Threads is the new kid in the social media landscape and Meta, its parent company, is really working hard to push users over there. But is Threads worth it for artists? In this post, I’m taking a deep-dive into the ins and outs of Threads, letting you know what I think about the platform as an artist. Wanna know my stance on whether Threads is a good platform for art? Well, just stick around and read on!
Let’s talk about Threads. The new X on the block.
Twitter has now rebranded as X, and Threads is very much like Twitter. So Threads is more or less the new X—even though it doesn’t belong to Elon Musk, but to Meta.
Social media is one of the ways for artists to showcase and sell their art. I’ve already written a couple of posts about the most common social media networks, including how to use Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest as an artist.
In this post, I want to address Threads and whether it’s worth it for artists.
So, let’s get into it!
What is Threads and who owns it?
As I already mentioned above, Threads is a platform that reminds very much of Twitter/X—and is very similar to it from the look and feel, too.
You can post text, images and videos on Threads, and there are some interactive features like polls, etc. to engage your audience.
Threads is owned by a company called Meta, whose CEO is Facebook’s infamous Mark Zuckerberg. In 2021, Zuckerberg decided to rebrand Facebook to Meta, after Facebook had lost much of its reputation due to numerous privacy scandals and whisleblower allegations.
Meta owns a number of online platforms and companies, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Reality Labs (a virtual reality headset manufacturer), and—most recently—Threads.
There’s a harsh competition in the social media market, and when the international version of TikTok came up in 2017, it took away a big chunk of Facebook’s popularity—and market share. The Chinese owned company mainly hosts user-generated short videos that cater to the young adults of Generation Z, a demographic that Facebook with its ageing user base isn’t able to serve well any more.
In consequence, Meta launched an initiative to counteract its declining user numbers and attract more Gen Z’s to its platforms.
Stories on Facebook and Stories and Reels on Instagram are the response to TikTok videos; you’ve surely heard of the TikTok-ification of Instagram. And now, Threads is Meta’s latest effort to address the Twitter/X competition.
Let’s talk about Instagram for a minute.
Instagram used to be a really good platform for artists. Its visual-based nature made it ideal for posting visual artwork. Artists were flocking to the platform in thousands and many were able to grow an audience and build their business on the network.
I liked Instagram because it would provide me with immediate feedback. Once I had uploaded a piece of art, the Likes and comments would be dropping in and I would instantly know how the piece resonated with my audience.
This is what Instagram used to be like. However, things have changed. Instagram’s algorithm makes it harder and harder for artists to see results and grow their reach. What used to work well for art accounts doesn’t work any more.
Nevertheless, many artists seem to be desperate for the good ol’ IG days and are looking for ways to get on top of the algorithm again. It’s for a reason that my 10 DOs & DON’Ts For Artists Posting Art On Instagram is one of my most popular blog posts!
I’m not a huge Instagram fan—even less so after my “Social Art Dilemma” on the platform—but I created that post a couple of months ago, when there was still some reliability as to what works…
However, things have changed and I can see more and more creators (even with large followings) complaining about the network and looking for alternatives.
Facebook has been “out of vogue” even longer.
But what actually led to that decline of Instagram and Facebook?
With Meta treating its Facebook and Instagram users the way they do, can Threads be a good platform for artists?
What actually led to the downfall of Meta’s Facebook and Instagram?
I want to take this excursion to Facebook and Instagram, because my opinion on whether or not Threads is worth it for artists is rooted in my experiences with these platforms, which I’ll dive into later in this post.
It’s no secret that the number of Facebook and Instagram users has been declining. Facebook, for example, has been losing thousands of daily active users and its monthly active user count has fallen to just under 3 billion. That’s still a lot, but significantly less than what Facebook used to have in the past.
For Instagram, things don’t look much better.
The story is pretty much the same for both platforms, and in my view, the downward trend began when they abandoned the chronological feed.
If you’re a Facebook user, you might have noticed that regardless of how many friends you have, your feed primarily shows you the posts from the last ten people you interacted with. Everything else is being swept under the carpet.
Instagram still used to have a chronological feed long after Facebook dropped it. Many IG users, including myself, loved seeing all the posts from everyone they followed—in the exact order they posted them.
Despite many user complaints, Instagram also ditched the chronological feed in favor of an algorithm-based feed a couple of years later.
(The same mistake on IG as on Facebook despite so many user complaints. Does anyone know why Meta doesn’t learn?)
Meta’s platforms decide what you get to see and in what order you get to see it.
You’ve surely noticed that you don’t get to see all of your friends’ posts on IG anymore. That’s because the Instagram bot now decides what you get to see and in what order you get to see it. As you are not being shown the posts of all the people you follow, it’s safe to assume your art posts aren’t reaching all your followers either.
Bad enough, but that’s not the end of the story. With the latest algorithmic changes, you’re even being shown the same post multiple times!
If you’ve only looked at the first image of a carousel post, Instagram decides that you must see the other pics as well, showing you the same post with the second pic up when you open the app again.
