Digital Dose: Meta’s Threads Is on the Rise—What Brands Need to Know

By Spectrum Innovation Team | May 06 2025

Welcome to your dose of trending news from the digital universe, courtesy of the Spectrum Science Innovation Team.

In this edition of Digital Dose, we’re diving into the growing success of Threads and how it’s standing out as a text-based alternative to X and Meta, expanding promotional reach by rolling out Threads advertising for qualifying companies worldwide.

Threads Reaches 350M Active Users

Meta recently revealed the advancing success of Threads, their text-based alternative to X, which has seen a 35% increase in time spent on the social platform and 350 million active users. Though it still has a way to go in matching X’s popularity and active user count, Threads continues to establish its own identity and competitive edge, with progress to prove it should not be underestimated. Read More.

Why it matters: Threads continues to show significant promise as it closes the competitive gap of monthly active users with X. A spokesperson for Meta notes this progress, sharing, “With more people joining the vibrant conversations and communities on Threads, it’s on track to be Meta’s next major social app, and the best alternative to X and other text-based sharing platforms.” With this in mind, and as Meta continues to improve its functional qualities, companies should consider how Threads may be the next step in the evolution of short-form content. Establishing a presence on this platform early on allows for new opportunities to grow in the Threads community while testing the waters to see what kind of text-based content is most engaging for target audiences.

Ads in Threads Now Available Globally

Following a test run in January, running a small batch of ads limited to select regions of the United States and Japan, Meta recently announced that Threads advertising will now be available worldwide, in their continued efforts to expand promotional reach and revenue across the platform. To further incentivize this ad space, Meta has additionally rolled out a Threads inventory filter, allowing advertisers to have customized control over the placement and monetization of ads, as desired. Read More.

Why it matters: As Threads continues to gain momentum in the social media landscape, global advertising capabilities on the platform provide new opportunities for businesses to boost brand visibility, reach key audiences and customize ideal ad placements in the Threads feed. Meta has focused on rolling out new features for this platform, signifying further audience growth and revenue potential. Companies should consider utilizing these key advertising features on a growing social channel like Threads, connecting and meaningfully managing promotional content with target audiences.

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