Hi friend,

In case you’ve been living in an underground bunker for the past week, there’s a new social media platform that was launched last Thursday called Threads.

I made the joke about the underground bunker because I think that’s the only way you don’t know about Threads. 

Heck, on Monday Threads reached 100 million sign-ups after less than a week. That makes it the fastest app to reach that milestone - ever.

100 million sign ups is great for Mark Zuckerberg, but does it mean you should dedicate your valuable time and energy to building an audience on Threads?

This has been a topic of debate here at AWeber. The reality is no one can predict what will become of Threads. It has the potential to be the #1 social media platform and make Twitter part of the internet history with the likes of Myspace and Friendster.

But it could also be a ghost town in a month (remember Google+?).

So the big question for creators and business owners - “Is the time and effort creating content and building an audience on another platform worth the risk?”

I believe it is. I also believe how aggressively you try to grow that audience depends on the current social channels you currently use.

Twitter

I’m not going to sugarcoat it - Twitter scares me. They recently limited the number of tweets you can see per day. Ad sales dropped 59% over the past year. It’s never a good sign for any business when advertisers start pulling out. And in November they laid off thousands of employees.

So if you predominantly use Twitter, then you absolutely need to be creating on Threads.

I know it’s not ideal posting on two very similar platforms, especially two that are essentially the same.

Unfortunately I don’t think Twitter left you any choice. If Twitter were to go out of business or if your audience prefers Threads and you don’t already have an active presence, then it may be a challenge starting from scratch.

Don’t think it’s possible? Just check out this Tweet from Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare:

Bottom line - you need to have an active presence on both platforms.

However you do have a challenge. Apparently Twitter has blocked links to Threads, so you can’t simply ask your audience to also follow you on Threads.

One work around is to ask your Twitter audience to sign up for your email list. Then in your welcome email you can ask them to also follow you on Threads.

Facebook

Drama free Facebook. That’s a good place to be right now.

If your audience is predominantly on Facebook, then you actually have a choice. Even though Facebook is owned by Meta, who also own Threads, there’s really no advantage to introducing another channel to your audience.

If you’re not actively using Twitter as well, then I would recommend not spending your time building yet another audience on yet another social media platform.  

Instagram

Why not? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

The reason I say this is because it’s so easy to get started. All you have to do is download the app and sign in with your Instagram login. It uses your Instagram username, pulls in your followers, profile, pic and verification status.

And when new users sign up who already follow you on Instagram they're prompted to follow you on Threads.

Then just experiment, see how your audience is engaging with you on Threads. If they’re not engaging, then you stop producing content for this channel. 

But if they are engaging, now you have a new way to communicate with them and strengthen the relationship with your followers.

Chris V, who sometimes writes these newsletters has found that Threads is making him more active on Instagram because the process of posting a thread to his Instagram stories for his audience to enjoy is so seamless.

What’s next…

As content creators and small business owners we have a lot to weigh when it comes to the future of our social media channels.

But if you’re going to make Threads an active part of your content strategy, then I would start today. 

I believe early adopters will be rewarded. Why? Because what matters to a social platform is engagement. They want more people staying on their platform longer.

So in this case you have an opportunity to be rewarded for being engaging.

By doing so you also have an opportunity to get in front of more people and to build a following fast.

What did you think of this email?

❤️❤️❤️ Loved it. Can't wait to get the next one.

💔 I didn't really care for it.

What if Threads does mark the end of Twitter?

When big brands disappear, we’re shocked. I grew up in the 90s where Blockbuster Video was a juggernaut. At the time no one could have imagined life without them, until Netflix came along and essentially put them out of business.

My point is, don’t assume any of the social platforms where you have a loyal following is always going to be around. The next Netflix (or maybe Threads) could be right around the corner.

So you should be taking action now to ensure you don’t lose your followers, not just with Twitter but all your social platforms.

Get your followers to share their email address with you. Then those followers will always be able to receive your amazing content no matter the social platform.

Need help converting your followers, here’s a few guides that can help:

Unlock inspiration and refine content

As you're writing your email, you can tap into the power of AI located in the email message editor.

Just type / as your creating your email and you’ll see this appear:
 

Select “Write with AI” and ask AI anything.

• Need a subject line ✅
• How about an intro paragraph ✅
• Or an idea for your email ✅

And that's just scratching the surface.

Give AWeber's AI Writing Assistant a try today. 

Get our latest expert advice and helpful tips 

As always, thanks for reading!

- Sean Tinney and the rest of the AWeber team
 

P.S. It's time to unlock the power of AWeber Plus. Get all the email and automation solutions to help you quickly and easily grow your audience, build connections, and make sales. 

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