SOCIAL
The Drum | 1 Week In, Here’s How Agencies Are Advising Clients To Approach Threads
As users and brands continue to flock to Meta’s Twitter rival Threads, we ask agency experts how, if at all, they’re advising clients to react.
Threads has been available for less than a week. While journalists debate whether it can support the same calibre of political discourse as Twitter – and regular users wonder whether it’ll provide the same quality of unhinged memes – questions remain for marketers about its worth as an audience channel.
Should it be used for ads? Brand banter? Or as a customer service platform?
We asked social experts at some of the industry’s biggest agenices how they were guiding their clients during the first days of the new network.
How do you solve a problem like… settling on an initial strategy for Threads?
Ben Obadia, senior planner, Leo Burnett: “Threads can be a great place for tactical, social, and organic opportunities. There is scale (people, content), it feels safe (Meta family), and most importantly it feels positive right now. But will the hype go beyond the meme? Threads is a mix of Twitter’s UX, Insta’s social graph, and most importantly TikTok’s algorithm. Theoretically, Threads could be great tool for mass organic reach, fame and earned media. It seems worthwhile to get in there early and experiment. We recommend brands to test and learn, start small and build their voice.
Thom Josephson, media director at Blue State: “Meta, for all its faults, is a platform deeply concerned by brand risk. There are few downsides to joining Threads and starting an organic strategy. For organizations thinking about Threads, they should at least claim their username in case you might want to use it later. At a higher level, Threads’ initial culture looks different from Twitter and a more conversational, colloquial tone may work better. Threads is still early going and organizations are sure to have questions about long-term viability.”
Sarah Jardine, social strategy lead at Wunderman Thompson UK: “For Threads to have longevity, the benefits of moving from Twitter to Threads need to be clear. Twitter’s future is uncertain, Threads needs to act as a confident social network to attract sign-ups. Play into how it’s not just a Twitter copy, but a standalone social network you want to be a part of. Meta channels should also utilise their ad space to promote Threads, just like TikTok does with Lemon8 to help with user acquisition.”
Chris Whitson, global head of strategy, Iris: “Two days on and with 30m+ signed up, Threads looks like a masterstroke of timing and strategy. Yes, we don’t know if people will want to engage with the same people on Threads as they do on Instagram, but Musk’s lunacy and the cauldron of hate that Twitter has become continue to confound users and advertisers alike. So many possibilities are opened up by knowing what users love on Instagram and then being able to serve relevant content and advertising on a platform where their behaviour may be very different. I can see connected Meta universe strategies, deploying Facebook, Instagram and Threads to operate across the funnel. However, only time will tell, so my advice to clients would be to hold fire for now.”
Tony Wright, strategy director, The&Partnership: “Whether diving in quickly to make a fun and fast start or holding fire and taking a more considered approach, the age-old principles of strong social brand marketing remain. Root everything around your brand’s proposition, define a clear role for your presence on the platform, have a strong, clear and distinctive tone-of-voice and know how you will and won’t play. The best uses and returns of social brand marketing across any channel are the result of purpose and craft.”
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Mara Dettman, digital strategy lead/co-editor, BBH Labs: ”Yes, Threads occupies a similar niche to Twitter – but the current user base is largely coming from Instagram. So, to get started on Threads, review what your audience likes best about both your Twitter and Instagram presence and build on this. Also bear in mind that, for the moment at least, people are embracing Threads as a joyful space of positive interactions. Brands pushing sales messages and promotion codes (especially in the fast fashion sector) are receiving negative reactions – but brands which joined Threads with humour and grace were generally welcomed.”
Emma Robertson, associate planning director, social media, Langland: “Healthcare brands have relied on Twitter to engage with and learn from healthcare practitioners, but most companies have cut down or stopped advertising altogether since Musk took over. While it’s tempting to jump on the Threads train for healthcare and pharma clients, I say, stay put. Instead, start experimenting with a personal profile and build a plan behind the scenes as we learn how the healthcare community is using Threads. Lean on your agency partners for support – their social team should be immersing themselves in the app and can provide guidance on when and how to get onboard.
