The Best Times to Post in 2025 (Based on 30k Brands/Creators) Social Media Today
* This article was originally published here
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What is Bluesky, and should your business be on it in 2025?
Bluesky has been top of mind for social media professionals recently. The text-based, open-source social media platform has been seeing rapid growth, adding a million users a day for several days in November 2024.
So what is Bluesky all about? Should your brand be exploring this new-ish social network? Here’s everything you need to know.
What is Bluesky?
Bluesky is a decentralized, text-based social media app created by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. It’s now led by CEO Jay Graber.
“Decentralized” means that Bluesky runs on a system (the AT protocol) that is not controlled by any one person or organization. Instead, developers and individuals have more control over the user experience, and the network’s workings are more transparent.
That means Bluesky is highly customizable. There are currently more than 50,000 algorithmic feeds available, and anyone can create a new feed. This is a significant difference from social platforms where a master algorithm controls what users see.
Bluesky started as an invite-only app, but it has been open to anyone who wants to join since February 2024.
Why is Bluesky becoming more popular?
First, let’s confirm that Bluesky is indeed becoming more popular with a couple of quick stats.
- As of February 2025, the platform has more than 33 million users.
- Its user base grew by 13 million people in the last six weeks of 2024 in the wake of the U.S. presidential election.
Google searches for Bluesky peaked the week of November 17-23, 2024, but attention remains strong heading into 2025.
The Bluesky app is also seeing significant downloads on both iOS and Android. In fact, it became the top free app in the Apple App Store in mid-November. (Followed by Threads, Meta’s X alternative.)
Bluesky’s unique U.S. visitors have more than doubled in the last year. However, as you can see in the chart below, they are still just a fraction of the visitors seen by X.
So, what’s behind the growth in popularity?
An alternative to X
X has seen a lot of change since Elon Musk rebranded it from Twitter. Users have expressed concerns about content moderation policies, misinformation, and the overall tone of discourse.
X has become increasingly political, partly because it’s the platform where people are most likely to specifically seek out political information. Pew Research Center found that 59% of X’s U.S. users say they use it to keep up with politics or political issues, compared to just 36% of TikTok users and 26% of those on Facebook and Instagram.
For brands in particular, this can create a challenge. Political policies are the top cultural area consumers say brands should stay away from on social media. Some view Bluesky as an alternative with a less political slant, where things are more light and fun. (Others would say it has an equally political slant, just a more left-leaning one.)
Bluesky began its development back in 2019 as a Twitter project to “develop an open and decentralized standard for social media,” partially because “existing social media incentives frequently lead to attention being focused on content and conversation that sparks controversy and outrage, rather than conversation which informs and promotes health.”
Twitter is funding a small independent team of up to five open source architects, engineers, and designers to develop an open and decentralized standard for social media. The goal is for Twitter to ultimately be a client of this standard.
— jack (@jack) December 11, 2019
Higher (and more authentic) engagement
We checked in with several social marketers to see why they’re using Bluesky. Those using the platform almost universally highlighted engagement on the platform as a key reason to use it. Most said they are still using X as well.
“What’s particularly notable about Bluesky are the genuine engagement levels, with an audience that shows far more meaningful interaction than what I’ve experienced on X recently,” says Dana Ditomaso, founder & lead instructor at Kick Point Playbook.
“The platform currently has a higher proportion of real, engaged users who are genuinely interested in meaningful discussions and content sharing. This translates to better quality interactions and more substantive engagement with your posts.”
Matias Rodsevich, founder & CEO of PRLab, says that Bluesky’s “close-knit community” offers the opportunity for “a more direct conversation.”
Likewise, Niclas Schlopsna, managing consultant and CEO of spectup, says Bluesky today is reminiscent of Twitter’s early days, calling it a “raw, unpolished space where engagement feels more authentic and intimate.”
Who’s using Bluesky?
So who’s using Bluesky now? With more than 32 million Bluesky users, the short answer is lots of people.
