Bluesky’s Place in the B2B Marketing Mix

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Bluesky’s Place in the B2B Marketing Mix

By Jennifer Esty
November 21, 2024

Time for Some Bluesky Thinking

With over 20 million users now on the platform, it’s time to consider Bluesky’s place in your B2B marketing mix.

What is it and how is it different?

Bluesky is a microblogging social media platform, very similar to X (formerly Twitter) in its form and function, but with two very notable differences (three if you count the absence of Elon Musk’s involvement).

The first is that there is no advertising on the platform. None. Not a single ad to be seen. Nor any immediate plans to offer advertising (but we wouldn’t place a bet on there never being ads).

So, for B2B marketers, Bluesky is a purely organic play.

The second difference is the level of control users have over their experience. Unlike X, and indeed most social media platforms, Bluesky gives users much more control over their own experience, including:

Users can select the algorithm that drives what they see
Helps users create custom feeds, for example a feed for mutual followers or special interests
Allows users to have website addresses as their handle (both for organisations and individuals affiliated with an organisation)
“Anti-toxicity” features which include allowing users to detach their post from someone else’s quote post, preventing unwanted interactions

So, what should B2B marketers do?

Now that the platform has reached the 20 million mark, there is a good chance that at least some of your prospects and clients are using it.

So, it’s worthwhile considering it as part of your overall organic social strategy.

Step one is probably to create your own personal account so you can familiarise yourself with the platform.

The process is pretty seamless and should only take a few minutes at most.

You have the usual mix of assets to consider:

Your handle
Your profile pic
Your cover pic
A short description of yourself

The usual rules apply for the set up and no one would judge you for copying and pasting from existing social channels!

If you’re not intent on using the platform solely for professional purposes (because you’re a journalist, celebrity or your identity is in some way inextricably linked to your organisation), we recommend using a sensible variant of your name. Or even a similar handle to the one you used on X, if you had a useful number of followers who might be looking for you on Bluesky.

Pro tip: we used the same cover pic from our X account, and it displayed just fine.

As part of the process, you can select topics that interest you. There aren’t really any B2B focused topics available (yet), but, once you’re set up, you can use the search functionality to find news, people and feeds with which to engage.

And you’re ready to go—you can start searching and following accounts, set up your own feeds and lists or create starter packs (which enable you to share your favourites, feeds, and people with your wider network).

Pro tip: for email verification, our code popped up in the Junk folder, so have a look there if you don’t see it in your inbox!

Next, you’ll want to set up a profile for your organisation if you don’t already have one.

The process is identical to setting up your personal account. But note if you do want to use your domain name as your handle, you will have to first set up the account and then use the Advanced Settings to change your handle (and it requires someone who has access to your dns settings to make it work).

Pro tip: you will have to sign out of your personal account first, so head over to Settings and you’ll see Sign out near the top of the screen. Bluesky has made it very easy to switch between accounts, a feature we very much appreciate!

What next?

Now you’re ready to start posting.

The rules are the same as for X, with 300 characters and options to include images, video, GIFs and emojis.

A hyperlink creates a nice snippet of the destination URL, which you can choose to delete if you don’t like what you see.

And don’t forget those interaction controls: the defaults are probably fine for most organisations who want their content to be discoverable and interactive. But if it’s a personal post you might want to be more discriminating about who can see and interact with your content.

Finally, go ahead and add the Bluesky icon to your website with your other socials.

Some organisations have taken the step of removing X to make room. We think there are valid arguments for keeping links to both platforms, and it will very much depend on your clients, your brand, and the value of your current followers.

Have more questions about Bluesky, organic social or B2B marketing in general? Please get in touch, one of our consultants would be happy to chat!