Calum McDonald Ball, head of social at McCann: “If your brand isn’t on Threads yet, you’re already late to the party. Not because of a crystal ball, or a sure bet that Zuckerberg will beat Elon in the social platform battle, but because we can learn from our past. We all know that the brands that were earlier adopters to IG and Facebook grew the fastest – before there weren’t advertiser options where they could charge you to grow your follower base.”
Louise Jones, director of social strategy, Ogilvy PR Australia: “Brands should remain open minded about the long-term potential of Threads. For brands that already have a highly engaged and active community of fans on Instagram our advice is to test and learn with the new platform. Meta will boost reach for active brands especially for first movers as new features and capabilities are launched on the platform. For brands that are focused on driving impact and ROI, our advice is twofold. Firstly, wait and see with Threads and secondly, invest in TikTok, a growing platform that is proven to drive sales, cultural impact and brand salience.”
Stephanie Granowicz, head of social/influencer, Tank Worldwide: “So far, the standout brands on Threads have mirrored approaches of brands that have been active and recognizably ‘good’ at Twitter. Their approach to Threads has pretty much been a clean copy/paste of the stylization of their Twitter content. However, we shouldn’t expect all the same main players on Threads — the emergence of a new app will always open the door for brands and creators to reintroduce themselves.”
We’ll be tackling a different question next week. If you’d like to join in the debate, email me: [email protected].
![How to Train ChatGPT to Write in Your Brand’s Tone of Voice [Infographic]](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1702266964_How-to-Train-ChatGPT-to-Write-in-Your-Brands-Tone-400x240.jpg "How to Train ChatGPT to Write in Your Brand’s Tone of Voice [Infographic]")
![How to Train ChatGPT to Write in Your Brand’s Tone of Voice [Infographic]](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1702266964_How-to-Train-ChatGPT-to-Write-in-Your-Brands-Tone-80x80.jpg "How to Train ChatGPT to Write in Your Brand’s Tone of Voice [Infographic]")
SOCIAL
TikTok spends $1.5B on Tokopedia JV to get around Jakarta social e-commerce ban
Just two months ago, ByteDance-owned TikTok abruptly closed its shopping platform in Indonesia to comply with surprise regulations from the Southeast Asian country’s government. Jakarta ordered social media companies like TikTok and Facebook to stop selling goods on their platforms, demanding a separation of social media and e-commerce services.
TikTok now seems to have found a way to revive its e-commerce dreams in Indonesia by spending billions to start a joint venture with Indonesian tech giant GoTo. On Monday, the two companies announced that TikTok Shop will now be available on GoTo’s Tokopedia platform.
“Tokopedia and TikTok Shop Indonesia’s businesses will be combined under the existing PT Tokopedia entity in which TikTok will take a controlling stake. The shopping features within the TikTok app in Indonesia will be operated and maintained by the enlarged entity,” TikTok said in a statement Monday.
TikTok will invest over $1.5 billion into Tokopedia, taking a 75% stake in the platform. GoTo will remain an ecosystem partner to Tokopedia and receive an “ongoing revenue stream from Tokopedia commensurate with its scale and growth,” but will not be required to continue funding the platform. Further funding from TikTok also won’t reduce GoTo’s remaining 25% stake.
Getting back into the Indonesian ecommerce market will be a win for TikTok. Indonesia, which is the platform’s largest market outside of the U.S., is key to Tiktok’s online shopping aspirations. In June, CEO Shou Zi Chew pledged to “invest billions in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the next few years.”
ByteDance wants to replicate its Chinese e-commerce successaround the globe. Last year, consumers spent in China 1.41 trillion yuan ($196 billion) on products sold on Douyin, the version of TikTok for the Chinese market, The Information reported in January. ByteDance, through TikTok, is expanding its online shopping services in both Southeast Asia and the U.S. Yet the company is struggling to win over American consumers: The Information reported in August that U.S. shoppers are spending just $4 million a day, equivalent to $1.4 billion over a whole year, on goods sold on the social media platform. (TikTok officially launched TikTok Shop in the U.S. in September, though sellers have complained about a flood of low-quality products on the platform).
