With Elon Musk being added to Trump’s forthcoming new government is this the time for a meaningful Bluesky breakthrough? What does it mean for our social media strategies?

by Darren Caveney

We have all been waiting for a genuine Twitter replacement for a while haven’t we. But it doesn’t fully exist. Yet.

Could it be Bluesky? Maybe. It’s about scale and usage and enough compelling reasons to be there isn’t it?

Bluesky claim that a million people have joined the platform in the past week.

And that 15 million people are predicted to be on it shortly.

So, that’s promising isn’t it.

We have been here before, though - Remember Threads? It was the fastest app to 100 million downloads ever. But when was the last time you used it or enjoyed it?

And how about previous big moves to Masterdon. How is that panning out?

Today…

I joined Bluesky through an invite last year. And, in all honesty, didn’t do a lot with it until today, other than keeping a watching brief. The Trump/Musk news yesterday really sparked me to revisit it, and encouraged me to share my first post there. To a whopping audience of - at the time - 49!

As with all social media platforms the best thing to do is to innovate - try them, kick the tyres, work out if they are worth your time or not.

It’s all change. And it always has been.

Our social media habits have clearly evolved in recent years. Mine have, since joining LinkedIn 15 years ago and Twitter 16 years ago. I have a clear idea of what I like, what I don’t, and what is useful to me, and what is a time drain.

The halcyon days of Twitter, which some of us mourn, may not ever return on any platform. But, that’s OK. We just need nuanced - and insight informed - multi-layered comms and campaign plans which take into account all of the relevant platforms and tools open to us, from email marketing to online advertising. And social still sits within that. But it’s certainly not the only show in town.

So, what do we do now?

Well we’re all different - and it’s hard to just make lazy assumptions of where audiences are now. The truth is that we have all scattered. And, just because you’re ‘active’ on a platform doesn’t mean you’re reachable or spending any quality time engaging, discussing or sharing there.

Recent deep dive social media reviews which Alex Waddington and myself have undertaken have revealed some telling trends. We’ll share more on that another time.The metrics can guide us but they are not a guarantee of future performance. Social media has always been shifting sands and now more than ever.

Social media is still hugely influencial and, according to Ofcom, it’s where 50% of us get our news from. So, hold the horses, let’s not panic and leave the scene.

But, it’s clear that things are changing and fast, with The Guardian today announcing that they will ‘no longer post to X’ (although they will still source news content from it). This feels fairly pivotal.

Professional use vs personal use: There’s a big difference.

This is an obvious thing to say, but possible worth making the point anyway: There is a big, big difference between our professional social media use and our personal social media use.

Should you be on Twitter as an organisation? Probably, for now, yes. We have spent well over a decade asking our audiences to engage with us there. And when a crisis hits guess what, it’s still where some people head for news and help. Will you have to hold your nose in the process? Probably.

We may not like the people behind the platform, or some of the people who use it. Brexit and Covid brought this into sharp focus and it’s been polarising at times on Twitter, especially for organisations posting there and trying to do the right thing. But, have you looked at Facebook lately? And, I still remember its role in the Brexit outcome. Have you seen some of the inflammatory content on TikTok? Do we stop using these platforms too because of some of the content present on them? Where do we draw the lines?

Oh yeah, algorithms…

Many of us are in our bubbles and we all have different experiences of a platform based upon what their algorithms serve us.

TikTok is a prime example of this with it’s incredibly powerful algorithm.

However, if these platforms provide benefits to us and our audiences then there is still a place for them in our strategies and plans, regardless of personal views. I used to detest the local news paper when I was in-house. It was awful. Still is, I would imagine. But, if there was even a hint of a benefit in using it as a part of a wider comms campaign then I absolutely would. That’s just good business.

Jumping ship from, say, Twitter without a well thought through and refreshed organisational social media strategy in place is a bit reckless. Look at what happened in the aftermath of the awful events in Southport in the summer, where some organisations who had stated that they were no longer using Twitter, had to row back on that because of rumours of violence and protest in some towns and cities. They were forced to return to try to reassure residents on the platform in the face of often inaccurate rumours.

