Threads two weeks on – how are brands utilising the platform?
‘Threads’ seems to have taken the social media world by storm over the last fortnight, becoming the quickest social media platform to reach 100m users. Early data has suggested that brands are seeing good engagement on Threads, with the majority of brands that are active on Threads generating more likes per post in the app than they were on Twitter, with the overall average sitting at around 8x their normal tweet engagement.
But how are brands making the most of the platform? Millions of brands have jumped onto the thread trend, and have appeared to kick-start their platform by being highly conversational with a relaxed and ‘tongue and cheek’ tone of voice. It appears brands are aiming to make their posts as relatable as possible in a bid to create a relaxed and approachable environment.
Many businesses have had to make the dreaded ‘first thread’ post over the last week, however it is clear that the humorous ways in which brands are kick-starting their Threads account is creating a positive connection with their fanbase. Companies such as Gregg’s, ASOS and Chipotle have been praised for their early work on the platform and as such have been rewarded with an impressive engagement rate across their posts so far.
Check out our ‘Guide to Threads’ here.
60% of major news website visits are made by men
A study conducted this week by Press Gazette found that across the 53 most visited news websites, 60.1% of visits were made by men in May 2023, indicating an average gender consumption gap of 20.2% between male and female audiences.
The standouts from the data include Fox News, who have a 70/30 split between a male and female audience, alongside The Sun and The Mirror, who both have a 64/36 gender split between their audience. This obviously is a wake-up call for the news industry, however the report provides opportunities for major news outlets to grow their female audience and stresses the importance for news outlets to tailor their content equally between male and female audiences
The data also provided insight into the gender split in terms of the topics of news that they are consuming. According to the statistics, women consume more media based on lifestyle than men, whereas men consume more media based on politics and business. This provides further opportunities to develop both an audience for male lifestyle and the opportunity for news outlets to produce further political content aimed towards a female audience – which would set them apart from their competitors.
Find out more here.
Twitter’s total Ad revenue plummets by 50% during Musk’s reign
A recent post from Elon Musk confirmed that Twitter’s ad revenue has halved since the billionaire’s acquisition of the platform last October. The company’s cash flow has remained negative since Musk took over Twitter which has led to him taking extreme action to keep the business afloat, such as firing half of Twitter’s 7,500 employees in an attempt to reduce costs for the business.
On the other side of the coin, rival app Threads boasts an estimated 150 million users and, being Meta-designed, has access to a potential two billion users through its connection to Instagram. The rise of threads has led to Musk staring down the barrel of a £12bn debt which needs to be paid off by the end of July, which could potentially increase the pressure on Tesla’s shares if he is forced into selling more of his stake to cover the debt.
Despite the company’s colossal collapse over the course of a year, finance analyst, Lucy Coutts, believes that Musk can turn the fate of Twitter around, however she stated that ‘it may take longer’ than initially expected. In an attempt to regain some of the lost Ad revenue, Linda Yaccarino has stated that Twitter will aim to prioritise video, creator, and commerce partnerships, whilst holding discussions with political/entertainment figures, payment services, and news/media publishers to hopefully revitalise the app and protect it from being blown out of the water by its competition.
Find out more here.
TikTok partners with FIFA to produce exclusive content for the Women’s World Cup
With today marking the start of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, TikTok has announced that it will be the designated hub for the tournament, giving users exclusive content and behind-the-scenes clips throughout.
Being TikTok’s first official collaboration with a major sports event, the platform has a team of 16 content creators across the world that are going to be producing content from the event, providing insight from the different nations along the way.
TikTok users will be able to follow the Women’s World Cup action by following #FIFAWWC. Find out more on the campaign here.