And, as the comments from marketers above show, they’re highly engaged people taking advantage of Bluesky’s customizable feeds to find relevant communities. That said, let’s look at a few key groups on the platform.
First, the United States makes up the platform’s largest user base, followed by Japan, the UK and Brazil. The large number of Brazilian users is likely influenced by a ban on X in that country between late August and early October. More than 85% of new users at the beginning of September came from Brazil.
In terms of industry, journalists and publications have made a significant move to Bluesky. This may be partly because Bluesky makes it very easy for journalists and publications to get verified. It’s also because Bluesky does not demote links, which many other social algorithms do.
That said, sports journalists and sports publications are notably missing from the platform for now.
Researchers and academics are another group using Bluesky in relatively large numbers. As of December 2024, Digital Science found that “over 22% of researchers were using Bluesky over any other social media channel.” Altmetric reports that since October 25, they have found 395,000 Bluesky posts linking to research papers or research objects.
How can you use Bluesky for business?
So, how should your strategy for Bluesky differ from your plans on other social platforms? Here are a few ideas to maximize your business success on this budding social platform.
Thought leadership
As with any new platform, there are benefits to being an early adopter. One of those is being able to set the tone or standard for other brands to follow.
You have the opportunity to use Bluesky to establish a strong POV and position yourself as a thought leader or go-to resource in your industry before anyone else does.
Source: Dana DiTomaso on Bluesky
As an early user, you can set the tone for how other brands end up sharing and engaging.
Bluesky’s welcoming attitude toward outbound links is a major plus here, as it allows you to link out to longer thought leadership content like blog posts, rather than trying to condense everything down into a few hundred characters.
Connect with the press
X has long been a source for real-time updates or breaking news. Journalists, in particular, have relied on the platform to share these updates, source information, or connect with potential subjects.
As the Twitter environment has shifted, many journalists and media companies have flocked to both Bluesky and Mastodon as alternatives.
For businesses, this means you can use Bluesky to connect with the media for PR or brand-building purposes. You can also stay on top of industry news.
Bluesky makes it easy to find and curate people you want to see content from. You can create custom feeds and add users to them to start seeing their content. You can also add feeds that people have already created, like Journalists on Bluesky.
Publications and media organizations can also create their own starter packs of team members, which you can follow if there’s a particular publication you’re interested in, or use to find the most relevant reporter or editor for your pitch.
For example, check out the starter packs from TechCrunch and the Travel Media Association of Canada.
Reach (or create) niche communities
Those starter packs and feeds we just mentioned are specifically designed to foster community.
They help people find and connect with communities based on a specific topic, interest, or industry. People can get very creative with their starter packs, so they’re highly valuable for brands to explore for insights into group formation and community bonds.
Here’s a very niche community that may not be of much use to brands (but is too charming not to mention):
Yes, it’s a starter pack of all the folks named Dan Smith who have PhDs on Bluesky.
Tailoring your content to a niche audience can help you reach people who are more likely to engage with and be interested in what your brand has to say.
“We’ve incorporated Bluesky into our strategy because it provides a fresh and growing space where we can reach more niche communities and experiment with a slightly different tone and style of content,” says Jakob Kapus, CMO of NewsAPI.ai.
“We use X for broader, more mainstream engagement and use Bluesky to build deeper, more authentic relationships with specific groups.”
Be less promotional
So far, largely due to the ad-free environment, Bluesky feels a lot less promotional than other platforms. It’s a good idea for businesses using Bluesky to focus less on promoting their brand and more on starting conversations with their audience.
“I’ve woven Bluesky into my marketing strategy by sharing more thought-provoking content, inviting open feedback sessions, and experimenting with new approaches,” says Matias Rodsevich, founder & CEO of PRLab.
“It’s like a creative workshop where I gather ideas before taking them to the larger stage on X. On Bluesky, I also feel more comfortable asking my followers what they want, which helps guide future campaigns.”
Use Bluesky as a testing ground
Bluesky is still relatively new, so there isn’t really a proven formula for creating engaging content yet. Many of the marketers we spoke with said they’re still experimenting with the platform, or using it to test marketing ideas before launching a campaign on a larger platform.
