ICYMI: Don't Overthink Threads, Just Try It 🔥

⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY

• Instagram released its new Threads app and it seems… chill

• Twitter accused Meta of poaching employees to work on Threads

• The FTC has new guidelines around sponsored content

• I’m sharing my newsletter growth tips — but also wrote a dedicated post to dig even deeper!

 💻 ROADMAP

📲 Meta Updates: Threads!

Are you one of the 70M+ who tested Threads this week? If not, why not? (Select European countries that have blocked it notwithstanding.)

New apps are a slam dunk. Engagement is high and expectations are low.

No one expects you to have perfected the platform yet. Everyone’s bumping around, trying to figure it out just like you are. Your only mission this week is to log on and post without overthinking it.

There’s no strategy required yet. Just vibes.  

What You Absolutely Need to Know:

• Threads is a new app from the Instagram team for sharing text updates and joining public conversations

• You log in using your Instagram account and have the option of a public or private profile 

• You also have the option of following all the same accounts you follow on Instagram or curating manually 🌟 Most people seem to be synching with their Instagram base which means you probably have followers on there already

• Your feed includes threads posted by people you follow and recommended content from new creators. Posts are ranked “lightly” says Adam Mosseri. 🌟 The default seems to be seeing everyone who’s currently posting which means there’s a tremendous opportunity for discovery right now 

• Posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos (up to 7 in a carousel), and videos (up to 5 minutes in length)

• You can share a Threads post to your Instagram Feed or Stories and the Story is clickable back to Threads. 🌟 This option is great for Instagram creators who previously shared Twitter screenshots to the Feed

• Meta is working on Threads soon being compatible with open, interoperable social networks such as Mastodon and WordPress, allowing added discovery

• As of now, there are no DMs, no hashtags and no Explore or Trending section. It’s a V1 work in progress. There are also no ads, something that Mark Zuckerberg says they’ll hold off on until they get to 1B users

• Once you log on, you cannot delete your Threads profile. You can deactivate your account, which hides your profile and content; you can set your profile to private; or you can delete individual Thread posts

The Hype Machine: Meta launched its Threads app a day early — potentially in response to disgruntled Twitter users who faced technical limits and paid policy updates on that platform over the holiday weekend.

The Meta marketing machine kicked into overdrive on Monday as “Threads, an app by Instagram,” arrived in the iOS App Store with a release date of July 6, 2023. That was followed by a countdown website, Threads.net. And a personalized timer when users searched the term “Threads” within Instagram.

Adam Mosseri (and likely the entire Instagram team) worked through July 4th, temporarily sharing on his Broadcast Channel that the app was being released even while there was still a "ton more work to do.” (That message was later deleted.)

Simultaneously, Meta sent select influencers and brands an “early access” guide to test Threads, according to Business Insider.  

By July 5, the timer had been adjusted to release the app that day at 4pm PT. Once it launched, users were temporarily assigned an early-adopter “clout” number, which made the rush to join even more intense. (👋🏼 number 40,945)

Who Is Threads For? Unhappy Twitter users may be looking for a new place to post but Meta may have less direct competition in mind. The company only needs about 15% of its current 3.8B universe to populate Threads to put it ahead of Twitter’s estimated 368M audience. 

Meanwhile, early celebrity and creator onboards should help bring fandoms and cultural clout while brands (like Netflix, Peacock and Spotify) will eventually bring ad dollars but for now just lots and lots of memes.

What Is Threads For? That remains to be seen. Originally, it was touted as a “Twitter killer” but at some point the app needs to have a reason for being beyond crushing the competition.  Mosseri’s referred to it as “an open, civil place for conversation.” 

I’d like to see it used as a real-time communication channel used by creators, brands, government institutions, organizations and activists. 

But ultimately, it’s the people who log on, post and engage daily who create the culture and determine the direction that an app takes.

Right now, the tone is optimistic and humorous. Sort of like a chaotic group chat with people debating pineapple on pizza and which platform has the hottest users.  

Should You Be On There: If you’re a creator, marketer, social media manager, publicist, or public figure, yes! You don’t need to be Threads famous, but you should experiment posting organically to the app during this exploratory phase.

Related: Twitter is threatening to sue Meta over Threads

📲 Twitter Updates:

• Twitter temporarily limited unverified users to 600 tweets a day, apparently in an effort “to remove spam and bots” from the platform. “You must slow down to speed up,” they wrote in a blog post explaining the policy three days after enforcing the limits.