Recently, I was shown the same post THREE times—how annoying! As if there wasn’t other content to see…
No, Instagram, I can decide myself what I want to look at! If I haven’t scrolled through all images of a carousel post, there might be a reason for that… think about it.
It's like Meta says 'Jump' and expects its users to say 'How high?'.
Then, there’s the ever-changing algorithm that has shifted so many times that it’s impossible to keep track, and it remains frustratingly opaque.
One thing’s for sure, though: the algorithm favors accounts that use Instagram’s newest features—or better yet, all of its features.
They want you to use stories, reels, posts, multiple posts, IG TV (is that even still a thing?), and most recently there are also broadcast channels…
If you don’t use all of those features, your reach will stagnate and eventually decline. If you do use all of the features, managing your IG account becomes your full-time job.
What’s more, it’s not everyone’s thing to create video content, especially if you’re an artist of the introvert type.
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s the posting frequency issue. Not too long ago, it was recommended to post every day. At best multiple times a day. That was the way to Instagram growth.
Now, posting every day is a big no-no. Instead, posting three times a week at the same time is great.
Remember when we used to painstakingly research 30 relevant hashtags with varying search volumes to boost our reach? These days, three to eight hashtags are totally sufficient. Anything more than that is overkill. Rather add some trending audio to your posts to get picked up by the algorithm.
In order to see minimum results, you basically have to do what the app wants you to do (and you never even know for sure if it’s the right thing…).
It’s like Meta tells its users ‘Jump’ and expects them to say ‘How high?’…
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Meta is pushing hard for you to use Threads if you want to succeed on Instagram!
Lately, I’ve noticed a surge in influencers, bloggers, and other content creators promoting their Threads account on Instagram.
You could think that it’s just a coincidence. But no, there’s a reason for that.
From what I hear, it goes like this: if you are an Instagrammer with a huge following who creates viral content, Meta invites you to a call with one of their representatives—to give you advice on how to grow your account.
One key piece of advice they’ll give you is this: join Threads. (Of course, you’ll need to sign up with your Instagram account, so the bot knows you’re over there and treats your account more favorably in return.)
Imagine!
It’s no longer enough that you use all of Instagram’s features; now they also want you to use Threads to—I guess we can no longer say increase but to—hold your reach on Instagram.
How high does the company think of its own app when they are trying to push Instagram users over to Threads the way they do?
And what comes next? Do you have to update your WhatsApp status daily in order to make it on Threads? Or do you maybe have to buy one of Reality Labs’ VR headsets?
...and then there's the paid ads and all the stuff in your feed you never asked for.
Well, what can I say? Things have gotten so bad that even the Kardashians are complaining! Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, two of the most followed people on Instagram, recently voiced their frustration about the amount of “Suggested Reels” in their feeds.
Still remember how Kylie Jenner dissed Snapchat and immediately its shares plummeted, resulting in a loss of US$1.3 billion of the company’s market value? Not a good omen for Insta…
However, Zuckerberg doesn’t seem to realize how dissatisfied users are already with his app—or he simply doesn’t care. Instead of doing something to bring back user satisfaction, Meta’s CEO announced to double the amount of AI recommendations to more than 30% of the content users see in their feeds.
I’m joining the complaint, girls! And I also wanna complain about the ads and the “Boost your post” suggestions that have really become ridiculous…
Instagram users have been seeing a huge increase of such ads in recent months. You cannot scroll down more than two posts without coming across some sort of ad. Same in the Stories.
But that’s not all. Instagram does not only want you to see ads, they also want you to pay for ads to get your content seen.
Every time I open the app, there’s at least one ‘Boost post‘ suggestion, and sometimes I even get such suggestions in the Stories or in my Activity feed.
Here’s the scoop: while you were still able to build a following organically in the past, Instagram now wants you to pay for exposure.
Things have gotten so much out of control that I was even being suggested the same artworks Instagram restricted my account for as PAID ADS. Yes, it’s absolutely incredible!
And just on a side note: Instagram even suggested me reposts from other accounts as paid ads. They must be really desperate for money…
If you want to have a good laugh, I recommend watching my little video about the “Life of an Artist on Instagram” below. For more entertainment and the bigger picture, read my post about the “Social Art Dilemma“—you won’t believe how crazy things have gotten on Instagram for artists…
What do artists think about the Threads app?
Now, let’s come to what I think about the Threads app as an artist.
But let me ask you first. With all of the above in mind, what do you think: is Threads worth it for artists?
How do you think things are going to play out on Threads? Better than on Facebook and Instagram?
We are all seeing that there’s a clear trend towards increasingly incalculable and obscure algorithmic changes and a massive push towards paid ads on Meta’s old platforms Facebook and Instagram. Both are going down the same road—no matter how large the number of user complaints and how inefficient the implementations have proven to be.
Well, it all seems totally off, but look at it this way: Meta is a business that has first and foremost its own interest in mind. And its interest is to make money. It’s as simple as that.
