Remember the days when you could count the world’s social media platforms on one hand? Those days are over. In 2025, there are likely more social networks in existence than ever before, and users of larger platforms are taking notice.
For marketers, this calls for careful consideration of all the new options. This includes the offerings of globally recognized companies like Meta’s Threads and ByteDance’s Lemon8, as well as open-source and decentralized options like Mastodon and Bluesky.
We used our social listening solution to learn more about which alternative social networks are generating the most buzz and what marketers and brands should have on their radars.
The following analysis is based on data from January 1 to August 18, 2025, pulled from nearly two dozen traditional, digital, and social media sources, including X, Bluesky, Reddit, YouTube, and more.
Bluesky is the most talked-about alternative social network
Our analysis found that Bluesky is the most talked about alternative social network overall, comprising 85.5% share of voice so far this year across social, digital, and traditional media channels.
Bluesky’s biggest day for mentions was June 18, 2025, when US Vice President JD Vance joined the platform. He was almost immediately banned due to being suspected of impersonation, and, after being quickly reinstated, became the platform’s most blocked account. The second biggest Bluesky spike occurred on January 22, 2025, following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump two days earlier. Reactions from users and public figures encouraging migration from X (owned by then-Trump ally Elon Musk) to Bluesky helped push the newer platform into the spotlight.
This January 22, 2025, Bluesky post from Mark Cuban has generated about 103,000 comments, likes, reports, and quote posts this year.
And while networks like BeReal, Bluesky, and Threads have generated more or less constant mentions, others had distinct spikes of discussion earlier this year that quickly petered out. For example, mentions of Lemon8 spiked to about 17,000, 102x higher than average, on January 19 due to uncertainty around the US’s Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. However, by July 2025, Lemon8 mentions only averaged about 49 per day. In the big picture, Bluesky is dominating the alternative social networks race, but there’s one notable exception.
Alternative social networks are hot in Japan
Our analysis found that in Japan, alternative social media network interest is much more varied than in other countries like the United States, Canada, and Brazil. Threads has about a 36.7% share of voice among niche social networks in Japan, making it the most talked about one, but only by a small margin. Bluesky has about 32% SOV, while BeReal has about 28%.
As our Digital 2025 reports show, Threads is the tenth most used social network in Japan, while Bluesky is the thirteenth. By comparison, neither platform makes it into the top 15 most used ranking in the United States. (BeReal doesn’t rank in the top 15 for either country.) So, as the discussion volume data shows, Japan is a particularly strong market for interest in niche social media platforms compared to other countries.
What marketers can learn from 2025 social and media intelligence about niche social networks
The alternative platform landscape is still fragmented. Bluesky is a clear leader, but, as the 2025 mentions trends show, current events have huge impacts on public discussion and platform visibility. Monitor news coverage of regulation, as well as the social media discourse around them, to see how they impact platform popularity.
Engagement isn’t limited by platform size. Niche platforms may not be as big as X or Instagram, but they can still deliver X and Instagram levels of engagement. In particular, brands whose target audiences are politically aware, digitally vocal, or early adopters of new technology should take a look at Bluesky.
There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. What wows your audience on Bluesky may go unnoticed on Threads. And what draws audiences to BeReal in Japan differs from what draws them to the platform in the US. Develop content and messaging that is tailored by platform and localized or adaptable to all. Most of all, experiment until you find what works.
