Wise Wednesday #61: Emerging Social Platforms (e.g., Threads, BeReal, etc.)

Wise Wednesday #61: The Next Wave: Emerging Social Platforms (Threads, BeReal, etc.)

This week on Wise Wednesday, we’re assessing the high-stakes, high-reward challenge of adopting Emerging Social Platforms like Threads and BeReal. Jumping into new platforms early offers brands the unique opportunity of massive organic reach and audience capture before the space becomes saturated. However, this high-variance strategy demands a clear plan to navigate significant risks, including platform failure and rapid algorithmic shifts.

Early Adoption Strategy: The First-to-Social Playbook 🚀

Early adoption is essentially a form of attention arbitrage: entering the space when the algorithm is lenient and competition is low.

1. Define Your Test & Learn Strategy

• The 10% Rule: Allocate only a small, calculated percentage (e.g., 10%) of your content creation resources to the new platform. This minimizes your losses if the platform fails but still allows for rapid learning and audience capture.

• Identify the "House Style": The key to early success is quickly understanding and authentically adopting the platform's native tone and format.

  • Threads (Conversational Thought Leadership): Focus on authentic dialogue, quick wit, founder-led insights, and leveraging the text-first format to start or join industry conversations. Content that sounds human, not corporate, performs best.

  • BeReal (Unfiltered Authenticity): Showcase genuine behind-the-scenes reality, team culture, in-progress projects, or a spontaneous customer spotlight. Use it to build trust and show the process, not just the polish.

• Platform-Native Content: Never simply repost an Instagram Story or a TikTok video. Tailor your content to the new platform's unique cadence, format requirements, and cultural norms.

2. Capitalize on Algorithmic Boosts

• Secure Real Estate: Register your exact-match brand handle (@YourBrand) immediately. This secures a searchable primitive that benefits future discovery.

• Maximize Test Distribution: New platforms often over-boost early creators to solve content scarcity. Post consistently in the initial months to capture this algorithmic window and rapidly grow organic followers while the competition is low.

• Integrate Where Possible: Platforms with existing infrastructure (like Threads being linked to Instagram) offer a huge head start. Leverage the option to immediately follow your existing network to build a foundational audience base quickly.

3. Build Escape Hatches

• Multi-Home Content: While you must tailor content, ensure your best-performing formats can be adapted and shared across established channels (e.g., a strong, witty text post on Threads can be repurposed as a thought leadership post on LinkedIn).

• Capture Owned Channels: Don't let your gains remain fragile. Always treat the new platform as an entry point and encourage followers to join your owned channels (email newsletter, SMS list) early on, before the platform's long-term fate is decided.

Risk Assessment and Mitigation 🚧

Adopting an emerging platform is a high-risk bet where the platform's stability, not just your content, is the primary concern.

1. Platform Volatility & Decay

• Risk: The platform fails, is acquired and shut down, or faces regulatory hurdles (e.g., Vine, Periscope). All built audience and time investment are lost. The early, generous algorithm eventually shifts to prioritize ads, and organic reach plummets.

• Mitigation: Multi-Home and Audience Diversification. Never commit 100% of resources. Treat initial algorithmic "loopholes" as temporary accelerants, not the permanent foundation of your strategy. Prioritize capturing the audience and moving them to your owned channels.

2. Reputational Misstep

• Risk: The brand fails to understand the new platform's culture and posts something that is perceived as inauthentic, tone-deaf, or overly corporate, leading to quick backlash.

• Mitigation: Lurk and Learn. Assign a dedicated team member to spend time consuming content before posting. Develop a specific Platform Voice Guide that strictly adheres to the "House Style" (e.g., BeReal's requirement for spontaneity; Threads' demand for witty dialogue).

3. Monetization Lag

• Risk: The platform may not launch direct monetization features (like shopping or tipping) or robust ad infrastructure for a long time, meaning effort doesn't immediately translate to a direct return on investment (ROI).

• Mitigation: Focus on Non-Monetary KPIs. Track discovery metrics (follower growth, reach to new audiences) and intent (conversation depth, content saves) rather than direct sales. Use the platform to drive traffic to an established e-commerce site as a secondary goal.

4. Compliance and Security

• Risk: The platform's terms of service (TOS) are immature or its data security protocols are weak, potentially exposing the brand to legal or privacy issues.

• Mitigation: Limit Data Sharing. Initially, avoid sharing sensitive customer data or launching complex campaigns until the platform's security and regulatory compliance have been verified.

Emerging Platforms

• Threads (by Meta): This text-based platform is a direct competitor to X (formerly Twitter) and has seen extremely fast user growth since its launch. It benefits from deep integration with Instagram, allowing users to quickly build a following.

• Bluesky: This is a decentralized, text-based social media platform that has gained popularity as an alternative to X. Its decentralized nature gives users and third-party developers more control over their content and feed algorithms.

• Lemon8 (by ByteDance): From the parent company of TikTok, Lemon8 is a photo and video-sharing app often described as a blend of Instagram and Pinterest, focusing heavily on curated lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and food content.

• Airchat: This is a voice-first social media platform that uses a push-to-talk feature for public messaging and threads. It focuses on conversational, real-time audio interaction.

• Noplace: Described as a platform targeting Gen Z, it's known for combining vibrant text-based updates with customizable profiles, creating a social experience that some compare to an updated, mash-up version of earlier platforms.

Platforms Seeing New Growth or Niche Focus

• BeReal: While not brand new, BeReal still focuses on authenticity. It prompts users once a day to take an unfiltered photo simultaneously with their front and back cameras, encouraging genuine, in-the-moment sharing.

• Substack Notes: Substack, primarily known for email newsletters, has integrated a feature called "Notes" that acts as a micro-blogging or social feed for short-form content and discussion, positioning itself for long-form content creators and writers.

• Fizz Social: This is a private, campus-specific social network aimed at college students, moderated by students themselves to foster community and safe, anonymous discussion.

• Discord: Initially popular with gamers, Discord has evolved into a versatile platform for creating private, invite-only communities (servers) focused on any shared interest, from professional groups to niche hobbies.

Many of these platforms are trying to win users by offering a more authentic, niche, or community-focused experience, moving away from the mass-market, algorithm-driven feeds of the larger platforms.

In Conclusion

Emerging social platforms demand a bold, yet cautious approach. By maintaining a lean resource commitment, prioritizing the platform's unique culture and voice, and always treating the new audience as one you need to quickly shepherd toward your stable, owned channels, your brand can harness the power of the early algorithm while minimizing long-term risk.