“I’ve been using Bluesky to test out new content concepts and assess audience reactions,” says Evgeni Asenov, SEO & content lead at Resume Mentor. “This feedback cycle helps improve what is subsequently shared on X, where the audience is larger.”
“I’ve used it to share behind-the-scenes content, engage in conversations with followers, and test more organic, unpolished messaging,” says Wes Wakefield, founder of Pro Coffee Gear. “The smaller community allows for direct feedback, which helps refine our approach.”
Before you start sharing content, spend some time exploring relevant communities to see how users are interacting and what types of conversations are being started. Use your research to create a unique brand position that meets those needs and behaviors.
Track audience sentiment (and more)
As it gains more and more new users, Bluesky is becoming a great destination for social listening.
The platform’s 32+ million user base and decentralized, transparent environment offer brands a new valuable source for tracking brand awareness, audience sentiment, competitive insights, and industry trends.
Wondering how you would go about collecting these insights? Hootsuite Listening now integrates with Bluesky as a data source, allowing you to easily track:
- Public conversation insights: Posts and audience replies
- Key engagement metrics: Likes, shares, and quotes
These powerful Bluesky analytics capabilities empower businesses with actionable insights to better understand emerging trends, identify brand sentiment, and foster authentic engagement
Bluesky has over 33 million accounts, with over one million daily posters and more than one billion posts created since its launch.
We want Bluesky to be a place where users can both find the latest news and stay in touch with their friends, and we’re excited to partner with Hootsuite to make it easier to tap into the Bluesky network.
Claim your handle for the future
Not ready to add Bluesky to your social media strategy yet? We hear you: You’ve already got a lot on your plate!
We still recommend you open an account to reserve your handle on the platform now. That way you’ll be ready to go if you decide to dive in later. Plus, creating an account allows you to explore the platform in detail and see how people are using it, so you can get a sense of where your brand could fit in.
Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads: How are the X alternatives different?
Bluesky is not the only X alternative in town. Mastodon and Threads are also significant players in this field.
Here’s a quick overview of how these platforms compare for key features.
| Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Users | 33+ million | 9.1 million | 275 million | 415.3 million |
| Ads | No | No | Coming soon | Yes |
| Decentralized | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Character count | 300 | 500 | 500 | 280 |
| Videos | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Verification | Yes (through your website) | Yes (through your website) | Yes (through Instagram) | Yes (paid program) |
| Trending topics | Yes (in Beta) | Yes | U.S. only | Yes |
| Direct messaging | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Hashtags | Yes | Yes | Yes (but without the # symbol) | Yes |
For more details, check out our posts on Mastodon, Threads, and X.
Want to manage your social strategy across multiple platforms? Hootsuite can help. Monitor your competitors, grow your followers, schedule posts, and analyze your performance — all from one simple dashboard.
The post What is Bluesky, and should your business be on it in 2025? appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
* This article was originally published here
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
11 Instagram giveaway ideas that will get you new followers
So you’re planning an Instagram giveaway—how generous!
Here’s a step-by-step guide to throwing a successful Instagram giveaway, complete with tips for laying down the contest rules, promoting your giveaway and picking a winner — plus 11 examples from brands that are doing it right.
Let’s get started, you selfless, noble giver, you.
Bonus: Download 4 free, customizable social media contest templates to help you get started promoting your contests on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
What is an Instagram giveaway?
An Instagram giveaway (or an Instagram contest) is a type of promotion involving a brand or creator gifting a product or service to an Instagram user. Users can enter the contest based on criteria defined by the giveaway organizer.
Here are some common reasons why brands throw giveaways on Instagram:
- To get new followers. Contests tend to bring in new viewers to your page.
- To engage their audience. Giveaways give your audience a chance to interact with your brand and your content—they bring in algorithm-friendly engagement in the form of likes and comments.
- To collect user-generated content (UGC). Contests can be a great opportunity to allow your audience to generate (free and creative) content for your page.
