stats decline, however it does seem to be a obligatory step, at the least until the Threads algorithm will be properly attuned to what people want from the app, with a purpose to bring it into parity with tweets.

There’s also no desktop app, or account switching functionality, which makes it more cumbersome for social media managers to navigate. Given this, you possibly can imagine that at the least some have opted to go away it for now, resulting in at the least among the drop-off in user numbers. But I believe that when these functionalities are added, Threads will gain traction once more.

Why so optimistic? Because 117 million people have created a Threads profile, which equates to almost half of Twitter’s energetic user base. That reflects significant interest in a competitor platform that’s functional, easy to make use of, and provides an analogous experience to what Twitter either does or once did.

Like him or not, Elon Musk’s polarizing approach has alienated many Twitter users, and the sheer scale of individuals signing up for Threads reflects this. And as Elon continues to reshape Twitter in his own image, those users are unlikely to turn into more affiliated with the platform once more.

Like similar surges in sign-ups to Mastodon, and other Twitter alternative apps, people want something else, however the difference with Threads is that many, many more people have signed up, and are willing to post there as a substitute. Mastodon sign-ups peaked at 2.5 million in December last 12 months, which equates to around 2% of the expansion that Threads has already seen. As such, these are usually not comparable challenger apps, which is why Threads is already in its own category, even considering the undeniable fact that it’s used Instagram as a ramp to its early growth.

It’s also vital to notice the interest of celebrities, journalists, and other high-profile users, who, in the event that they proceed to post to Threads, are going to bring their audiences with them.

Many celebrities were annoyed at Twitter taking away their checkmark, and have voiced their opposition to Elon Musk specifically.

Journalists too have been consistently criticized by Musk, but journalists have also played a key role in Twitter’s growth story. Twitter’s overall user count is much lower than, say, Facebook, but Twitter has remained a relevant platform since it’s a key source for breaking news and knowledge, due specifically to its popularity amongst news breakers and reporters.  

But Musk’s repeated attacks on ‘mainstream media’ have left many searching for one other outlet, and that too could see them drift to Threads, with many already posting there more often than they’re tweeting.

Add to this Musk’s coming Twitter re-brand, which can see the app turn into ‘X’ as a substitute, and the chance stays ripe for disruption, and again, the variety of those who have registered an interest in Threads absolutely bodes well for its future potential.

And there’s also one other key point of note, as highlighted by TechCrunch:

“Threads is catching on in emerging mobile markets, where downloads are still growing. The US is simply its third-largest market. As of July 17, India and Brazil accounted for a bigger variety of installs, at 60.1 million (32.6%) and 40.2 million (21.8%), respectively. The US delivered 27.8 million downloads, or 15.1%.”

If Threads gains traction in these regions, that can further add to its future potential, especially when you furthermore may consider that Twitter has never really caught on in either region.

Threads could turn into the important thing real-time app for these users, which can help to fuel expanded growth, and convey increasingly more users to the platform.

So while newer numbers suggest that interest is already waning, it feels more like a lull before the following big push from Threads, either through the introduction of recent features, or from the following wave of Twitter users pushed away by Musk’s changes on the app.

Which makes Musk’s re-brand strategy particularly dangerous right now, but Elon’s going to do it his way, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

Essentially, the chance to compete with Twitter stays wide open, and the early interest in Threads shows that it may compete.