A growing number of the UK small businesses are getting “frustrated” with Twitter/X and are looking into alternative social media platforms, according to a Derby UK digital marketing firm.
JDR Group, which specialises in working with SMEs and has nearly 3,000 clients based across the country on its books, says more and more clients are seeking advice on what to do with their social media and asking about switching to another platform.
It follows a spate of well-publicised recent departures from the Elon Musk-owned X, with organisations, including The Guardian and Derbyshire Constabulary, either scaling back their use or coming off the platform completely.
Kerry Baker, social media manager at JDR Group, first noticed small businesses voicing concerns about X last year, following reports of how the platform was used to spread misinformation which led to the UK race riots during the summer.
Musk has since been using his platform to express his views in order to influence UK politics, while a change in the algorithm has seen many people’s feeds sending them divisive content rather than the diet of updates they were used to seeing.
While millions of people are still continuing to use the platform, many users have decided to seek pastures new – including SMEs who use social media as part of their marketing campaigns.
Kerry said: “While we haven’t had any clients specifically asking to remove their Twitter profiles, we have noticed a growing concern among them regarding the platform and several have asked for our opinion on the current state of Twitter.
“They’re frustrated with the new algorithm and have seen a significant drop in views on their business profiles, so they want to know if they should consider setting up a Bluesky account.
“Our response has been a firm ‘yes,’ even if it’s just to secure their handle for now. Many users leaving X are migrating to Bluesky and the platform has experienced remarkable growth.
“For instance, immediately after the November 5 election, Bluesky added over 1 million users per day, so it’s definitely worth companies looking into.”
JDR Group was founded in 2004 as a business coaching company and although it has evolved into a digital marketing firm it continues to coach and train owners of small and medium-sized businesses while offering a range of services including SEO, web design, social media and content marketing.
In 2023 it was named in the top one per cent of HubSpot’s global partner agencies which use the customer platform to bring their clients’ marketing, sales and customer service activity together within one integrated system.
To find out more www.jdrgroup.co.uk