Before Indonesia imposed its ban in September, the country’s president, Joko Widodo, complained that social media platforms were threatening local micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises. Government officials also accused TikTok of engaging in predatory pricing.
GoTo’s deal with TikTok means the Indonesian tech giant is giving up its majority ownership of Tokopedia . Tokopedia started in 2008 and grew to be one of Indonesia’s largest e-commerce platforms. The company merged with ride-hailing startup GoJek in 2021, becoming GoTo Group. The company debuted on Jakarta’s stock exchange in April last year.
Yet the company has struggled to wow investors since then. GoTo has yet to make a profit since becoming a public company. The tech firm reported 2.4 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($147 million) in net losses last quarter, significantly less than the 6.7 trillion rupiah ($428 million) it lost this time last year.
Investors do not appear to be thrilled by the news of GoTo’s TikTok partnership. Shares fell by over 19% by 2:30pm Indonesia time on Monday, erasing gains made late last week as rumors began to build of the new partnership.
SOCIAL
How to Train ChatGPT to Write in Your Brand’s Tone of Voice [Infographic]
![How to Train ChatGPT to Write in Your Brand’s Tone of Voice [Infographic]](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1702266964_How-to-Train-ChatGPT-to-Write-in-Your-Brands-Tone.jpg "How to Train ChatGPT to Write in Your Brand’s Tone of Voice [Infographic]")
Are you looking for ways to improve your ChatGPT output? Want to train it to write in a more unique tone of voice, in order to better suit your branding?
The Creative Marketer shares his ChatGPT prompt tips in this infographic. To enact these, add “Write like [INSERT CHARACTER]” at the start of your ChatGPT instructions.
TCM breaks things down into the following categories:
- Innocent
- Sage
- Explorer
- Ruler
- Creator
- Caregiver
- Lover
- Hero
- Everyman
- Magician
- Jester
- Outlaw
Check out the infographic for more information.
A version of this post was first published on the Red Website Design blog.
SOCIAL
Elon Musk reinstates far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on X
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been reinstated on X, formerly known as Twitter, by company owner Elon Musk – Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File Joe Buglewicz
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, on Sunday reinstated far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on the social media platform, a year after vowing never to let him return.
Jones, who claimed that a December 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut that killed 20 children and six educators was a hoax, was banned from the platform — then still known as Twitter — in 2018 for violating its “abusive behavior policy.”
He was also sued by families of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting and ordered by a judge in the case to pay up more than a billion dollars in damages last year.
Musk had himself promised never to let the Infowars host back on the social media platform, which he bought last year for $44 billion.
But following a poll Musk conducted on X asking whether Jones should be reinstated, to which some two million users responded, he flipped that decision.
“I vehemently disagree with what he said about Sandy Hook, but are we a platform that believes in freedom of speech or are we not?” the SpaceX founder said on X.
But Shannon Watts, founder of the group Moms Demand Action group which pushes for tighter gun laws, said that “defamation is not free speech.”
Musk’s decision comes the same week that the Sandy Hook families commemorate the 11th anniversary of the December 14 shooting, which Jones alleged was staged to allow the government to crack down on gun rights.
Jones’ followers harassed the bereaved families for years, accusing parents of murdered children of being “crisis actors” whose children had never existed.
It also came a week after Musk had responded to advertisers pulling out of X because of far-right posts and hate speech, including an apparent endorsement by Musk himself of an anti-Semitic tweet.
Asked whether he would respond to the advertising exodus, Musk said in an interview with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin that the advertisers could “go f*** yourself.”
Jones, who has a million followers on X, returned to the site with his first post re-tweeting Andrew Tate, the controversial former kickboxer facing rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, in which he hailed Jones’ “triumphant return”
US media reported that as of Sunday, the account of Jones’ controversial show Infowars was still banned.
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