How are emerging social media platforms (e.g., Threads, Bluesky and now Pinksky – Bluesky’s just-announced photo-centric platform) performing? New data from Sprout Social’s Q1 2025 Pulse Survey provides growth-positive, if sometimes mixed, results. The survey assesses how brands are staking their claims on these networks.
New social media platforms include:
• Yik Yak.
• Substack Notes.
• Coverstar.
• Jagat.
• Fizz.
• Lemon8.
• Lapse.
• Bluesky.
The survey reveals that more than half of marketers in charge of managing their brand’s social media presence are already posting on Threads (57 percent) and Bluesky (52 percent). Fewer than 10 percent say they do not have plans to use either platform.
The survey assesses the activities of 650 US, UK, and Australian marketers. This finds 36 percent of industry insiders say their audience is joining emerging platforms like Threads, Bluesky, Lemon8, and Mastodon.
This participation rate rises among US marketers with 43 percent citing the shift to newer platforms.
Of different types of industry professionals, 54 percent of business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers are posting on Bluesky today compared with just 12 percent of business-to-business (B2B) marketing firms. However, in the longer-term 40 percent of B2B marketers plan to build a presence on the platform.
The activities are not necessarily leading to new content, however. Over half of marketers posting or planning to post on BlueSky (57 percent) or Threads (52 percent) say they will repurpose content from other platforms.
For example, Netflix repurposes content from established networks to show up on emerging platforms, like sharing static images on Bluesky and content on Threads. But they don’t cross-post everything or ignore platform-specific content. Instead, they tailor content to each audience and repurpose when it fits.
Across Bluesky, Snapchat and Threads, Netflix US has over 8 million followers. This signals that these types of social media platform are becoming more important to large firms within the entertainment sector.
Google keeps it simple on Threads by using it to keep its users up to date on product developments, highlighting important changes, and linking to full articles.
The brand uses Threads to keep its customers and nearly 5 billion users worldwide up to date on product developments.
Only 26 percent of marketers plan to create unique content for the either channel.
