First, X locked horns with the Brazilian government and was banned in the country for over a month from the end of August, which meant its estimated 22 million users in Brazil had to find alternative platforms. X’s loss was Bluesky’s gain, with Similarweb reporting over 7.2 million Android downloads of the app in the country following the ban. Meanwhile, an estimated 3 million people went instead to Threads, Meta’s own microblogging platform.

In the past week, as a result of the US election and X owner Elon Musk’s involvement in Donald Trump’s campaign (and subsequently as part of his office), hundreds of thousands of users have reportedly deactivated their X accounts, while some brands have announced they will stop posting content to the platform, such as Austrian Airlines.

What does the future hold for X, and how should brands use the platform? Are alternative channels such as Bluesky a viable substitute for the app? Let’s dig into it…

‍

The X-odus in numbers

Major organisations that are officially pulling out from posting on X are increasing in number. Most notably, The Guardian announced on November 13 that it will no longer use the channel, where it has a total of 27 million followers. 

Under Elon Musk’s leadership, trust in X has nosedived from 22% in 2022 to 12% in 2024, according to Kantar’s 2024 Media Reactions report. And only 4% of marketers believe ads on the platform provide brand safety, according to Marketing Week. 

What’s more, 26% of marketers plan to reduce their ad spend on X in 2025, the largest recorded pullback seen on any major global ad platform, blaming brand safety concerns and poor perceptions of innovation and trust.

On the flipside, Elon Musk’s closeness to Donald Trump also means some brands may return to X as advertisers, in order to be seen more favourably by the incoming US administration.

‍

Blue skies ahead

X’s recent woes have been a boon for Bluesky, which this week reached 15 million users, with over a million of those added in the week since the US election results (it reported 9 million users in September after the influx of Brazilian users).

Many are seeing it as a safer refuge from the far right extremist content that is becoming more prevalent on X. Bluesky is also heavily in the news at the moment, which means many media organisations and journalists are beginning to rehome there. A Google Chrome extension is making it even easier for users to find and port the accounts they followed on X/Twitter over to Bluesky. Check out how to do that here.

Bluesky is still a relatively small platform compared to the likes of X and Threads, but it’s worth registering your brand’s handle to stake your claim, before someone else does. 

‍

Following the Threads

But Bluesky isn’t the only option. Threads, launched by Meta in July 2023, is a more consumer-focused network that is tied closely to Instagram, as usernames are linked between the two. The app has also been growing fast in recent months. Monthly active users are now up to over 275 million, growing by 1 million accounts per day as of October 31, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

It is almost certainly worth starting to build a community there while the app is still in its relative infancy, in case it becomes the primary social network place for microblogging, memes, viral content, and more. Perhaps more than any other rival, it has the potential to become ‘the next Twitter’, with safer content moderation and less focus on politics, as Meta is actively downplaying political posts. 

Threads does not have a chronological feed like X or Bluesky, so it’s not the ideal place – at the moment – for breaking news or topical, time-bound conversations, including around events. For that reason as well, at least at the moment, journalists and media organisations have favoured Bluesky over Threads.

‍

What should brands do?

Some communities, such as sports fans and most publications, are still very active on X. If you and your brand target those audiences, there is no immediate need to go elsewhere. It’s sensible, however, to monitor further user developments, such as declines, as well as other brand announcements that can help inform future decisions. Some brands, of course, still use X as a customer service channel, and until there’s a suitable alternative in place, it’s best to continue with business as usual.

One risk to consider is that, due to X’s increasingly lax content moderation policies, there is a considerable amount of mis- and disinformation being shared on the app. Even if you don’t post to X, there are still ongoing conversations that you should be aware of. Without active monitoring, brands could be blindsided by reputational threats.

Finally, if you make the decision to stop sharing to X altogether, it is still recommended  to log into the channel periodically just to keep it ‘active’ – stopping any bad actors from taking the handle in the immediate future. 

‍

Want to hear more about this topic? Join us at the Curzon Soho in London on 28 November for The Year Ahead in Social, our annual breakfast briefing exploring the social media trends you need to know for 2025. Secure your spot here.

‍For further counsel or help managing your presence on X, Bluesky or Threads, check out our services page, or email hello@battenhall.com.