With many progressive organisations making the decision to leave X in recent months, we have also decided to leave the platform. We’re sharing our thoughts on how we’ve come to this decision and are offering a guide on some alternative platforms in case this helps other organisations in our sector and membership.   

Why leave Twitter/X?

Although it’s a shame to stop connecting with a following we’ve built up over the years, we’ve also noticed it’s much harder for us achieve the impact we once had on Twitter/X due to various changes in its algorithms (such as penalising external links) and the difficulty in competing with accounts with paid subscriptions. Journalists, who are helpful in amplifying our tweets, are now leaving Twitter/X in droves, especially after the announcement that the Guardian is quitting the platform, along with other notable organisations within our sector. Our interactions and reach on Twitter/X have declined due to this combination of factors.  

But the main reason we’re leaving Twitter/X is because we want to live our values of solidarity, justice and anti-racism as an organisation whenever we can. On Twitter/X there has been a huge increase in racism, misogyny, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination, as well as polarisation and misinformation, and hatred and harassment. The UK riots this summer, which targeted people in the asylum system and organisations supporting them, were partially spurred on through racism and disinformation on the platform. We no longer feel we can square our use of Twitter/X with our steadfast commitment to promoting the values of diversity and inclusion, and also want to keep our staff, volunteers and members safe from being harassed online.  

Our principles and approach while leaving Twitter/X

Build alternatives first We spent some weeks growing our following on new and existing platforms before we were ready to leave Twitter/X.  

Signpost and transfer We are keeping our Twitter/X account dormant so that we can use it to signpost to our preferred platforms. We’re also using free tools (detailed below) to transfer our Twitter/X audiences to new spaces.   

Diversify We want to learn from this experience by diversifying our use of social media platforms. The future of any platform is ultimately uncertain, so it makes more strategic sense to avoid relying on any one platform more than the others.  

Amplify The slow decline of Twitter/X amongst progressive organisations has created a shared challenge for third sector comms. We’ll be supporting our fellow charities and non-profits by amplifying their voices on other platforms to help them get started.

Checklist of things to do before leaving  

  • Keep the profile dormant instead of deleting it entirely; we want to prevent our organisation name being misused if we release it, and can use it to signpost to other platforms 
  • Plan ahead: we’ll set a date and share the plan with relevant people, such as our staff.   
  • Announce our departure as a pinned post and on our Twitter/X bio so that people can still find us.  
  • Scan our list of followers for the most important ones, taking time to message them directly.  
  • Collect any data that might come in useful about our account.  
  • If we’ve worked with people at risk of harassment or those who rely on anonymity, we’ll behave as if Twitter/X is no longer a safe platform to share personal information and delete any DMs accordingly.  
  • Turn on two-factor authentication if we haven’t already. 
  • Periodically log-in and “like” something so that our account isn’t deleted.  
  • Add our new social icons to our website footer and emails. 

So we’re leaving Twitter/X. Now what? 

We’re taking this opportunity to carry out some strategic work on our social media audiences and objectives. Charity Comms have created a brilliant ‘Social media platform checklist’ to help charities assess their core audiences and their needs; which platforms they use; and their core engagement goals, for example.  

No platform is perfect. But these are the ones on which we’re considering as alternatives to Twitter/X while we flesh out our strategic goals. As above, we think it’s important to diversify our social media platforms!   

We hope this has been a useful read. Do you have any comments or suggestions? Let us know! 

We are joining organisations from our wider community on Bluesky, which is very similar to Twitter/X in terms of functionality and so it’s easy to use. Although relatively small at 15 million users worldwide (Twitter/X currently has over 360 million), Bluesky is a fast-growing platform. The BBC has written an article explaining the platform in more depth; the socila media management tool Buffer provides details on setting up your account with things like user-created custom feeds; and this blog takes a look at some successful third sector Bluesky posts. Buffer provides details on setting up your account with things like user-created custom feeds; and this blog takes a look at some successful third sector Bluesky posts.  

If you’re joining Bluesky, use sector-specific ‘starter packs’ to boost your following/follower numbers – here’s one called ‘UK Immigration Organisations & Experts’. CharityComms have written a blog about Bluesky that includes links to more starter packs. Engaging as well as broadcasting is really important, especially at this early stage.  

Handy tip: Use this amazing tool to find some of your Twitter/X followers on Bluesky.

We already have a profile on LinkedIn, so we’re dusting it off and are excited to grow our network here by starting to post regularly. The platform has been quietly growing for years, with a greater diversity of content meaning it’s more like a regular social media platform these days.  

Handy tip: LinkedIn’s algorithms are designed to prioritize longer, more in-depth posts.

With the platform reporting over a billion active users, 92.39% of which are aged between 13 and 34, many charities such as British Red Cross now use Tiktok to connect with a younger audience. TikTok requires dedicated time and energy to create punchy, informative content that’s appropriate to the culture and changing trends of the platform. As we’re a small charity, we are currently considering whether we have the resources to create native TikTok content – since recycling content from other platforms like Facebook and Instagram just won’t cut it!  

Handy tip: The #trendalert hashtag on TikTok posts weekly ‘what’s trending’ round-ups.  

According to one source, posts by non-profits are only reaching 6% of their followers because “organic reach on Facebook is almost non-existent and unless your nonprofit is investing in Facebook Ads, it is likely that your organisation is investing too much time into your Facebook presence.” We currently don’t use paid ads for fundraising (which can provide strong return on investment (ROI) if that’s your priority). In light of recent announcements about Facebook removing fact checkers, we’ll be closely monitoring our Facebook account and activity in the coming year, to determine if Facebook remains a priority platform for us.

Handy tip: The Birthday Fundraiser function is a really effective way to raise money.

Slack is a channel-based messaging platform, so not strictly a social media platform. But with a plethora of private communities to join, from Digital Charities to NACCOM’s own Slack community, it’s a great place to learn, share resources and meet like-minded people in a safer environment. We love cultivating our community here, and it’s likely to become even more important to us in the future.  

Handy tip: Slack offers a charity discount for eligible organisations.  

Mailchimp isn’t a social media platform either, but there’s never been a better time to maintain a healthy email list, because then you can contact your supporters without being at the mercy of an algorithm! We like Mailchimp, but other good platforms are available. Try adding an opt-in to join your newsletter every time you host an event to grow your list quickly, and make sure you have a prominent signup button on your website too!  

Handy tip: Keep your mailing list ‘clean’ by removing inactive subscribers every six months. This will reduce the likelihood of your mail being marked as spam. 

We aren’t planning on joining Mastodon right now. We found it’s a little tricky to get used to, as a decentralised network comprised of individual communities, each with its own rules and moderation. The transition between Twitter/X and Mastodon doesn’t feel a natural one for us, currently. But it may become useful in the future.  

Handy tip: Mastodon generally leans on the left/Liberal side. It’s very democratic and transparent, and is the least likely to experience a ‘takeover’ similar to Twitter/X.