The online world is constantly evolving, and it is essential that law firms and professional services keep up to date with the changes and embrace new platforms and technologies that could be beneficial.
Whilst it has been around for a little while now, there has recently been a buzz about Bluesky.
Bluesky is a micro-blogging platform, very similar to X/Twitter, where users can publish posts of up to 300 characters, along with images and videos. It is a decentralised platform, and whilst user numbers are rapidly increasing, it is still a small fraction of the X/Twitter audience.
Should law firms be using Bluesky?
When considering whether to make the commitment to try out a new social media platform, the first and most important thing to consider is your why. What are you trying to achieve? How would using Bluesky help to achieve the strategic objectives of your firm?
Target Audience
Your target audience should be at the core of your marketing efforts. Who are you trying to reach? What social media platforms do they use and in what way? What style of content do they like? Are they using Bluesky?
It is worth considering that at the moment, just over 7% of Bluesky users are in the UK, with most being in the US and Brazil*. If you are an international law firm, this could be a potential platform for you, but for those with more local client bases, it may not be the most effective way to reach your target audience.
*Data from Similarweb.
Competitor Analysis
As with any good marketing strategy, it is important to consider what your competitors are doing. Are they using Bluesky or X/Twitter? What type of content are they sharing? What is their engagement like? Do they have many followers? What are they doing well?
Do a thorough analysis to assess where you need a social media presence to be competitive and what your points of differentiation are. If they are not using Bluesky, why do you think that is?
Current Position
What social media platforms are you using and how are they performing for you?
Our experience has shown that LinkedIn is the most effective platform for professional services, whilst we have seen a decline in the engagement and effectiveness of X/Twitter for small to mid-sized law firms that have a more local base. If this has been your experience, then Bluesky is probably not for you.
Time
Social media is time-consuming, so it is best to prioritise your efforts and pick 1 or 2 of the most relevant platforms for your target audience and use them really well, rather than spreading yourself too thin and being ineffective across them all.
A post and ghost strategy will not be effective! Social media, as the name suggests, is social and it requires a time investment to engage with your audience on their content as well as engaging them on yours.
If you don’t have the time or resources to dedicate to your social media presence, perhaps this is something that the Consortium team could manage for you?
Content
One size does not fit all!
Every social media platform has its own user base, style and they are used in different ways. Whilst content can be repurposed, reposting the same content on each platform in the same format does not work – it needs to be thought about and most likely adapted to make it optimal for each platform.
If you are already creating content for X/Twitter, however, that is working for your firm, then it’s going to be very easy to simply repurpose that content for Bluesky.
Conclusion
If you are currently using X and it has been successful for you, then it may well be worth repurposing the content for Bluesky and making the effort to grow your following. It is worth considering that at the moment, around half of all Bluesky accounts only have 1 follower, so it could be a slow burner.
If you have a more local target audience and you are either not using X/Twitter or it is not providing worthwhile engagement or reach for you, this would suggest that Bluesky probably isn’t for you.
Bluesky has potential, but it’s not for everyone. The most effective use of social media for most law firms would be to focus on making the most of the platforms where your target audience already is.