LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) Meta’s real-time messaging app, Threads, is encountering difficulties in expanding its user base, a far cry from its blockbuster debut in July.
According to Insider Intelligence’s inaugural Threads forecast, the Twitter clone now finds itself near the bottom of the list of popular social media platforms in the United States, ranking ahead of only Tumblr.
In 2023, Threads is expected to have 23.7 million U.S. users, a considerable distance behind Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, which boast 177.9 million, 135.2 million, and 102.3 million users, respectively.
Its closest competitor, X, is projected to have 56.1 million U.S. users in 2023, less than half of X’s user base.
For the U.S. market, Threads is predicted to continue ranking as the second-to-last social network through 2025, according to the analyst firm.
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Despite Threads’ initial surge in users, driven partly by its easy sign-up process for existing Instagram users, its growth has slowed.
Threads benefited from being a mainstream alternative to X, which has reportedly lost users under the ownership of Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla.
“Threads received an initial boost from Twitter’s missteps, but it can’t rely on X defectors to continue to grow,” noted Jasmine Enberg, Principal Analyst at Insider Intelligence.
If Musk follows through on his plan to charge all X users a monthly subscription fee, Meta could potentially find a more defined path to monetizing Threads.
However, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously stated that the company has no immediate plans to monetize Threads, emphasizing the need for further growth and establishment.
To improve Threads’ appeal, Meta has introduced new features such as a desktop version and a search tool.
Enberg suggests that Threads must carve out a unique identity beyond being an Instagram extension or an X alternative to truly compete in the social media market.
“TikTok was able to break through largely because it offered users a unique new social experience,” Enberg pointed out, emphasizing the need for Threads to offer something distinctive to gain prominence.