- To give back to their audience. Who would we be without our followers? Hosting an Instagram giveaway helps build your relationship with your audience and give them something in return for their support.
How to do an Instagram giveaway: 6 steps
1. Plan your contest goals
Start by deciding what the goal of your contest is. More followers? Increased sales numbers for a specific product or service?
Whatever it may be, figure out early on what you want to gain. That will make tracking the success of the contest far easier.
2. Set (and share) the contest rules
Clear rules are essential. When posting about the giveaway on Instagram, it may be best to include the deadlines and promotion guidelines in the caption. This will make them easy to find for your followers.
(@iamgracechoi)When sharing the contest on your website, a dedicated landing page, or other social networks, include any important rules upfront. If this isn’t possible, direct users to the giveaway post’s caption or wherever else the rules may be outlined.
If your contest is only open to certain geographic areas, be sure to include that information clearly.
3. Pick a giveaway prize
This part should be fun! Decide what it is your followers will be competing for. It could be a product or assortment of products, a gift card, a service, or something else.
It’s wise to make sure the prize is related to your brand. General prizes like cash or Amazon gift cards will lure in random followers looking for a chance to win a quick buck. Offering products and prizes related to what your page revolves around is more effective—it ensures that anyone who enters and follows you for the contest is engaged with what it is you do.
4. Publish your contest (at the right time)
And we’re live! Publish your contest using Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish feature to ensure that your giveaway is being seen by the maximum number of followers.
You can also use Hootsuite to see how well the giveaway is performing in analytics, and respond to questions in your DMs or comments using Hootsuite’s inbox
5. Promote your contest
Promote your Instagram giveaway as widely as possible. You’ll want to share it on your Instagram Stories, your Instagram feed, as well as any other social media platform your brand uses. Post about the giveaway multiple times (“One week left to enter,” “Last chance to enter,” etc.) to make sure that no one misses it.
6. Track entries with a social media management tool
If you’re running a contest, you’ll probably want to see some concrete numbers proving how it helps your page’s traffic.
Hootsuite is the perfect resource to help run and track contests. Contest posts can be scheduled with the Planner. Comments can be tracked and answered in the Inbox, and mentions/hashtag usage can be tracked via Streams.
Learn more about how Hootsuite can help you with Instagram marketing contests (and, well, all of your other social media efforts):
Instagram giveaway template
We’ve put together a free social media contest template that covers entry methods, terms of the giveaway, prize rules and disclosures about how winners will be selected. If you’re stuck on how to properly word your giveaway rules, start here.
Bonus: Download 4 free, customizable social media contest templates to help you get started promoting your contests on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
2 recommended Instagram giveaway pickers
Need a random comment picker to decide your Instagram contest winner? Try these.
1. Wask.co
Wask’s tool is for IG comments. It’s free to use once, and after that asks for a login (but offers a free plan).
2. IG Comment Picker
If you have less than 150 comments to choose from, this is a good tool to use (it’s free for 150 comments). You also don’t have to log in or sign up to use it.
11 Instagram contest examples
If you’re searching for inspiration for your next Instagram giveaway, hashtags are your best friend: try searching #contest, #giveaway, #instagramcontest, #iggiveaway, #contestalert, and other similar variations to find millions of examples of contests — or scroll down the list of inspiring examples below.
The following 11 giveaways demonstrate different contest strategies, contest ideas, entry methods, prize ideas and creative ways to promote your giveaway.
1. Like, comment, and/or share to enter
This is the simplest form of IG giveaway. Your audience enters by interacting with the post (through liking, commenting or sharing—and post importantly, following). This makes entering super easy; it’s low-effort, high-reward.
Your Instagram contest could ask followers to share a post to their story as a form of entry, or save the post…
…or even ask users to comment (and tag friends in the comments section, more on that later) to enter.
Steal this strategy
- Keep your digital marketing goals in mind when deciding your entry methods. Do you want to gain followers, get likes or comments, up your “share” stats, etc.?