That’s not only my assumption. There are social media experts that hit home with their analysis, such as Ben Thompson:
“The problem for Meta is that its business isn’t based on surfacing content from your friends; it’s based on engagement and serving ads, which means any service that occupies your time and attention–and TikTok occupies a lot of it–is a fundamental threat.”
Meta’s goal is to keep you hooked on their apps—on all of their apps, including Threads. They are not interested in helping you grow your organic reach. That have a large enough bank of viral content that they want you to watch.
Meta makes money when you are consuming content. Not when you are creating content or interacting with other users on your profile.
If you’re not consuming more content than you are creating, then who will see all the ads?
And Meta desperately needs the ad revenue—now even more than ever. There are several reasons. One reason is Apple’s recent ATT feature that allows iPhone users to opt out of app tracking.
App tracking is used by Facebook and other apps to show users ads that potentially match their interests based on their search behavior. With millions of iPhone users opting out of app tracking, Meta suffered losses in Facebook advertising revenue of US$10 billion in 2021—a quarter of its overall profit for the year. Their revenue losses for 2022 were estimated to be at US$12.8 billion… and it continues.
The second reason is that Meta has faced financial hits from various lawsuits over data privacy breaches. Meta—or formerly Facebook—has been getting sued many times. You can find an entire Wikipedia page of lawsuits against Meta. Let me just give you two of the most recent examples:
In 2019, Meta was fined a staggering US$5 billion for selling the private information of millions of Americans without their consent.
More recently, the company paid a $650 million settlement when they were taken to court for storing face-recognition profiles of millions of users without their permission. That also happened in 2021, along with the US$10 billion losses in ad revenue—and the hilarious surge in Instagram ad suggestions…
Any more questions?
With a company desperate for ad revenue, do you think Threads will be worth it for artists?
In conclusion, is Threads worth it for artists?
To wrap it up, what do I think about the Threads app as an artist? Do I believe Threads is worth it for fellow artists?
As of writing this post, Threads is still in its infancy. When you hop on the app in its early stages, you have a better chance of gaining momentum.
At the moment, Threads still focuses on its users, as it strives to pull over as many people as possible. But for how long?
Considering the development of Facebook and Instagram, plus Meta’s financial straits, it’s just a matter of time until Threads will get worse. Threads too will limit the organic reach of its user, display tons of ads, and push you to pay for exposure.
Let’s face it. It will happen. Rather sooner than later.
Leaving all the Meta dilemma aside, Twitter/X is not exactly the go-to app for artists. Just like Twitter, Threads is not image-focused, even though you can post visuals. Twitter turned out to be much harder for visual artists to build a following than a more visual-driven app.
Threads is very much like Twitter; so the odds are that Threads might not be the best platform for art by its nature as well.
With all of that in mind, I believe Threads is not worth it for artists.
I haven’t created an account on Threads and I’m not planning to create one.
I’m pretty sure that, in the near future, Threads’ algorithm will also become as obscure as Instagram’s. It will restrict your reach in favor of paid ads. If you want to get minimum exposure, you will have to do whatever Meta will want you to do at that specific point in time—maybe create a WhatsApp Community? If you don’t want the VR headset from Reality Labs…
As for my part, I’m tired of jumping in squares, in circles, or zigzag headlong to please an algorithm that doesn’t mean well with its users. And you should be, too.
It’s time for something better. It’s time for us artists to take things in our hands and stop jumping the way a platform that’s only interested in its own profit wants us to.
What's the solution?
Well, it’s unlikely that social media is going to disappear any time soon. We are all used to social apps, and they are far too accessible and convenient for people to stop using them—despite those apps getting worse for everyone.
After all, there is no alternative to replace them with, so far.
Nevertheless, chances are that new social media networks will emerge in the future as it has always been the case. Perhaps, those successors won’t repeat the same mistakes and create an environment that allows everyone to thrive.
In the meantime, I think we should all do less of what doesn’t work and more of what works for us.
If you feel that Instagram serves your art and yourself as the artist, then continue using it. If you’re already successful on Twitter, then Threads may be a good pick for you, too.
However, if you’ve already caught yourself thinking that you’re just not good enough because no one likes your art, it’s time to reconsider the value of Instagram (or any other app) for you.
If you are repeatedly feeling depressed from “being invisible” on an app, it might be time to leave and look out for something better.
Don’t let any money-focused network kill your artistic spirit!
Pinterest, for example, works for me. So, I’m putting more of my time and energy into my Pinterest account.
→ 15 Must-Know Tips For Artists Using Pinterest To Promote Their Artwork
One thing that works for any artist is building your own artist website and optimizing it for search engines. In my opinion, this is the best way to get exposure as an artist. And the most authentic one.
You have full control over what happens on your site. Your content won’t be restricted in favor of paid ads and there’s no algorithm that changes every minute and never lets you know what works.
Of course, search engines also use algorithms, but they are way more transparent and stable. All you need to do is learn how to rank your website in the search results—and that’s doable.
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That was my take on Threads and whether it’s worth it for artists. Now, it’s your turn! What are your thoughts about Threads? Maybe you have created an art account over there and it works just fine for you. Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
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