The Rise of Social Campaigning in South Africa

 

A movement like this shows that Africans have definitively entered the social media era. Many South African politicians, looking for supporters, have focused their election campaigns through popular sites like Facebook and Twitter. They also capitalised on South Africa’s near-total cellphone penetration by sending SMS campaigns and calling voters to encourage them to make their mark.
                                                                                                                              The DA has been very involved with social media for the past few years and has developed a considerable social community on Facebook and Twitter. Helen Zille personally tweets from her own Twitter account, as do many other top DA leaders. They also regularly hold question-and-answer sessions on the micro-blogging platform, answering questions from followers and the general public. In addition, the DA shares videos on YouTube, posts photos on Flickr and has an active Facebook page with over 10 000 ‘likes’. It also sent out a wide-reaching SMS campaign over the days leading up to the elections.


The ANC however has been much slower to embrace social media, but it sped up it’s efforts in the weeks prior to the municipal elections. The official party Twitter account has grown to around 6,500 followers and President Jacob Zuma recently created an account in his name. The ANC did, however, also use SMSes to reach voters.


Aside from official channels, many South Africans also discussed a wide spectrum of issues on blogs, in discussion forums and in comments on news sites. The Media Online reported that most South Africans used the internet to share election information and that almost half of all discussions were about the ANC; the DA had about 30% of the attention. The other political parties were blips on the radar, with 7.5% talking about COPE and a mere 4% discussing the IFP.


US President Barack Obama proved that a powerful online social strategy was the key to building widespread grassroots support in 2009. South Africa’s political leaders, and especially the DA, have followed his foot steps in creating an engaging, personal and public social presence. The time after the election, when the hard work of governing begins, will tell whether this engagement is as sincere and consistent as it appears.