Create targeted niche groups with Threads

Threads, a new app and networking service by Meta Platforms, is the latest social media platform joining the ranks in popularity of Instagram and Facebook.

The new mobile app offers a way to interact with a more select group of individuals in a meaningful and personal manner. After launching on July 5, Threads reached over 100 million downloads in just five days, making it the fastest app to do so.

And, with a desktop version soon becoming available, that number is anticipated to only continue to grow, especially for brands and companies.

Like most other platforms, Threads can be used by media companies and newsrooms to share real-time stories and updates with their audience. Where Threads thrives, however, is its ability to connect people.

Unlike some other platforms, Threads allows users to create different profiles. This allows media companies to create multiple profiles to tailor their content to specific audiences.

Some examples of how a local site can use this to their advantage:

• General news profile: Use this account to share your news stories and features, share media from live event coverage and share important updates
• Sports profile: Post real-time sports scores and updates, share game previews and recaps, and athlete profiles.
• Entertainment profile: Share content created around dining, recreation, things to do and artist profiles, whether you have a special entertainment product or not
• Editorial profile: Have a lot of columns or letters to the editor? Share them to this account where people can engage with the post
• Bonus tip: Tagging other profiles in your posts on all of these accounts is sure to boost engagement!

Media companies can also build a “close friends” list and invite their target audience to join. Similar to Instagram, the close friends list feature in Threads enables users to handpick a list of people with whom they want to share more information.

This group receives exclusive content and updates. Your account can push out exclusive material, behind-the-scenes information, and previews of upcoming projects, from a stronger sense of community and loyalty as a result.

Similarly to using Facebook groups to target specific audiences, creating a close friends list carves out a niche following that you can interact with in a variety of ways. Looking for a group of readers to engage with on a regular basis for feedback or story ideas? That’s a great use for this close friends list.

This group can also be a great resource to build out source lists for your media companies or connect with other industry experts. As this Entrepreneur article suggests, niche groups are sometimes much more helpful than sending out messages to the masses to help lead you to the most accurate and well-rounded information.

Threads can also be used as a useful tool to garner feedback and audience research outside of your close friends lists, however. This will help companies learn more about the preferences, viewpoints, and recommendations of their broad audience by having more intimate dialogues between themselves and their viewers.

Media companies can also use the space to run contests, promotions, and limited-time deals, both within its close friends list and its general following.

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We’d love the chance to tell you about the work we’re doing with newspapers, TV stations, digital pure plays and magazines in digital audience and revenue, branded content and content creation. Email us at david@davidarkinconsulting.com