By John Guilfoil
Nothing is permanent on the internet, regardless of what our many years of cybersecurity training teach us. The fact is, virtually everything comes and goes. From Ask Jeeves and Geocities to Friendster and Myspace, the internet’s history is chock full of once ultra-dominant platforms that have simply gone away.
But for two decades, there have been two constants: Facebook and Twitter/X.
One remains dominant, albeit with cracks in the foundation. The other, well, decide for yourself, might be dead.
Public safety social media survey results
A zombie, actually. John Guilfoil Public Relations (JGPR.net) surveyed 164 media and government officials, including 17 news outlets and representatives from 147 police, fire and municipal government departments across all regions of the U.S. The results seem to suggest two things:
- Constituent engagement on Twitter/X has virtually disappeared
- Twitter/X survives, in part, because the media checks it by default for public safety news releases and because public safety agencies post their news releases there by default.
The survey responses suggest that Twitter/X has faced a steep decline in constituent/public engagement, while other platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn and emerging alternatives like Bluesky, are seeing shifts in usage and dominance. Specifically, the survey found that Instagram has surpassed Twitter/X for engagement, and LinkedIn has seen dramatic rises in relevance, coinciding with the launch of its new short video/reel feature, though the survey did not attempt to measure the success of that launch.
Twitter/X “death drop”
As a result of this survey, we have begun to recommend to our approximately 500 public safety clients and PIO students in all 50 states and throughout Canada that they should prepare to scale back and eventually sunset their Twitter/X usage.
Now, this does not mean “go and delete your Twitter/X accounts right now.” It also doesn’t mean “stop posting news releases on Twitter/X,” but the data suggests, in part, that many agencies are still posting content to Twitter/X, but nobody is listening.
One of the most striking findings from the survey is the “death drop” of decreasing engagement levels on Twitter/X. When respondents were asked whether their interaction with the public on Twitter/X had changed over the past two years, nearly 37% reported a ‘Greatly Decreased’ interaction rate, while an additional 11.7% noted a general decrease. In contrast, only 5.4% of respondents observed an increase in engagement, with the remaining stating that their interaction levels had remained the same.
Additionally, While 56.7% of respondents indicated that their agency has a Twitter/X account, the majority no longer appear to use it. Over 48.5% of respondents said they use Twitter/X less than once per month. The apparent “stickiness” of Twitter has also suffered, with only 3.7% of respondents indicating that they used Twitter/X “Multiple Times Each Day.”
These numbers indicate that Twitter/X has lost its role as a primary engagement tool for organizations
Several respondents cited changes to Twitter’s API and its loss of compatibility with other tools as a reason for its decline.
- “Twitter has been a difficult tool to use as its integration with our other channels is mostly non-existent. We are essentially not using Twitter at all and have had no asks from our public to pursue,” said one respondent, a public safety chief.
- “We stopped using X when we had to pay for it and our tool stopped cross-posting,” said another first responder.
- “I used to use Twitter all the time but have basically stopped unless pushing a press release out that I posted on our website. I don’t find it useful anymore and I don’t feel as though our residents are utilizing it,” said another agency chief.
Overall, respondents did not feel that Twitter/X helps their agencies achieve their communications goals. Only 4.1% of respondents “Absolutely Agree” that Twitter/X helps their organization achieve its comms goals.
One respondent, from a state law enforcement agency in the U.S. South, indicated that Twitter had sparked a moral response: “Our agency has sunset the use of our main Twitter account. We are no longer posting there except for extreme emergencies (i.e., Hurricanes). We made this decision when Twitter announced that [it] would officially condone pornography on the platform in June 2024.”
Rise of Bluesky and LinkedIn over Twitter
As Twitter/X sees declining engagement, emerging and established platforms are filling the gap. Bluesky, a decentralized social media platform, was cited by some respondents as part of their social media strategy. While it has yet to reach mass adoption, its inclusion among survey responses suggests a growing interest in alternatives that provide a similar real-time communication model without the perceived concerns associated with Twitter/X.