Mis and disinformation is very real and a threat to society. If we all vacate organisational social media platforms, without a plan and without alternatives, we run the risk of vacuums taking hold and even more unchallenged, inaccurate information filling voids.

When a credible and sizeable alternative to Twitter does exist then absolutely we can jump ship if we want to. Hopefully, Bluesky can grow and grow and become that force for good.

But, right now, for those hovering over the ‘delete’ button for their organisational Twitter I would say:

What if you’re a council and a big crisis like a terrorist incident hits your area?
What if you’re an NHS trust with a very large scale accident or emergency to deal with?
What if you’re a government department when a massive, headline-grabbing reputational issue suddenly lands?

What is your social media strategy if you have ditched Twitter already, but your stakeholders are discussing the issue live on the platform and you’re not in the room? We know that much of the media are still there, many politicians are too, plus other opinion formers and influencers.

With all of this in mind, is your current social media strategy still fit for purpose?

Making a clear distinction, and plan, for which social media platforms we use at work - vs which we use in our own personal time - has never been more important.

Take me as a (somewhat untypical user) example.

My professional social media use

LinkedIn - Professionally right now, I’m pretty sure I could get by with only using LinkedIn for work. It’s a must for me. The analytics back this view up.
Twitter - Yes there is a bit of work chatter still on Twitter. But it has clearly reduced in the past 12 months. And I would expect it to drop off further.
Instagram - There is some minor engagement on Instagram for me. But I would be better served spending my time on other activities, such as email. I could close my account today and it wouldn’t make a jot of difference to me.
Facebook - Well I hate it, and have steadfastly refused to use it for years. I don’t believe this has been detrimental to me and I’m happy with my decision.
Threads - Hasn’t been effective, for me at least. I tried it, worked out the pros and cons and decided it’s a no for me. Our time is precious so I don’t plan on using it any more.
Whatsapp - Is great for chatting to work pals, other consultants and for engaging with people in the many comms related groups I am in.
TikTok - Is not where my work audience is from my perspective of running comms2point0. But, I know enough about the platform, and how it works, for my role as a consultant and advisor to organisations and teams.
And, as I say, I am having a play with Bluesky.

However…

When conducting social media reviews, and when creating social media training, I will use any of the above if the organisation I am working with uses them. Professionally, I’m agnostic to individual platforms. And this is important. My personal views and biases don’t matter at all when it comes to my consultancy and training support. I’d be daft if I was any different.

My personal social media use

LinkedIn - I use a little bit. It’s a pleasant place to be.
Twitter - Is still handy for breaking news, customer services (e.g. for regularly delayed trains) and for passion subjects, such as Birmingham City F.C., the England and Warwickshire cricket teams, and boxing (I know, you were’t expecting that, probably, but I am a massive boxing fan) plus for some local news.
Instagram - I’m not really interested in peoples’ Instagram lives, some of which we know to be, well, ha ha, selective.
Threads - Get out of town
Whatsapp - Is the place I go to most for chats with friends. I need to use it less, though, as it’s my largest distraction.
Facebook - Never. I have actual, real life friend ‘friend requests’ I have ignored here 😂. If you know me properly you’ll know that you won’t find me here.
TikTok - I have trained myself not to go there any more. I calculated that I was spending 20 minutes a day mindlessly scrolling, and aside from a bit of entertainment on a long train journey there was nothing of real value for me so why do it?
Bluesky - The jury is currently out but I don’t imagine it taking up a huge chunk of my personal time.

So, that’s me.

But I’m more interested in you.

What are the differences in your personal and professional use now?
And, what are your professional plans and possible changes as we approach 2025?

It’s a fascinating debate.

Write about it and I’ll share it here with the comms2point0 community.

Fancy connecting on Bluesky? I’m HERE.

Darren Caveney is creator and owner of comms2point0 and Creative Communicators Ltd and creator of the UnAwards

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