- Try to keep entering as simple as possible—confusing entry methods are a recipe for low engagement. To boost engagement, make entering your contest a lazy person’s dream.
- Think about long-term growth when choosing entry methods. For example, “like to enter” only gets you likes on a single post, but “follow to enter” has the potential to earn you permanent supporters.
2. Tag a friend to enter
Asking users to tag their friends in the comments—and counting each of those comments as an entry—is basically an evil genius move. It means that the entrant’s friends will get notified when they’re tagged, encouraging them to also enter the contest.
If one user tags three friends, those three friends tag three more friends, and so on, pretty soon you’ll have taken over the world. Of course, not everyone will do this… we’re pretty certain that friendships have ended over serial tagging. Even so, it’s a very effective strategy for growth.
Tagging a friend is less of an evil genius move when it actually has something to do with your brand, or the giveaway itself. For example, if you’re giving away a spa package for two, you might ask folks to tag the person they’d bring with them if they won.
This contest for hotpot asks users to “TAG 1 friend in the comment section below (unlimited entries, must tag a different person each time)” in the comments. They’re giving away two $50 gift cards, likely one to the contest winner and one to the tagged friend.
Steal this strategy
- Make tagging a friend in the comments a method of entry to increase your giveaway’s reach.
- Think about how tagging a friend can provide value to the user, as well—for example, you can give away two prizes (so the tagged friend also gets a prize). Otherwise, you risk your contest simply annoying all the tagged friends.
3. Give away a new product
A new product launch is a great reason to host a contest—it helps create hype around the product and share news of the launch with your audience.
Plus, a fresh product automatically has more perceived value, even if the actual monetary value of the prize isn’t super high (for example, this giveaway of ready-to-eat boxed waffles).
San Francisco Sweets & Eats! (@thesweetsofsanfrancisco)Steal this strategy
- Consider incorporating contests into your marketing strategy when launching new products.
- Emphasize the “newness” of the product when promoting this contest—if possible, consider timing the contest so the winner is the first person to experience the product.
4. Partner with another brand
Collaborating with another brand or influencer automatically expands the reach of your giveaway because the contest has the potential to reach both your followers and your collaborator’s followers.
You can partner with a brand on both the contest promotion and the prize—for example, in the contest below, a reusable takeout container brand collaborated with a vegan food producer, and the prize includes products or services from both brands.
Or, a contest collaboration can just include a prize from one of the brands, while the other collaborator simply promotes the contest—as is the case with this hair salon and Vancouver foodie.
Either way, the most important factor in any collaboration is that your collaborator’s brand values align with your own. Reusable containers and vegan food producers both have the goal of sustainability, while the hair salon and the Vancouver foodie have crossovers in their audiences.
Steal this strategy
- Partner with another brand to tap into a new audience for your giveaway.
- Make sure that the brand’s values align with your own (in addition to this being a good practice in general, it also makes their followers more likely to love your content).
- If it makes sense, make the prize include something from both brands.
5. Celebrate a holiday or special occasion
You don’t really need an excuse to have a contest—people love free stuff at any time of year—but if you can celebrate a holiday or occasion with a contest, do it.
This can be a personal occasion (for example, your brand’s anniversary or reaching 2000 followers) or a publicly-recognized one (Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Mother’s Day).
This contest, hosted by a grocer, celebrates their Resolution Reset sale by giving away two chances to win free groceries this month.
Steal this strategy
- Centre your giveaway around an upcoming holiday or special date to give your contest a sense of timeliness and occasion.
- If you can, make the contest prize something that relates to the occasion (for example, give away a zero-waste product for Earth Day or a candy cane-scented candle for Christmas).
6. Make a creative carousel
When planning your contest, think about how you’re going to market it (after all, people can’t enter if they don’t know it exists). Create attention-grabbing—and informative—visual content to help spread the word about your giveaway.
For example, the Instagram contest below uses one long graphic posted as three separate carousel images. It creates a cool effect when scrolling, and also shares a lot of information about the contest and the prize without being too visually overwhelming.
