Talent Manager Spotlight
This week, instead of speaking with a social media manager, we sat down with Brendan Nahmias, a senior talent manager at Whalar Talent, to discuss how the creators Whalar Talent represents are approaching Threads a month into the Meta-owned platform’s lifespan. Nahmias also shares his predictions for how Threads will factor into influencer marketing campaigns and creators’ content going forward.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
How are Whalar Talent and the creators you represent viewing Threads at this point?
We are really loving Threads, in general. The talent is really happy with it—they think it's fun, it's fresh, it's exciting, it's new. And in general, Threads has just been a good, creative space, and people are loving that it doesn’t feel bogged down by brands and that “corporate vibe” yet, for lack of a better term. As things change in the social media landscape, having an outlet where you can feel comfortable—whether with your text-based content or other means of sharing—has been really valuable to the talent we work with.
There hasn't really been a new platform that's launched at this level in years. TikTok sort of popped out from the pandemic, but that was Musical.ly beforehand. So, to have something that’s really starting from day one has been interesting to see, and certainly Meta is paying close attention to creators and their feedback to make sure Threads becomes not just a place for easy-breezy conversation but a real place to foster engagement and community.
I think Whalar’s POV here is that Threads will need to address some of the limitations of functionality and find ways to differentiate themselves from existing social media platforms while also focusing on improving the user experience and adding new, appealing features to retain and attract new users who haven't hopped on yet. But we're overall very excited about it.
Are creators facing any challenges on Threads?
Right now, the only drawback we’re seeing is that Threads might create another diversion of attention when it comes to where creators are focusing their content. If you’re a video-based creator, for example, and you’re having all this fun putting out text-based updates and telling jokes via text, does that take away your audience and your views on your video content? Is your time on Threads time you could be using telling those jokes in a video format? Or, when it comes to daily life updates like buying your favorite smoothie, is it better or more strategic for you to make that update into an Instagram story versus a text-based Threads post?
It’s really early days and people are still figuring out what makes the most sense for them and where to put their content. Ultimately, the conversation that we’re starting to have—but it hasn’t really become a major point of strategy-based conversation for many creators yet—is how do you, as a creator, really prioritize your time? But for now, I think Threads is just a fun, new outlet for creators.
How do you think creators will use Threads going forward? Could the platform lead to a new interest in text-based content among creators?
I think the creators who have become popular in recent years for their video-based content are going to continue to lean into that. No one’s going to abandon their video content or photo-based stories or carousel posts for text-based content. But the ability to share those pictures, those carousels and those videos on Threads is really exciting for creators and is another good place for people to bring their fans back to their main hub—Instagram, in this case.
There's an interesting opportunity for a certain type of creator to not just use this text-based platform as a promotional space to say, “Hey, I've got this really cool video, go check it out,” but to offer new types of content. For example, a number of fashion creators are using Threads to engage their communities by talking about design, asking them about fashion trends they want to see in the next season, and having conversations around new pieces that are dropping. We’re also seeing OG fashion creators—like Paris Hilton, for example—having a dialogue with somebody who in the big social media ecosystem of other apps might have never had the chance for their post or comment to come up in the algorithm.
We’re also seeing a lot of comedy creators take to Threads. Just like on other text-based platforms, comedy is still a really important group, and we’re seeing them reacting to the news or current events or sharing funny thoughts they might have had throughout the day. Travel and lifestyle folks are also pretty active on Threads as well. Pretty much anyone who would have been prominent and regularly posting on Instagram is on Threads, I think it’s fair to say.
Are there certain types of content that creators have been prioritizing on Threads?
I would say it’s a pretty good mix of photos, video and text. But one thing that’s been interesting to see is you have people posting a query to their fans and asking for direct feedback—for example, “Hey, I’m traveling to Chicago. What restaurants do you recommend?” A lot of times, you would see a creator post that on an Instagram story with a question box or ask for DMs, but by posting their question on Threads, they now have a historical place where they can check that list of replies super easily. We’re seeing a lot of people looking to Threads to engage with their communities, and that seems to be the type of action Threads is encouraging, which is beneficial for anyone who wants that type of content.
What do you think brand sponsorships will eventually look like on Threads?
It remains to be seen what sort of brand strategy will be implemented into Threads as far as brands or agencies asking for Threads as a deliverable from creators, or whether creators are posting text-based Threads or including visual assets to meet their campaign KPIs. It's definitely still a moving target, and it will depend on the creator—how much they're organically using Threads, whether their communities are engaged on that platform, etc. It’ll probably be a case-by-case basis depending on the creator and the tastes and goals of the particular brand or agency involved in the campaign.
In the RFP phase or the discovery phase of a campaign, it could be interesting for brands and agencies to engage with the creator and say, “Hey, while we’re doing our creative development and getting you ready to launch this campaign, would it make sense for you to have a dialogue with your fans on Threads about this type of product or this type of experience that you’re about to have?” But for now, I think it’s still a little too early to say how Threads will be implemented into formal campaigns.
How are you currently advising creators to approach Threads?
We certainly encourage people who are content creators to meet their audiences where they're at. And being an early adopter of a platform has benefits. We've seen that time and time again in the past decade-plus of social media. So, a lot of younger creators—let's say Gen Z folk who may never have engaged on Twitter—we certainly have a POV that we’d encourage, “Hey, hop on threads, check it out. It's super easy to port over your preexisting audience with your handle with your blue verification badge. Just check it out and give it a try.” It’s not a dire, desperate thing where if you don't hop on Threads in the first 60 days you're gonna miss the boat for the rest of your career, but it is something we would love to see people on.
Ultimately, how sustainable Threads is for certain creators and how often they’re posting remains to be seen. But the ones who have been on it and are having fun with it are the ones who are really checking the app every day and using it in their downtime, like when they’re waiting for an Uber to pick them up or they’re sitting on the couch after dinner. It’s a fun, easy way to engage, and also a lower lift compared to creating a video. But if creators aren’t vibing with it or are unwilling to check it out, it’s up to them how they want to build their business.
