Threads loses half of its 100M users

0:00All right. So threads just lost half of its early users. So I think the number was they got up to 100 million or so. And they're saying that maybe only 50 million or so are sticking around. That's kind of the headline number that I'm seeing. Have you heard something similar? I haven't seen any data on how many thread users are sticking around. But I know a lot of people have stopped using threads that were super engaged in the first week. Yep. So I think, I mean, what do you think are some of the lessons here? You can go first and I'll go. Just because something is hot and everyone's talking about it doesn't mean it's going to permanently stay that way.

0:38Another thing too is in marketing, what people don't really comprehend is when you're used to something and consumers are used to something, it's hard to change your perception. So, for example, people are used to going on Twitter to post similar types of messages that they would post on threads. it's hard to just get them to switch and just be like all of a sudden, hey, you no longer need to post on Twitter or you can do both. We tend to get stuck in our ways. And another great example of this is Google. There's been a lot of studies that show that Bing search results are more relevant than Google.

1:13But as consumers, we're used to just going to Google and searching and we're happy with it. You know, is Bing better or not? Well, that's debatable, but people are satisfied with what they're getting at Google, so they don't really care to switch. So, here's how I look at it too. when I think about email marketing, your objective as an email marketer is really, sure, it's to convert, but ultimately, you want to retain, which means you want them to get to look forward to the next email, which means you need to write a good email address or not a good email address, a good email, a good email newsletter.

1:45And so when I think about threads, what I liked about it initially was that it was very bare bones, which is the plus, but the minus also is that it's very bare bones. And so then it's like, What is the incentive to come back when maybe a lot of the people that are established on Twitter are already getting great engagement? So the natural writers are already there. And then the people that were testing out threads, it was like the new and novel thing. But at the end of the day, you can see it really started to fizzle out for the people that are not natively used to writing. And so people are used to what they're used to.

2:17And people also, it's hard to change behaviors as well, right? And so do I think threads will fail? No, I think it's still very much an and type of equation. So it's threads and it's not even Twitter anymore. It's threads and X, right? And so I would just say that. And then the other thing is you can't count meta out because they had a small strike team that was kind of working on this. They're going to put more resources towards this. 50 million is still a significant number. It might decline a little more. But I do believe that they're going to improve the product and they're going to collect user feedback.

2:47They're going to look at what's good and they're just going to improve the product over time. And you've seen they've been pretty good at copying over the years, right? Whether it's adding stories, whether it's adding reels, and now in this case, adding threads, right? So I wouldn't count them out. I mean, I think they still have one of the best teams in the world. So that's all it is at the end of the day. So it's not a knockout punch for threads. But this is also a lesson for you in terms of if you're going to build something, just keep in mind, just because you get a lot of people in the beginning, you also have to be able to retain the users as well.

3:14And that means a lot of customer development. That means a lot of looking at the data to see what works and what doesn't and constantly iterating. yeah and and what you should do if you're trying to get the most out as a marketer don't worry if people are using threads or not use all platforms you can use similar messages to what you use on twitter on threads just post in multiple places doesn't take that much more time if you get extra play great if not no worries something extra is better than nothing so the other thing i'll say is I still like posting the threads to test concepts because maybe it's a psychological thing.

3:52It is a psychological thing for me, but I don't feel as much judgment when I post the threads. And so I'm just going to go post the threads first, see how it does. And then that's where I might consider posting the other channels. So you might look at it that way as well. That might be a little psychological hack for you. But I find that I tend to not be as filtered, which can be a good or bad thing when I'm posting the threads. So just keep that part in mind. But again, I mean, we're still in the very early innings right now. I would say we're not even through the first inning right now for Threads.

4:22So just be patient with it. A lot of people like to use these headline numbers and, you know, it is what it is. Cool. Well, that's it for today's episode. Make sure you rate, review this podcast. We love those five-star ratings and reviews. Again, really appreciate it. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow.