White House’s Twitter pushed down list
New Indian Prime Minister is poised to overtake the White House in Twitter followers.
Since his election in late May 2014, India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi (@NarendraModi) has become the fifth-most followed world leader on Twitter, with 4,967,847 followers.
He is expected to surpass the United States White House account, @WhiteHouse (4,976,734) today and is using Twitter as a power tool to broadcast his messages, according to Twiplomacy, an annual global study of world leaders on Twitter by Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations and communications firm.
The study also revealed that more than 83 per cent of all United Nations (UN) governments have a presence on Twitter, and two-thirds (68 per cent) of all heads of state and government have personal Twitter accounts.
In early June 2014, Burson-Marsteller analysed 643 government accounts in 161 countries. Only 32 countries, mainly in Africa and Asia-Pacific, do not have any Twitter presence. Twiplomacy aims to identify the extent to which world leaders use Twitter and how they connect on the social network.
In 2012, the study found that Australia’s then Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was the second best connected leader after Barack Obama, followed by the Korean presidency, the UK government and the Russian prime minister.
However, the current study found that Australian leaders no longer feature within the 2014 study, being surpassed by leaders within Indonesia, Turkey and the Philippines.
“We are proud that, now in its third year, the Burson-Marsteller Twiplomacy study has become a must-read on social media’s growing importance among world leaders,” said Donald A. Baer, worldwide chair and CEO, Burson-Marsteller.
“This year we have seen a 28 per cent rise in Twitter accounts among government users, a dramatic increase in efforts to reach people around the world.”
As of 24 June 2014, the five most followed world leaders were U.S. President Barack Obama (@BarackObama) (43 million followers of the U.S. president’s campaign account), Pope Francis (@Pontifex) with 14 million followers on his nine different language accounts, Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (@SBYudhoyono) (5 million followers), the @WhiteHouse and @NarendraModi.
However, the most followed world leaders follow few other peers, and they are hardly conversational. @BarackObama and the @WhiteHouse only follow three other world leaders, namely Norway’s Erna Solberg, Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev and the UK government.
Conversely, foreign ministers use Twitter to establish mutual connections, creating a virtual diplomatic network.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (@LaurentFabius) is the best connected foreign minister, mutually connected to 91 peers and world leaders.
The European Union External Action Service, @eu_eeas, is second with 71 mutual connections, and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt (@CarlBildt) is third with 68 mutual connections.
These mutual connections among foreign ministers allow for private conversations via direct messages on Twitter.
“This study illustrates that while the number of followers is important, the number of mutual connections is even more important,” said Jeremy Galbraith, CEO of Burson-Marsteller Europe, Middle East and Africa and global chief strategy officer.
“It is interesting to see how foreign ministries have created large digital networks on Twitter where not every tweet is approved by lawyers and press officers. Corporations and CEOs can learn a lot from politicians on Twitter, in terms of embracing digital tools for communications and how to connect with peers and influencers.”
More than 3,000 embassies and ambassadors are now active on Twitter: Canada, France, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the UK and the U.S. have put most of their embassies and missions on Twitter.
The UK Foreign Office in London also encourages personal engagement by its ambassadors, and it is virtually impossible to become a Foreign Office diplomat without using digital tools.
Pope Francis (@Pontifex) is the most influential world leader on Twitter. His Spanish tweets are retweeted on average more than 10,000 times each. The tweets of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are retweeted 2,000 times.
In comparison, @BarackObama’s tweets are only retweeted an average 1,400 times each, despite his massive following.
“Twitter has become a powerful channel for digital diplomacy and 21st century statecraft,” said Matthias Lüfkens, Burson-Marsteller’s EMEA digital practice leader and author of the report.
“It always amazes me how quickly social media teams, and sometimes politicians themselves, react to direct messages sent on Twitter. Twitter has become one of the most powerful communication tools and provides a direct line to our leaders. World leaders might not necessarily read the tweets addressed to them, but their teams certainly monitor the Twitter activity.”
Other key findings include:
- All but one of the G20 governments have an official Twitter presence, and six of the G7 leaders have a personal Twitter account. However, few world leaders are tweeting themselves. Notable exceptions include Estonian President Toomas Henrik Ilves (@IlvesToomas), Swedish Foreign Minister @CarlBildt and Finnish Prime Minister designate Alext Stubb (@AlexStubb).
- Barack Obama was the first world leader to sign up to Twitter on 5 March 2007 (at the time as Senator Obama) as user #813,286. Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN), Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo (@ElioDiRupo), Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (@PMHarper) and the U.S. State Department @StateDept are among the early adopters, all having joined later in 2007.
- As of 24 June 2014, all world leaders combined have sent 1,932,002 tweets, posting on average four tweets each day. The Venezuelan presidency (@PresidencialVen) has sent close to 50,000 tweets, averaging almost 40 tweets each day.
- Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (@CFKArgentina) is the most followed Latin American leader with 2,887,955 followers, ahead of Colombia’s President @JuanManSantos with 2,883,963 followers. Mexico’s Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN), Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff (@dilmabr) and Venezuela’s @NicolasMaduro all have more than two million followers each. The five Latin American presidents are among the top 20 most followed world leaders. They mutually follow each other and often interact with each other publically on Twitter.
- The Mexican presidency (@PresidenciaMX) is the most prolific, posting on average 78 tweets each day, and the Mexican governmental account (@gobrep) is not far behind, with 71 tweets each day which is roughly three tweets an hour.
- All 643 accounts combined have an audience of 156,965,474 followers. The median average number of followers is 9,793.
- Quite a few politicians use Twitter only during election campaigns. Chile’s new President Michelle Bachelet abandoned her Twitter account @PrensaMichelle once elected on 11 March 2014. The personal Twitter account of French Prime Minister @ManuelValls has been dormant since the elections on 9 May 2012.
- Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta (@UKenyatta) is Africa’s most-followed president, with 456,209 followers, ahead of Rwanda’s @PaulKagame and South Africa’s Jacob Zuma (@SAPresident).
- Ugandan Prime Minister @AmamaMbabazi is the most conversational world leader on Twitter. Ninety-five percent of his tweets are @replies to other Twitter users.
- To access the complete analysis of these findings, visit: http://twiplomacy.com.
About the Study: Data was collected in June 2014 from the accounts of 643 heads of state and government, foreign ministers and their institutions in 161 countries worldwide looking at more than 50 variables using Twitonomy (http://twitonomy.com). Burson-Marsteller used Doesfollow (http://doesfollow.com) to analyse Twitter relations between world leaders.
Please login with linkedin to comment
30Below pornhub competition Red Agency Social Media The Smith FamilyLatest News
History Has Arrived: It’s The Cairns Crocodiles Inaugural Shortlist
Pen the acceptance speech and ready your best thongs and muumuu, because the Cairns Crocodiles shortlist has arrived.
IAS Launches First-To-Market Integration With Roblox To Provide 3D Immersive Measurement
Integral Ad Science, a global media measurement and optimization platform, today announced a market integration with Roblox, a global immersive platform for connection and communication. Available for advertising campaigns on Roblox later this year, IAS’s Viewability and Invalid Traffic (IVT) Measurement products will provide advertisers increased transparency into the quality of their Immersive Ads within […]
Fast And Furious: Top Gear Australia Launch Thrilled Motorheads, Car Entusiasts And Guests
B&T is still no closer to knowing who the new Stig is, except that she is a woman and a ridiculously fast.
TV Ratings (02/05/2024): Seven’s The 1% Club Wins The Night
The 1% club did not live up to its name when it comes to TV ratings last night.
TRA Welcomes Raft Of New Hires; Bolstering Expertise Across Markets
Insights and research agency TRA announces slew of new hires. Still no news on the return of marble wash denim, however.
CX Lavender Hires Boston Consulting Group’s Kim Verbrugghe as Chief Strategy Officer
CX Lavender announces new strategy hire and channels 'acoustic folk act at local RSL' for the publicity pic.
Opinion: Community standards, will they be the death of us?
This columnist is talking community standards. Sadly not those people who put dogs in trolleys in supermarkets.
Tegel gets heads bobbing with new free-range chicken platform
Sure, there's a lot of moral considerations when buying a chook. Yet, not as baffling as buying eggs or canned tuna.
Study: 66% of Aussie men believe masculinity is under attack
Two-thirds of Aussie blokes say masculinity's under attack. That said, sales of Solo lemon drink appear robust.
‘Equal Writes’: Canyon reveals new campaign and refreshed brand for women and non-binary writers
As this brand redesign again proves, nothing beats black on white. Well, white on black in this instance.
Icon Agency bolsters consumer and integrated offer with major hires
Icon Agency unveils new recruits. As press photo confirms office moustache competition now a lay-down misère.
Clemenger launches agricultural graduate program
Has Farmer Wants A Wife triggered an interest in dagging & hay balers? This grads program may resonate.