Steal this strategy
- Incorporate a marketing plan into your Instagram contest strategy.
- Create visuals that communicate everything that users need to know about the contest, without bogging them down with information.
- Consider using carousel posts with one super-sharable cover image, then details about the prize in later images.
7. Make a Reel
When it comes to social media marketing, videos are the name of the game in 2025. Try making a Reel to draw viewers in and advertise your contest.
For the giveaway below, the creator made a Reel that first engages users with strong visuals and sounds (an ASMR-ish cooking video) and includes a contest in the description. He keeps the format simple, just like his non-contest Reels. It’s not simply a Reel that markets the contest; it provides value to his audience as well.
Steal this strategy
- Use Instagram reels to market your contests and giveaways.
- Make your giveaway reels match the rest of your content, so it doesn’t feel out of place.
- Incorporate value beyond the contest announcement in the reel to make the video more engaging.
8. Make it a paid partnership
As a creator, paid partnerships are one of the best ways to make money on Instagram—and as a business, paid partnerships are a great method for expanding your target audience and getting some major street cred.
Do your research into creators or influencers that can help market your contest (and naturally, your business’s product) to find the perfect fit.
Partner with a trusted creator who has an impressive portfolio for the best results—for example, the adorable visuals in the paid partnership contest below.
Steal this strategy
- If you’re a business running an Instagram contest, do your research into creators that may be able to help you promote it.
- Once you’ve found the perfect creator, work with them to develop the contest content (and pay them for their work).
- Make sure to mark all posts as a paid partnership, or risk Instagram removing the posts or flagging your Instagram account.
9. Host a photo contest
Instagram photo contest have been around since the dawn of—well—cameras, and they’re a helpful strategy for connecting with artists and getting some awesome user-generated content.
If your page advertises products you can ask entrants to post a photo with your wares. You can also encourage your audience to post a photo that simply follows a theme.
Contests like these are also a great way to collect testimonials. You can ask users to share their favorite personal stories about the brand, product, or ones that relate to your page’s ethos. The choice is yours; just make sure it’s made clear in the contest’s official rules that you have the right to repost any of the entries.
Steal this strategy
- When hosting a photo contest, make sure you have the resources and time to judge it.
- Consider using the photo entries as user-generated content (with the photographer’s permission, of course).
- Include in the rules that you have the right to repost any entries.
10. Make your own giveaway hashtag
Hashtags make for a great way to host giveaways. Like a user-generated content contest, hashtag giveaways require entrants to post to their page or stories under a specific hashtag (you determine what that is yourself).
Ideally, what you’ll end up with is a hashtag with sizeable traffic. This format does not just allow you to easily keep track of entries. It also drives engagement with a specific hashtag, which the algorithm tends to take note of. A well-performing hashtag will drive traffic back to your Instagram post and your page.
Make sure to pick a hashtag that is unique enough that no one else is using it… for example, #goatsarefamily.
Steal this strategy
- Choose a hashtag that your audience can use to enter your contest.
- Make sure the hashtag is creative and that you’re the only one using it.
- Track how popular the hashtag is and how many entries you’re getting to determine whether or not you have a successful Instagram contest.
11. Share the winner
How many brands’ Instagram contests have you entered only to never hear from them again? Most of us totally forget about the contest post-entry. One way to keep the contest fresh in your audience’s minds (even if they don’t win) is to share the name of the winner.
Of course, ask the winner’s permission before you do this, and don’t give out any of their personal information. But sharing the winner helps prove your authenticity to users (and might inspire them to enter your next contest).
Steal this strategy
- Once you’ve picked a winner of your giveaway, ask the person if their first name or Instagram handle can be shared online.
- Share the winner’s name to confirm to your audience that you’re legit, and to encourage them to enter again.
Use Hootsuite to run your Instagram giveaway. From a single dashboard, you can schedule your posts, answer comments and DMs, and monitor engagement in real-time. Try it free today.
The post 11 Instagram giveaway ideas that will get you new followers appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
* This article was originally published here
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