Well that was quick!

As my colleague Mary discussed last week, Meta's new "Twitter Killer" app Threads currently includes a clause in its Terms of Use that users shall not "exploit the Threads Service for any commercial purpose," but it looks like paid promotions have begun, with paid advertisements to follow.

Over the weekend, content creator Adam Rose posted what appeared to be the first sponsored Thread, hyping the new season of animated series Futurama and labeling himself a "#HuluPartner" (referencing the platform on which the show runs). 

As advertisers have turned away from Twitter over brand safety concerns, they may be hoping Threads fills the gap and can bring new eyeballs to their products and services (over 100 million sets of eyeballs so far, in fact). That isn't happening yet, but we expect to see Meta monetize the platform through paid advertising as it works out kinks, adds new features, and proves up its audience reach. 

Right now, brands should continue to focus on finding a signature "Threads voice," and on organic content creation. However, to the extent brands do decide to start pushing paid partnerships on Threads, it is important to disclose the partnership through (currently non-functional) hashtags or text disclosures, even once Meta puts branded content tools in place soon, since the FTC has advised that built-in platform tools alone are not sufficiently clear and conspicuous.