When Meta launched Threads, it was billed as a 'Twitter-killer' as 100 million signed up within days of launch. But just like other rivals to Twitter, Threads seems to be losing traction. New data apps tracking firm Sensor Tower indicates the hype has died down and Threads has seen a 20 per cent decrease in active users and a 50 per cent reduction in time spent on the app, from 20 minutes to 10 minutes.
Twitter had seen about a 5 per cent decrease
Twitter had seen about a 5 per cent decrease in traffic right after Threads' launch earlier this month. Threads isn't the only Twitter alternative to gain and lose traction. Mastodon saw millions of signups immediately after Elon Musk bought Twitter in a USD 44-billion deal. But since late last year, Mastodon has failed to keep users' interest.
Bluesky, backed by Twitter's co-founder Jack Dorsey, has also piqued some interest but hasn't really caught up. Twitter has built its reputation around live breaking news, making it the go-to platform for millions during events -- political or entertainment. In contrast, Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram and Threads, has said on many occasions that Threads has no plan to bolster news and political content.
Also, Twitter allows users to operate anonymously, something that is not possible on Threads due to its direct integration with Instagram. A significant portion of Twitter users remains anonymous, and Threads missed out on this segment of daily active users. According to app intelligence firm data.ai, Threads had most downloads coming from India (33 per cent), followed by Brazil (22 per cent) and the US (16 per cent).
Brands and creators maintain a wait-and-watch stance
But everyone is not writing Threads off. Brands and creators maintain a wait-and-watch stance while content creators feel the app has nothing new to offer, and will probably not work. Co-founder and COO of SUGAR Cosmetics Kaushik Mukherjee said that the brand has leveraged Threads to "deliver fun, witty content". "Initially we witnessed a remarkable surge in user adoption and our team actively participated in this trend."
Acknowledging the user dip on the platform, the company is planning to revitalise engagement. "… some users seemed to disengage over time. However, we are determined to address this challenge proactively considering the format is still at a very nascent stage," he added.
'Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of fintech major Paytm, also shared a graph on Twitter showing the decline in user base for Meta Threads.
Group Co-founder of content-to-commerce company Good Glamm Group and CEO, Good Media Co, Priyanka Gill said that the company did observe a dip within two weeks of the platform launching, but since their Instagram user base is "already highly engaged", they are using the platform for diversifying content and engaging with audiences in different formats. "We are doing a couple of different experiments and analyzing data weekly to see what's working and what's not," she added.
Fashion e-commerce platform Myntra launched the Rising Stars campaign for D2C brands on Threads. "This involved a banter between... digital-first brands sharing their excitement of being on Myntra Rising Stars on Threads, thereby adding another layer of visibility among their digital-savvy audience," said Arun Devanathan, Senior Director for Social Commerce, Myntra.
According to Nikshubha Sharma, social media lead at Mamaearth owner Honasa, Threads has limited analytics and an ad-free environment. "Comparing with Instagram, the user engagement seems average considering the difference in followers on both platforms. The status quo will not work on the platform as of now," she added.
Jatan Bawa, founder of new-age oral care brand Perfora, pointed out that for every four hours their team spends on Instagram, they spend half an hour on Threads. "Threads is at a nascent stage...while macro forces will determine traction, we don't know if it may start picking up because a lot of (social media) is algorithm-based," he added.
(with inputs from PTI)