Levi’s Appoint UM As Global Media Agency For $217m Account
Levi's are the jeans for rockstars, models & the cool kids. Although that's not stopped dads from ruining their image.
QMS Nabs Sean Rigby From oOh!media
Things set to get spicy at the next Outdoor Media Association dinner and dance as a rival gets poached.
Bumble Reveals New Brand Identity To Usher In New Era Of Dating
It's ironic that all the dating apps market themselves as having no weirdos, freaks or mummy's boys like their rivals.
Stay In The House From Up! Airbnb Introduces Icons
Airbnb is now letting people stay in "iconic" places that sadly doesn't include the house from Silence Of The Lambs.
Changing The Conversation: The Role Of Media In Ending Violence Against Women
Governments are finally waking up to the DV crisis. Here, B&T chats with Jasmin Bedir on the role media can play.
“If You Want To Listen To Something Else, Go For It”: Fifi Box On Blocking Out The Noise & Focussing On What Works
No one is at the coal face of Melbourne radio like Fifi Box. Here, she chats with B&T without coughing up a lung.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Ferrari Signs Landmark New Title Sponsor
B&T continuing our series on sports sponsorships. And, yet again, there's little good news for the ten pin bowlers.
Choose A Path Less Trodden This Cannes In Cairns
Not since Wonka opened the factory has there been such a hot ticket in town. Here's how to make the most of Cairns.
Cannes In Cairns MC Keeva Stratton Shares Her Top Session Picks
Quip boss calls out her highlights of the Cannes agenda. We're assuming B&T staff b-boy demonstration was an oversight.
Here Are The Agencies That Made AFR’s Best Places To Work List And What The Industry Can Learn From Them
Did your office not make the list? Make sure your boss shouts at least two schooners at office drinks come Friday.
Get Ready, B&T’s Best Of The Best Is Back With The Top Holding Company Executive Leaders – Creative!
Want to know who the Grandest of the Grand Poobahs in the industry are? Look no further than this exhaustive list.
How A Glittering Campaign Helped The Australian Museum Sell 400,000 Tickets
B&T thoroughly enjoyed the Ramses exhibition at The Australian Museum, despite thinking we were going to the Archibald.
TV Ratings (30/04/2024): A “Shoey” Straight From A Fish’s Mouth Launches The Cheap Seats Into 2024
Last night's TV saw horny farmers beat Lego nerds, who beat fame-obsessed home cooks, who beat a chap with a large fish.
Spotlight Extends Partnership With Starlight Children’s Foundation
B&T always happy to promote the excellent work of the Starlight Foundation. Less so the Starfish Fanciers Foundation.
Amazon’s Advertising Quarterly Revenue Soars To $11.8bn
There are so many Amazon couriers visiting B&T headquarters at the moment our office dog doesn't know who to maul first.
VML Wellington Welcomes Jacob McGregor As Pou Ārahi Māori
McGregor set to lead cultural competency and safety at VML Wellington in important new gig.
“They Grow Up So Fast”: Simon Fowler On Five Years Of ABEL
Abel's CEO talks lessons learned from the agency's first five years. Including staff nicking all the Nespresso capsules.
Kyle & Jackie O Urge Melbourne To Pick A Side
Who can stop Kyle & Jackie O's indelible march into Melbourne radio? Is Peter 'Moony' Moon waiting by the phone?
Future & Taika Waititi Feature In Striking New Global Belvedere Campaign
Not only does drinking vodka make you cool like these dudes, it also has great weight loss properties for the bone idle.
The Fall Of Bonza: A Case Study In How To, And Not To, React In A Crisis
Does the collapse of yet another budget airline hark back to a gentler time of 17 hours spent on a Greyhound bus?
Opinion: Agencies, Be Unique – Stop Using The Word “Unique!”
Trinity P3's Ellie Angell says agencies are overusing the word unique. You could add omnichannel & holisitic to that.
Ex Marketing & Advertising Exec Releases Melanoma Memoir
Ex-adlander Anne Gately has penned a tome to skin cancer. Which is a handy reminder to check your moles, people.
Mamamia Appoint Danni Wright As New Head Of Strategy
Danni Wright takes up Mamamia's strategy reins with a feng shui expert called over positioning of office chaise lounge.
From The Bureau: Championing Competency & Cross-Industry Collaboration
The IAB's Jonas Jaanimagi calls for more specialisation in adtech. Meaning you'll understand it less than you already do.