Social media for charities 101: Bluesky

If you’re thinking of joining Bluesky, you’re not alone. Since the US presidential election, the social network Bluesky has soared in numbers – reaching 23.1 million users as of 28 November 2024.

 

One million of those joined in just one week in November.

 

New users include a growing number of charities and charity leaders, many who are leaving X for its divisive environment and high levels of misinformation. The Charity Digital Skills Report 2024 found that 18% of charities surveyed have moved away from using X – and that was before the recent exodus.

 

 

What is Bluesky?

 

Bluesky looks and feels a lot like X in terms of interface. As a user you can build a network, and post, reply and message others. It was conceptualised by former Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey (though he’s no longer involved in the platform) and first launched as an invite-only space. It opened to the public in February 2024.

 

 

Why might you want to join?

 

Many new users are joining the site with the hope that it will be a more inclusive, welcoming space. In fact, Bluesky claims it IS “social media as it should be” with its community guidelines including “empower user choice” and “cultivate a welcoming environment”.

 

It has moderation tools you can personalise and, with the surge of new users, they have quadrupled their content moderation team. Bluesky users can also block others.

 

As well as preventing people from interacting with you, it also blocks them from seeing anything you post (a key difference from the controversial changes recently made on X). 

 

 

Although numbers are soaring on the platform, it still remains a small community (compared to, for example, Facebook’s over three billion users). That means it’s less crowded now, making it potentially easier to establish a strong presence if you join early on. 

 

Here are five tips to get started.

 

 

Sign up to Bluesky

 

Signing up is quick and simple. When you create your username (or handle) it will look like: @username.bsky.social. Make sure your banner, logo, and bio are on brand, so that your charity looks and feels consistent with how you show up on other social platforms.

 

It might be that you’re not ready to start posting yet (and it’s better to hold off until you’ve thought through how you want to use the platform). If that’s the case, it’s still worth creating an account – that way you can be sure that you have the user details you want, before they’re snapped up by another organisation.

 

 

Figure out your strategy

 

Managing any social media account takes time and thought – and especially so if you’re building up an audience. Think through how you want to use the account and how that will sit as part of your wider comms strategy.

 

CharityComms has a useful social media platform checklist to help you decide whether you should join, stay, or leave a platform and we share information about how to make sure your social media is a trusted voice.

 

If you have a small social team or limited resources, you might decide to sit tight for the moment. While Bluesky is flourishing right now, there’s no guarantee it will be popular further down the line. So if your time and resources are already stretched, you might want to focus on your existing audiences for now, and see how the land lies in a few months’ time. 

 

 

Build your Bluesky network

 

You can find people and organisations by their name or handle using the Search, and then follow them –  you might then want to see who they follow too. Every time you follow someone, they’ll be notified and asked if they want to follow you back. You can also use your Discover feed of posts from accounts you don’t follow, but that Bluesky thinks you’ll like.

 

 

Use starter packs

 

An easier way to build your network is to use starter packs – these are lists of users, created by users, centred around a shared interest or topic. You can look through a pack to pick and choose who you want to follow or use the ‘Follow all’ button to easily follow everyone on the list.

 

Head to the Bluesky directory to search for starter packs you’re interested in. Madeleine Sugden, digital impact consultant, has put together two starter packs of UK charities on Bluesky. 

 

 

Tell people you’re there

 

Finally, tell your existing audiences that you’ve joined Bluesky – that could be newsletter recipients or your other social media audiences. Add the Bluesky logo to your website, and remember to update any existing lists of your social channels. Then it’s time to jump in, and enjoy getting to know your new network.