The relevance of ‘Threads’ to the pet and vet industry

We’ve all heard about it; the launch of Threads! A shiny new social media app set to rival X (previously and better known as Twitter). But what is Threads, and after the initial hype, does it have relevance to the pet and vet industry?

Sitting under ‘Meta Platforms’, the company owning both Facebook and Instagram, Threads is described as “a new app, built by the Instagram team, for sharing text updates and joining public conversations”. Fundamentally, a separate space for real-time updates and public conversations. The platform looks a lot like Twitter, with a feed of largely text-based posts; however, one of the main differences is that users can also post photos and videos. It has also been positioned as a ‘gentler’ and ‘safer’ version of Twitter, at a time when Twitter was implementing rules and restrictions.

So what relevance does this have to our industry, and should you sign up? The use of Threads could be beneficial to join in wider industry-based conversations, increasing brand awareness and positioning you/your brand as a ‘thought leader’ in your area of expertise. Similarly, given its simplicity in terms of its main purpose, ‘text only’ posts, it provides faster access to getting your message out there. Its slick integration with Instagram also means that you can ‘kill two birds with one stone’ in terms of cross-platform posting. Time will tell whether the engagement as a result of this posting is more professional to professional, rather than professional to pet owners, however.

In the context of reaching pet owners, how beneficial would this be in comparison to those apps already established and utilised?

Time is of the essence for vets and pet professionals, so whilst this platform could provide a more accessible and instantaneous vehicle to reaching pet owners, its real-time nature does balance out the time-saving aspect with the time required to consistently be engaged in conversation. Similarly, one of the main advantages our industry has that makes the likes of Instagram, Facebook and Youtube so beneficial, is the fact we can use engaging imagery - who doesn’t love a photo of a dog? Obviously, that isn’t the sole focus of this platform so we could be missing out on engagement opportunities. It really is a balancing act of where to spend your time given the close similarities.

You may consider signing up to ‘give it a go’ and see what you feel works best for your business. Seems logical, right? Before you do, however, it's important to consider that if you choose to leave Threads, it's not quite that straightforward. Your Threads account can be deactivated, but to enable you to delete it, you will also need to delete your Instagram account. If your business already has a well-established community, you don’t want your hard work to go to waste, and nor will you want a neglected platform elsewhere - something to consider before you take the leap!

The next consideration is that much like Instagram, Threads does collect a significant amount of data on their users according to the app store, including location, contacts, search history, browsing history, and contact information - to name a few. Why is this necessary you may ask? At present, there is no functionality for ‘ads’ on the platform yet, which may be a deal breaker for businesses using the platform rather than ‘people’, but the level of data collection could suggest that this is in the pipeline.

So where do you go from here? Threads is still a very new app. Its early success was promising, having already surpassed 100 million users within its first 5 days of launch. However, there have since been reports of a substantial drop off in its user base already - 50% has been confirmed. Similarly, this app is still in its infancy; it is missing many features that would be hugely beneficial to our industry, such as a desktop version, direct messaging, trending topics and the option to edit posts. Of course, it's highly likely these are in the pipeline to come!

Overall, our take is to watch this space! There are both upsides and downsides to Threads, as well as its comparable competitor platforms. Ultimately, the question is what will work best for your business, based on your wider aims? Consider who you are targeting, how you are targeting them, and how you want your messages to be engaged with - this should dictate which platforms have the most relevance to you and where to invest your time as a result. For us, a combination of image, video and text will always be king, providing the greatest opportunity for a hook and education around our industry's wider purpose, improving animal welfare. We want to stop people scrolling and engage with the content we have to offer, and for us, the most likely way of that happening is through prominent visuals.