• Twitter announced that Tweetdeck, a power-user dashboard, would soon be available to paid subscribers only. “In 30 days, users must be Verified to access TweetDeck.” 

• Twitter quietly reversed a policy that stopped showing tweets to logged-out users and wouldn’t show tweet previews in iMessage. It was a “temporary emergency measure,” according to Elon Musk, to address data scraping. 

📲 TikTok Updates:

• TikTok is testing a new music production app in the US called Ripple. Musicians and music enthusiasts were the first to be invited to test the “virtual recording studio” app. Apply for testing here.

📲 YouTube Updates:

• YouTube is experimenting with hyperlinked keywords in Comments. Phrases or keywords within comments that encourage exploration (as determined by YouTube) will be hyperlinked. Clicking on a link will initiate a new YouTube search. You can’t add or modify links as a commenter but creators can remove them. 

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👆🏻 CLICK THRU

🔍 #Ad Is Just the Beginning

The FTC updated its Endorsement Guide regulating a reviewer’s relationship to the company whose products are being recommended. Attorney Robert Freund has a great thread on the highlights here but to note:

• Almost anything you get for free (including meals, travel, gifts and event access) needs to be disclosed

• International creators whose content will be seen by US consumers must comply with FTC's rules

• The FTC wants TikTokers to disclose sponsored content using text on screen, not just a written disclosure in the video description

• If you go on an influencer trip and are endorsing the brand’s products, you need to disclose the sponsored travel arrangements

• You should superimpose a disclosure on Snapchat or Instagram Stories if the content is sponsored

⚡️ Newsletter Growth Tips

I was going to send out a newsletter all about newsletter growth but then Threads happened. So, I’ve split my newsletter in two. I’m including some of my top tips here but would recommend you click through for more growth tips and an in-depth timeline of how the newsletter grew to 10K+ subscribers!

• Pick a newsletter platform with a recommendation feature
  There are a lot of good email marketing platforms (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Hubspot, etc.). What attracted me to Substack was the built-in recommendation feature which enables writers to promote and support one another.

  Now, other ESPs (email service providers) like ConvertKit and Beehiiv are offering similar recommendation engines to help creators leverage the community aspect of their platforms.

  And getting on other people’s recommendation lists helps a LOT. My newsletter is recommended by 38 other Substack newsletters and I’ve gotten 3,000 subscribers out of those recommendations. 

• Promote other newsletters and newsletter creators 
  Along with automatic recommendation features, make sure you’re collaborating with other writers and promoting each other’s work. Cross-platform promotion is hard — it’s like getting people on YouTube to follow you on Instagram and vice versa. About 45% of my subscribers have come through other Substack newsletters. People are already there and receptive to the format.

• Get your newsletter in front of journalists, bloggers, and key tastemakers
  As I mentioned, getting included in a ‘best of’ round-up was a major goal for me this year. It helps provide social proof, reinforces credibility and increases visibility, all key building blocks of social influence. Being included in Buffer’s best marketing newsletters' list in March has driven 548 subscriptions for me so far and is a bragging point I’ve added to my bio.

• Consistency AND quality is key
  You’re asking for people’s time and attention on the reg, make it worth their while to click in. As Katelyn Bourgoin recently pointed out, inboxes are getting very crowded. Make sure you’re delivering outstanding value if you want to keeping earning an open from readers.  

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Thanks to the Hello Arcade team who interviewed me for their Waves podcast — perfect timing as we talked about how to write newsletters your subscribers will actually open!

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📖 ON YOUR RADAR

• Meta is planning to let people in the EU download apps through Facebook, putting it in direct competition with Apple and Google app stores -The Verge

• French government could cut off social media during unrest, says Macron -The Guardian

• Resso is the ByteDance streaming app that’s quietly going global -Rest of the World

• BookTok can make bestsellers. So ByteDance is becoming a publisher -TubeFilter

• The highest-paying brands include Walmart, Adobe, Target, McDonald's, and Nike, reveals FYPM 2023 Creator Pricing Benchmark Report -Lindsey Gamble 

• Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney says Bud Light didn’t support her during backlash -AP

• Trisha Paytas Called It “Disgusting” And “Inhumane” That Colleen Ballinger Allegedly Sent Her Nude Photos To An Underage Fan -BuzzFeed News

• Fans are speculating that beauty influencer Mikayla Nogueira’s wedding was one big branded-content deal -The Cut