Is X still an effective platform for schools, trusts and education organisations?

Many communities are questioning whether to stay on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) and the education sector is no exception.

Jisc, the UK’s digital, data and technology agency focused on tertiary education, research and innovation, left in August because it felt the platform was “incompatible with its values as an organisation”. The Glasgow School of Art did the same, saying it was “no place for art or artists”. Mercia Learning Trust and Cardiff secondary school Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg have also quit, among many others.  

There’s no doubt that education organisations have considered X a useful communications tool to update on sports, fundraising and news of all kinds. It has also been a good resource for teacher professional development.

Before leaving, look at how big your following is compared to other channels you’re using and where most of your engagement comes from. Importantly, are your key audiences moving away from X?

How do you leave X?

You can issue a farewell statement, update your bio, post a tweet with a link to your new platform and mention it on other social media channels. Alternatively, you can deactivate your account. After 30 days, your username and history will no longer exist. You can keep your account, but stop posting. For transparency, you can pin a tweet to the top of your feed saying you are not updating or retweeting any more and then add your other social media links to the post so others can find you.

What else is out there?

Threads (Instagram) is currently the biggest platform and has quickly become popular since its launch in 2023. It now has over 275 million users. It’s an app where you can view and share public conversations, like, repost, reply to, or quote a thread. Each post is a maximum of 500 characters. If you are already using Instagram and your audiences are too, it’s an easy move. It also has the backing of Meta (originally Facebook) and you can move straight over to Threads without the risk of someone taking your identity. 

Bluesky is a relatively new social media platform with over 19 million users. Unlike Facebook or Instagram, it’s a decentralised framework that gives users more control over their data and experience. It’s one to keep an eye on because it offers transparency and trust, ideal for creating smaller, interest-driven communities. For schools and trusts, this could mean more meaningful connections with parents, prospective families and alumni, for example. At the moment, it’s mostly only early adopters who are using it. So even if you are ready to make the leap, your audience might not be there just yet.

Mastodon is another decentralised platform with over 10 million users. It offers privacy, user-control and an ad-free environment (as opposed to algorithms and ads). As part of the Mastodon family, you become part of a federation of servers. In this ‘Fediverse’, diverse, smaller communities can thrive but can also feel part of a larger network. Each server has its own interest, values or demographics allowing users to join communities that they like. Servers have their own cultures and rules, and it’s toots instead of tweets. It’s more of a space for education technologists at the moment.

Then there’s LinkedIn, founded in 2003 and acquired by Microsoft in 2016. It’s “the world's largest professional network with more than 1 billion members in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide”. Education suppliers are often excellent at using this platform. Schools and trusts post more than they did in the past, but tend to mostly consider it a tool for recruitment and alumni communications.

Take the time to understand which platform your audiences are on. After that, focus on positive, regular and meaningful interactions that reiterate your values and vision. 

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