What is Bluesky and should my brand be on it?
Bluesky, the latest social media platform to rival X, formally Twitter, has experienced an impressive surge in users over the past few weeks. This change has undoubtedly been triggered by the political climate in the US, a country that has seen the largest exodus to Bluesky. But there’s also been an increase in UK sign-ups. Putting politics aside, could Bluesky be a good platform for your brand?
The social network exodus
It’s been reported this week that Bluesky users have passed the 15 million mark with around 700,000 people signing up in the past couple of weeks. Much of this has been due to users wanting to disassociate themselves from X and its controversial owner Elon Musk. But it’s also attracted a good deal of users from Threads which, at the opposite end of the spectrum, is significantly limiting political content.
Up until February this year, Bluesky was an invite-only platform. Even after it was fully launched though the response, particularly in the media, was lukewarm at best. With slow and steady growth, it was met with scepticism. While it does have some appealing features, it seems users are not so much attracted to Bluesky, as they are driven away from its competitors - great news for them!
How does Bluesky work?
What you’ll see when you sign up is something very similar to X but soon you’ll notice that there are no ads, no blue ticks and above all no content-hiding algorithm. In fact, the appeal of Bluesky is that you have so much more control over the content you're exposed to.
So, while X recently introduced an update which means that even those you’ve blocked can see your posts, Bluesky still allows you to mute and block users. But it doesn’t stop there. There are lists available to block spam or bots and you can mute tags so that topics don’t show in your feed. You can control what you see in great detail with options to hide or warn against explicit or illicit content, unsafe links, intolerance, extremism, misinformation, engagement farming and more. It takes a bit of time, but there’s so much potential for personal configuration, that it’s easy to see the appeal of Bluesky.
Is my brand right for Bluesky?
As with all social media platforms, the answer is: it probably depends on the following:
- How successful you currently are on X
- Who your target audience is
- Your organisational values
X has a huge advantage as far as user numbers are concerned. If you have a social media strategy for it, and it’s working well for you might decide to stick with it. And it may be that this strategy can be emulated on Bluesky, but time will tell here.
The big brands are yet to make their mark and demonstrate how Bluesky will work for business. News outlets and third-sector organisations in contrast are gaining some traction. This is something that tracks with the general feeling that Bluesky can be a much less toxic and more socially conscious space. It’s also being touted as a space for authentic information.
And, if you like the thought of Bluesky but the thought of starting over feels daunting, there are extensions such as the Sky Follower Bridge that, while not perfect, can help you identify what followers have created a Bluesky account.
Perhaps the biggest question you should ask yourself when deciding is: who is your audience? What do they expect and value? There’s no escaping the fact that there’s a mass exodus happening and it could be a case of going where your customers are. It might even be an internal decision if Bluesky feels like a better environment for your team and your culture.
If you do create an account, there are some great features and opportunities to position yourself as a thought leader. This includes creating a starter pack which is a group of accounts under one topic. This is one way you can signpost your new followers to accounts of interest, helping them navigate the platform. Starter packs are being created for everything from Bloomberg News Reporters to The Best Comedians on Bluesky. And, being able to add your personalised domain is a nice touch to your profile. Above all, it feels like Bluesky offers an opportunity to connect with people and demonstrate your expertise without a hard sell. A chance to augment your brand rather than a direct sales channel.
Bluesky could work well for you if you like to be a thought leader and have the resources to engage in meaningful conversations. My advice would be to explore the platform for yourself personally before making a decision for your business.
If you’re looking to take a deeper dive into your social media strategy, why not get in touch with our team? We can have an informal chat about what this could look like for you.