“We have secured a username for Bluesky and maybe switching over from X, especially if our partner government agencies make the switch,” wrote one first responder in the survey’s comments section.
Media outlets indicated that they would turn closer to Bluesky or other emerging platforms of government and public safety agencies started posting there:
“Bluesky has the potential to be far more useful to us in the media — IF public agencies would post there. I understand it may be more work, but we’re currently without a social media platform that served the purpose Twitter used to when we could monitor for updates in real-time,” wrote one journalist.
LinkedIn continues to grow steadily. While traditionally seen as a professional networking site, it is increasingly being used for news dissemination, thought leadership, and direct organizational engagement. Several respondents indicated that LinkedIn is among their preferred platforms, particularly for professional communication and industry-related discussions. The platform’s continued expansion into content-sharing and engagement tools makes it an attractive option for businesses, public officials, and news organizations looking for a more controlled and professional environment.
Instagram surpassed Twitter/X as a platform of choice after nearly a decade of duopoly between Facebook and Twitter/X. When asked “Which social media platform would you say is your “go-to” if you could only choose one?” not surprisingly, Facebook was the overwhelming favorite, with a whopping 83.1% of respondents choosing it as “the one.” Second place was Instagram, at 6.2%, followed by Twitter/X at 3.8%, Bluesky at 1.5%, with all others (including LinkedIn, Nextdoor and Threads) coming in under 1%.
Facebook still reigns
The survey results indicate that despite the changing social media landscape, Facebook remains the most utilized platform for news and government organizations. When respondents were asked which social media platforms they use for breaking news, Facebook was among the most frequently cited, often alongside Twitter/X. While Twitter/X rarely appeared alone in the answers to the breaking news posting question, it did remain the second-place social network for posting breaking news. Once again, the indications are that as long as news is being posted to Twitter/X, the news media will follow, but if that news migrated elsewhere, Twitter/X could further lose market share.
Agencies are not posting content on Twitter/X because of an affinity for the platform, but as a default move that they have done for years, often automatically tied to their website or cross-posting with other social networks.
Conclusion
The John Guilfoil Public Relations survey confirms a noticeable decline in Twitter/X engagement over the past two years while highlighting the growing role of LinkedIn and the rising interest in alternative platforms like Bluesky. Meanwhile, Facebook maintains a stronghold in public communication, particularly for municipal agencies and news dissemination.
As social media strategies evolve, organizations appear to be adopting a more diversified approach, using multiple platforms to reach their audiences effectively.
Twitter/X and Facebook enjoyed an unprecedented reign of dominance in a generally frantic and fragile internet world. As countless websites and online services have come and gone over the years, Facebook (2004) and Twitter/X (2007) have experienced a remarkable run of longevity.
The survey confirms that Twitter/X is no longer a relevant tool for public safety agencies seeking to reach their constituents and that the news media is only paying attention to Twitter/X because public safety agencies post news releases there. Twitter/X is diminishing as a news aggregation tool and is fed right now by a preponderance of agencies that still post news releases to Twitter/X by default.
The survey findings warrant further study. Certainly, we are not recommending immediate, drastic changes to your approach. However, the data is a reminder about what was taken for granted in the 90s and early 00s internet: Nothing lasts forever.
About John Guilfoil Public Relations LLC
With the philosophy that every police and fire department and government agency deserves effective communications and public relations on the same scale as major corporations, John Guilfoil Public Relations produces clear, concise written materials, communications strategy, website development, and crisis management services for our clients and responds to breaking news incidents for more than 500 police and fire departments, public schools, and municipal governments, and nonprofits throughout the U.S. The company is based in Massachusetts and was founded by John Guilfoil, a former Boston Globe staff reporter who served as deputy press secretary for the late Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. JGPR.net.