Can X continue to hold its own despite all the adversity? Which ist the best platform for reaching media professionals? An original Schwedin Analysis.
LinkedIn, Bluesky or Threads: Several platforms are currently trying to establish themselves as Twitter replacements. Who will win the race? Or can X continue to hold its own despite all the adversity? Let's find out!
In our ongoing tracking initiative, we've been closely monitoring a select group of journalists representing Switzerland's three language regions who maintain an active presence across various social media platforms. Our core aim is to pinpoint the platforms where journalists are most actively engaged. This report marks the inaugural month of our research, covering the activities of these journalists throughout December 2023.
Blueksy & Threads: A Röstigraben
We meticulously compiled a list of 38 media professionals: 25 from German-speaking Switzerland, 8 from French-speaking Switzerland, and 5 from Ticino. Each journalist has an X published a minimum of five posts on either X, LinkedIn, Bluesky or Threads during December.1 A good basis for an initial evaluation.
A spirit of optimism in German-speaking Switzerland
In December 2023, 14 of the 25 Swiss German journalists selected were active on Bluesky and six on Instagram Threads. Overall, 60 percent of communication took place on X, 24 percent on Bluesky, nine percent on LinkedIn and seven percent on Threads.
Five media professionals commented explicitly on the question of whether they should continue to be active on X or look for an alternative. Some call on their followers to follow them on other channels, including long-time tech journalist Thomas Benkö. He describes himself on blick.ch: "Since the takeover by Elon Musk, he has been going through a #Twittlifecrisis – and is now @velofluencer on Threads and @benkoe.com on Bluesky."
Benkö's colleague Fabian Eberhard, deputy editor-in-chief of SonntagsBlick, is also actively involved in the debate. He has called on his community on Threads and X to vote for their favourite platform. Oliver Fuchs (Beobachter) and Patrizia Laeri (Elexx) have already turned their backs on X completely. Fuchs already said goodbye to Twitter in mid-July and is now an active Bluesky user.
Skepticism in French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino
The picture is different in French-speaking Switzerland. None of the eight media professionals we follow had opened a Bluesky or Threads profile by the end of December 2023, and they continue to use X. Eighty percent of their posts are published on the Musk platform, the remaining 20 percent on LinkedIn.
In Ticino, 98 percent of all posts were also published via X.One person made two posts on Linkedin in December. Two people had opened a Threads profile, although only one person had made a single post on the new channel. Bluesky does not yet seem to have penetrated deeply in Ticino.
Conclusion
Given the global exodus, it is surprising that X remains by far the most frequently used platform among Swiss media professionals. 1084 posts and reposts were published there in December (66 percent), compared to 308 on Bluesky (19 percent), 148 on LinkedIn (9 percent) and 95 on Threads (6 percent).
Also worth noting: 35 of the 38 media professionals in our research are active on X, 19 on Linkedin, 14 on Bluesky and 7 on Threads. Even if LinkedIn is used less for personal communication, the platform may be used for research.
What does this mean?
X remains the best platform for reaching media professionals because, as of today (January 2024), there is no established alternative. Although some journalists also actively use other platforms, they also maintain a presence on X.
We recommend that companies that want to actively pursue media relations via social media open a company account on Bluesky. Even if it is not yet clear how the platform will develop in the long term, a lot seems to be happening here and reserving the company name is always a good idea!
You will soon find out what happens next with Bluesky, Threads, LinkedIn and X here, in the next part. We'll stay tuned and keep you up to date!
Who is active on which platform and how often? Can one of the new platforms prevail over X?
Read the start of our blog series here.
1 We relied on a ranking by the industry magazine «Schweizer Journalist:in» (issue no. 6/22), among others to select the media professionals for our analysis. We researched other media professionals, particularly from French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino, on media companies' websites, and via LinkedIn and X.
