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The City of Johannesburg proudly announces a historic milestone that underscores its unwavering commitment to effective online presence and engagement. With immense pride, the city reveals that it has achieved a remarkable feat, reaching an astounding 3 billion organic online accounts across its diverse digital platforms.

As a leader and trendsetter in the realm of digital communication, the City of Johannesburg has consistently focused on innovation, automation, digital marketing, and audience-driven content. Leveraging traditional, digital, and social media platforms, the city has cultivated an extensive social footprint that extends across multiple departmental accounts, collectively amassing an impressive following of over 3 million dedicated supporters.

Notably, the City of Johannesburg currently holds the distinction of possessing the largest social media footprint on X (Twitter), surpassing any other municipality not only in South Africa but throughout the entire African continent, all with a single account. This remarkable achievement is a testament to a strategic approach that places audience-driven content, engagement, and interaction at its core. 

The city, along with its affiliated entities, boasts a combined following of over 3 million on X alone, with the city's official Twitter account amassing over 1,100,000 followers. Additionally, the city’s LinkedIn page, a platform dedicated to professional engagement, proudly garners more than 100,000 followers.

Within the digital realm, the city’s innovative campaigns have garnered significant acclaim. Over the past quarter, the city achieved an extraordinary 99% conversion rate for its campaigns, propelling them into the realm of high-impact trending topics. These campaigns consistently reach between 500,000 to 3 million users organically per campaign, forging connections with a staggering 80 million accounts on a weekly basis. Key hashtags that have driven these campaigns include #JoburgUpdates, #JoburgServices, #JoburgCares, #WeserveJoburg, and #JoburgEnterprises.

The cumulative organic reach for the 2022/23 period has exceeded an astonishing 3.1 billion across all digital platforms. This extraordinary reach underscores the city's steadfast commitment to transparent communication and engagement with its residents and stakeholders, solidifying its position as a beacon of effective digital communication.

Moreover, the City of Johannesburg’s digital transformation initiatives have yielded impressive results. The cost-effective Smart Web CRM, a smart cloud-based system embraced by various departments, driven by Group Communication, has processed over 5 million visits and 1.3 million applications over the past three years. 

This transformative system drives digital innovation and digitization, enabling web-based engagements and applications submissions 24/7, eliminating the need for physical office visits. Notably, the city has processed an impressive 800,000 applications in the 2022/23 period alone, revolutionising recruitment and enhancing accessibility for residents and stakeholders.

The city’s official website, a prized asset, draws between 20,000 to 40,000 visits daily. This achievement is the result of dedicated efforts to drive traffic through the #Joburgwebsite campaign, complemented by daily updates featuring website-optimized stories. High-traffic pages on the website include vacancies, tenders, and quotations, while landing pages showcase pivotal stories concerning service delivery.

Pushing the boundaries of innovation, the city presents Joburg Pulse Radio, an automated online radio platform delivering City of Johannesburg information, news, and entertainment. It captivates and informs over 15,000 users, epitomising the city’s commitment to leveraging technology to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and save time.

The introduction of the Social Media Case Management System has revolutionised the city’s ability to track comments, queries, and FAQs across multiple channels, including WhatsApp, chat, and social media. This system automates query routing based on keywords and profiles, streamlining social media management across all city accounts.

The city is also pioneering WhatsApp as an additional communication platform, seamlessly integrated into the Social Media Case Management System. The exploration of WhatsApp automation for addressing frequently asked questions is underway, promising enhanced efficiency in engagement.

The City of Johannesburg’s remarkable achievement of 3 billion organic online accounts across its digital assets reflects its resounding success in online presence and engagement. It underscores the city's unparalleled ability to connect with a diverse and expansive online audience through pivotal digital channels, reiterating its unwavering commitment to transparent communication and meaningful engagement with residents and stakeholders.

Experts estimate that achieving a similar reach would cost the city over 300 million, highlighting the substantial cost savings accomplished by the City of Johannesburg’s Online Communication Unit within Group Communication and Marketing Department.

Issued by the City of Johannesburg