By the Numbers: What you need to know about Bluesky

Since Elon Musk purchased the app formerly known as Twitter two years ago and implemented radical changes, various social media upstarts have sought to take its place as the premiere microblogging website.

Niche apps like Mastodon and Spill made names for themselves while Threads grew fast thanks to its integration into the Meta family of apps, including frictionless sign-on using Instagram credentials. Threads quickly amassed more than 275 million monthly active users.

But all of these apps struggled to gain the kind of cultural cache Twitter, now X,enjoyed. Mastodon is complicated and clunky to use; Spill remains small and relatively unknown. Threads had size on its side, but actively discouraged the news and political discussions that made Twitter such a juggernaut.

Before the U.S. elections, Bluesky was another also-ran. On Oct. 24, less than two weeks before the election, it announced it had reached 13 million followers. Respectable, but tiny in the grand sweep of social media.

On Tuesday, less than two weeks after the election, Bluesky hit 20 million, an explosive growth in such a brief period of time. It’s the No. 1 free app on the Apple App Store. Threads comes in at No. 3. X is nowhere to be found in the top 15 listings.

X’s absence from that list belies a small but not insignificant trend of deactivations on the platform after the election, with about 115,000 accounts going dark the day after the election. Given Musk’s tight ties to the Trump administration, with the tech billionaire spending considerable time at Mar-a-Lago and heading up the planned Department of Government Efficiency, some liberal users saw remaining on the platform to be a tacit endorsement of the new administration.

The deactivations are a drop in the bucket compared to X’s 586 million total users. And Bluesky’s 20 million total users is still less than one-tenth of Threads’. But the activity on Bluesky is quickly taking on even the Meta Goliath. Similarweb reports that Bluesky’s daily active use has nearly reached that of Threads, indicating that while Bluesky might be smaller, at least for now, its users are much more engaged. That’s the double-edged sword of Threads’ tactic of getting Instagram users to sign up: it’s very easy to do … and very easy to forget.

Bluesky’s rapid growth has many PR professionals taking notice. Here’s what you should know right now.

Brands on Bluesky

So far, few major consumer brands have set up shop on Bluesky, though you will find a number of parodies knocking about, or people squatting on desirable account names.  To that end, even if you aren’t ready to post on Bluesky now – or ever – this is the time to claim any and all relevant usernames to protect your brand and prevent imitators. Likewise, setting up a few general searches for brand listening purposes is always a good idea, even if you aren’t active on the platform.

The lack of brands on Bluesky contributes to its current, cocktail party-like feel that many have likened to the early days of Twitter, before brands put themselves into the middle of every conversation. People are talking to one another in a way that feels both retro and refreshing.

Amy Brown, a social media strategist and writer made famous by her work on Wendy’s early Twitter account, said that before brands get involved on Bluesky, they should consider what they can add to the conversation beyond just pushing their product.

“The biggest question brands should be asking is: Would we bring some sort of value to the communities currently occupying the platform?” Brown told PR Daily. “Brands I’ve seen find success so far offer some sort of utility, like news publications or the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. But I do not think it’s gonna go well for a sassy brand to jump in with a, ‘rt if you love the breakfast crunchwrap’ or whatever.”

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is, indeed, on Bluesky, offering up a surrealist, memey take on government communications, replete with bad graphic design (though they challenge users to “please submit a better version of the graphic for review” if they think they can do better). But even amid the absurdity, they’re sharing good information: an image of a roasted turkey on a horse accompanies information about not burning down your house deep frying a bird. News you can use!

The media on Bluesky

Media sources have also migrated to Bluesky. Some, most notably NPR and The Guardian, had abandoned X altogether and Bluesky provides an alternative without Musk’s hostility to the mainstream media. Here, the activity largely mirrors the precedent set on X, with journalists sharing links to content as well as threads with additional information. Images and videos up to 60 seconds long can also be shared.

But perhaps more valuable for PR professionals are not the branded media accounts but the individual journalists who are using the site. X used to allow an incredible opportunity for PR practitioners to forge relationships with journalists, but some began to drift away from the more hostile environment. Many seem re-energized to be on Bluesky, actively posting and accessible once again. Prominent journalists now active on Bluesky include Kara Swisher, Oliver Darcy and Joy-Ann Reid, to name only a few.

PR pros on Bluesky

“I don’t think brands should jump in and establish a presence on Bluesky right away, especially if the intent is to replicate a Twitter or Threads strategy on the platform,” Brown advised. “I do think your social media manager should probably be there in a personal capacity, learning about the platform and evaluating if it’s a fit.” That advice also serves many PR pros well, who need to keep their pulse on the finger of what’s new and what’s next.

If you’re feeling exhausted by the proposition of starting a new social account and building from the ground up, you’re not alone. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Starter Packs are a solid way to find new people to follow so you don’t find yourself staring into an empty feed. Bluesky allows you to have multiple homefeeds, including people you follow, suggested content or content focused around specific topics. Starter Packs can offer you both custom feeds or recommended people to follow, allowing you to customize your timelines exactly how you please. These are user curated lists that can make adjusting to life in Bluesky much easier. Here’s a Starter Pack of journalists and another of comms professionals.
• There’s no foolproof way to port follows from X to Bluesky. If you want to replicate some of the experience, however, the Sky Follower Bridge can help. It scans your X followers and does its best to identify which users also have Bluesky accounts. From my experience, it’s a bit hit or miss. It works best if people have the same usernames on both platforms, but can get confused if someone has a common name, for instance confusing my follow of a journalist named “Robert King” with a TV producer of the same name. Still, it helped me feel like I at least knew some kids in my new school. You will have to give it your Bluesky password, so take that safety into account.
• It’s OK to lurk. It remains to be seen if Bluesky will become a major social media force or a niche, liberal-leaning silo while X occupies the same space to the right. Regardless, it’s important to understand this movement and what it may mean for the future of social media.

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Bluesky or LinkedIn.