A visit to @CityofJoburgZA on Twitter reveals a mix of content types from funny visuals to official announcements and Retweets of posts by Johannesburg residents. With 577 000 followers at the end of July 2017, most of the account’s posts receive Likes, Retweets, and comments.

Tumelo Komape, who heads up the city’s digital channels unit, tells media update’s Nikita Geldenhuys that Twitter is the ‘now’ platform of communication and a must for municipalities that want to move with the times.

When and why was the @CityofJoburgZA Twitter account started?

The Twitter account was created in 2010 as a platform for communication and engagement with the residents of Joburg.

What kind of content and formats do you post on Twitter, and how many contributors do you have?

We post two types of content formats: textual content only, and content with visuals and text. We have five social media strategists who sign off as NS, LM, PS, GZ, NB – they are brilliant.

From your experience, how effective is Twitter as a channel for communicating municipal matters to citizens?

Twitter is the preferred platform of communication for the residents of Joburg to raise complaints and compliments. We assume it is because it’s more cost effective and saves time compared to call centres.

Your Twitter content adds a fun element to municipal matters. Why do you think that is important?

Residents of Joburg have more fun, sexy, exciting, amazing, fresh, funky accounts to look at than a government account. The attention span of a ‘tweep’ is also very small. The only way to get the attention of a ‘tweep’ is to be like the other accounts that get their attention.

We found that accounts that get attention are those that are, amongst other things, sexy, fresh, funky, fun, brilliant, and spicy in how they present messages. If you are not ‘lit’, you don’t get the attention.

What is your vision for @CityOfJoburgZA going forward?

Our short-term vision is to:
  • Reach 700 000 to one million followers this year;
  • Become the most engaged, interactive Twitter account;
  • Have the best social media strategy in the government sector, globally;
  • Have the biggest social media presence in terms of numbers, impact, and reach in the government sector, globally;
  • Be the trusted go-to account for all City of Joburg-related service delivery matters;
  • Drive Twitter trends in Joburg or South Africa on a daily basis as a way of increasing our impact; and
  • Become as ‘cool’ as the likes of @NandosSA in terms of winning the “internets” in context marketing.

Do you think more municipalities should use Twitter? What advice can you offer these municipalities?

Yes, Twitter is the ‘now’ platform of communication. We must move with the times and be where our residents are – which is online. We must cater for the 2017 resident.

We would advise government employees to avoid topics on sex, religion, gender, and race, as these are controversial and could cause problems for the public servant and the municipality they work for. This applies to their personal and professional capacity.

Follow the City of Joburg Twitter account at twitter.com/CityofJoburgZA.

Municipalities are not the only entities that can benefit from using Twitter as a communication channel. The country as a whole could do with a more positive presence on social media, says Conrad Travis David. Read more in our article, How to boost South Africa’s image on social media – Hashtag SA’s advice.