How to Use Instagram’s New Messaging App, Threads

How to Use Instagram’s New Messaging App Threads

Instagram unveiled its new messaging app, Threads just a couple of days ago. On the surface, what might look like just another messaging app can be a powerful tool for salon professionals who use Instagram as their primary social media platform. In this post, I’ll outline the ways that you can harness Instagram’s new app, Threads to grow your salon business. How to Use Instagram’s New Messaging App Threads

So What Exactly Is Threads?

Threads is a new camera-forward messaging app that allows you to communicate via Instagram DM with your “close friends” list. It allows you to send photos and videos only to those who you’ve identified as “close friends.” You can also send text-based and photo messages to individuals on the list or to everyone – you pick.

Eventually, Threads will be part of a central location for all messages from Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp, giving you a seamless communication depot for all apps under the Facebook umbrella. Until that point, I’ve found a creative way to leverage Threads now to get your time-bound messages seen by your clients without the influence of the Instagram algorithm. How to Use Instagram’s New Messaging App Threads

When you open the app, you get a camera screen, much like Snapchat. The camera allows you to take photos in real time and send them to your close friends group. The app does not yet allow you upload photos from your camera roll or add extras like stickers or GIFs. How to Use Instagram’s New Messaging App Threads

Replace “Close Friends” with “Clients”

Many social media savvy stylists and beauty pros have used Instagram Stories to make of-the-moment announcements to get their clients’ immediate attention. If you’ve ever seen a “last minute cancellation” IG story, then you know what I’m talking about. This is a great way to get time sensitive items in front of your clients, but they might not all see it in a timely manner.

In my Instagram classes, I suggest following your clients back and adding them to your “close friends” list – this way you can send those stories and announcements directly into their feeds. Threads will also allow you to do this, but it will streamline the entire process for you, putting your messaging not just in your client’s story feed, but directly into their DM inbox. They’ll get a notification and are much more likely to see it.

Don’t miss this opportunity to essentially bypass the algorithm by showing up directly in your clients’ inbox. The other added benefit of using an app like Threads is all interaction counts as engagement. If your clients interact with you on Threads, they’re much more likely to see your content first when they open Instagram.

Some Things to Consider

Threads is really meant for connection in the moment, so you can set your status on the app similar to instant messengers of the past. You can change your status to away, with a client, chillin’, whatever you like. You can also allow the app to set your status automatically, however, I don’t recommend this feature because it shares A LOT of your data with Facebook and your clients. They don’t need to know that your phone is on the charger or that you’re at home (and willing to take messages at 11:30pm.) How to Use Instagram’s New Messaging App Threads

Using an app like Threads can be a great way to get your important messaging across to your clients, but communication is a two-way street. Be prepared to have clients reaching out to you via DM and expecting a timely response. If you’re not ready to have client conversations about services and scheduling via DM, then definitely skip this app.

A New Way to Market

Clients are already on Instagram and using DMs to send posts and messages to their friends and followers. Threads may prove to be a valuable resource to reach out to all of your clients at once, without having to send the same message or story to each one individually. On its face, it seems like a time-saver if you’re already active on Instagram and Instagram Stories.

As Facebook integrates messaging across all of its platforms, apps like Threads will prove more valuable. If you’re thinking about giving Threads a try, download the app and kick the tires a bit to get used to how it works before everyone else discovers these tips. How to Use Instagram’s New Messaging App Threads

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