Nathan Baugh: Unwinding The Thread

Nathan Baugh: Unwinding The Thread

Dissecting one of Twitter's top storyteller's most popular threads

Nathan Baugh is an expert in the art of the Twitter thread. Every piece of his viral threads is intentional, strategic, and effective.

That’s why I figured it would make sense to begin my experiment with a closer look at one of Nathan’s threads, extracting the tools and tactics implemented in each Tweet to appeal to readers and convince them to spend their precious Twitter time reading a well-researched “long-form” piece rather than scrolling on by for a quick-hit meme.

1. Set-up: “Formula 1 is a $13 billion global bohemoth”

• Surprising: People care about Formula 1?

• Eye-catching number ($13 billion)

• Words of gravity: “global” and “behemoth”

2. The Catch: “But - until 2019 - it failed to crack the US market”

• For U.S. audiences, who tend to see culture and sports through a far more localized lens, this is a shock line. How could it be that an organization so large could gain steam without our help!?

• For foreign audiences: Wait… you guys didn’t know about this?

3. Connecting to a cultural touchstone: “Then it launched Drive To Survive, the most effective content campaign in history”

• People have either seen the show, or wondered why so many people are into it all of a sudden

• Bold claim: “the most effective campaign in history” — can he back it up?

• The added bonus of timeliness — the thread was released during the opening weekend of the F1 Season

4. Let’s go for a ride: “Here’s a breakdown”

• A straightforward line to let the readers know that they can read more to back up these surprising claims.

Here comes the story.

The first Tweet is the hook — meant to stop potential readers from scrolling by at all costs. Tweet No. 2 begins the actual story. This is where Nathan gets to start backing up his promises, setting the tone for a detailed narrative that would be far less sexy as a lead-off.

Introducing the story by citing a prominent figure’s assessment of the brand would usually be quite boring. But the genius at play here is that the quote is false on its face.

Not only do we know that in today’s world marketing toward aging demographics at the expense of younger ones is widely considered poor practice — but particularly considering the explosion in popularity among young fans thanks to the Netflix show, it’s immediately clear that this is a Cold Takes Exposed situation.

Then we transition from this example of ineptitude to the blossoming of the current era with the 2016 acquisition.

Next item on the agenda: How did the acquisition save F1?

The question is answered with a pithy reply, a supporting quote, and a finishing line to tie it all up in a bow.

With this final line, the thread seamlessly pivots to another key element:

“F1 as a content company”

Don’t reinvent the wheel. Simple word association will do: Content = Netflix.

This Tweet acts as its own mini hook — creating a veil of confusion around the story that was seemingly headed toward the finish line without a hiccup.

In just two sentences, Nathan captures three major issues confronting F1’s ascension to becoming a powerhouse:

1. Nobody watched it

2. Even F1 hated it

3. The series couldn’t get the sport’s biggest stars

Bringing it back on track…

Those obstacles actually turned out to be blessings in disguise. Now, rather than root for the elite teams and ignore all the others, a relationship formed between fans and all the drivers.

Here Nathan deploys his first Quote Tweet, citing Trung Phan with a highly related but not at all overlapping thread of his own.

This is impactful as it signals to readers that Nathan has done his research, is assisting you in further reading, and, perhaps most importantly, is proving himself as a curator of content you can trust.

In the next reply, the story is completely reset.

The narrative stopped in its tracks.

That would usually be a pretty lousy tactic. But thanks to the strength of the previous Tweets, readers are locked in — a level of trust has already been established that allows for a higher degree of stickiness.

Basically, Nathan can do it because he proved (using tactics discussed above) that he’s delivering valuable content. So when he resets, rather than a disruption it feels like a treat — more of what the reader wants.

The thread goes on to explore the most interesting facets of the topic, unbound by the constraints of typical linear narrative.

A clean, all-encompassing (but still short) summary finishes it off.