• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, July 27, 2023

Threads could turn out to be marketers’ new best friend, particularly once Meta introduces advertising formats on the platform, which is reportedly planned once Threads reaches 1 billion users.

On the user functionality front, one of many planned improvements is making Threads — which is currently mobile-only — accessible through laptops/desktops.

But for the present, the mobile-only status is a drawback, at least in the view of B2B owners surveyed in mid July by B2B Reviews.

Nearly half (45%) of the 417 B2B owners polled cited mobile-only as Threads’ biggest disadvantage, followed by its lack of direct messages (39%) and lack of hashtags (39%).

Given that business customers still spend lots of time on laptops and desktops, it’s not hard to understand why B2B marketers prefer to be able to reach them that way, as well as through mobile. Also, for all kinds of marketers, content creation is still easier with a full-size keyboard and monitor.

But that doesn’t mean B2Bs aren’t intrigued by Threads’ potential.

The survey — whose respondents were mostly from retail (23%), media/entertainment (12%) and technology (11%), with some in finance, education, healthcare and other industries — found that 15% had already established a Threads account within the first two weeks of Threads’ launch, and 47% planned to set one up in future.

Eleven percent of millennial business owners had established accounts, versus just 3% of boomers. (Forty percent of respondents were millennials, 17% baby boomers, and 14% Gen Zs.)

Nearly a third of respondents (31%) plan to use both Threads and Twitter, but 35% don’t plan to use either platform.

Three quarters (77%) of respondents using Threads said that ease of sign-up and the automatic integration that allows businesses to transfer their Instagram audiences to Threads are Threads’ biggest advantages.

The same percentage reported using a “friendly and casual” tone in their Threads posts, versus 35% who said they’re using an “informative and knowledgeable” tone.

In addition to enabling users to post and browse from their computers, Threads will need to “work hard to attract and reassure businesses and brands that it is a safe space in which to operate and advertise,” Susan Schreiner, technology industry analyst at C4 Trends, noted to Forbes.

But it “starts from an advantageous position, given its ability to enable brands to make use of connections they already have on their Instagram platform or Facebook," she added. "This will enable companies to easily and seamlessly scale their campaigns in Meta's network. As Threads increases its functionality, reach and shareability, it has the potential for becoming a one-stop information and promo shop."