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Meta is stepping up its promotional efforts for the social networking app Threads by pushing posts from the platform onto Facebook and Instagram. The moves come as Meta looks to reignite user growth for Threads, which launched with huge initial hype but has since seen rapid declines.
Threads launched in late 2020 as a companion app designed for close friends. It aimed to facilitate private sharing through features like auto-status updates. The app was an instant success, surpassing over 100 million installs in its first week alone.
However, engagement proved difficult to maintain long-term. Without significant continued development, many early adopters soon lost interest. Daily user counts and interaction levels plummeted over the following months.
Looking to turn Threads’ fortunes around, Meta began running promotions on Instagram last summer. Posts from the app would appear in user feeds alongside regular Instagram content. This was met with a mixed response, as some viewed it as overpromoting a related service.
Now Meta is expanding these promotional tactics to its largest platform, Facebook. Users will find Threads posts interspersed within theirNews Feeds on the desktop and mobile apps. These posts act as suggestions that can be scrolled through horizontally.
The move aims to reintroduce lapsed Threads users to the app through reminders on their primary social platforms. But it’s facing some backlash from those who want more control over the third-party content appearing in their feeds.
As the promotions are not yet disableable, some feel the pushings are too aggressive. Only time will tell if Meta can reignite buzz or if the hard sell turns users away. For now, it shows the lengths the company is willing to go to give its struggling side-projects a new lease on life.