A social media audit report on the South African Political Parties.

1. Social Media Audit
South African Political Parties

2. Introduction
• This is a Social Media Audit of the Political Parties in South
Africa.
• The time frame of the data analyzed: 1st – 31st October 2013.
• The Social Media Channel analyzed for the audit is Facebook.
• The criteria used to assess the performance of Political Parties
on Facebook are Topical Issues, Engagement and Fan Growth.
• This report was compiled to illustrate how Political Parties are
using Facebook and what kinds of issues they are addressing.

3. Political Parties Audited
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP)
AGANG SA
African National Congress (ANC)
Congress of the People (COPE)
Democratic Alliance (DA)
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)
Inkhatha Freedom Party (IFP)
Vryheid Front Plus (VF+)

4. Glossary
• People Talking About This (PTAT) - The number of people talking
about your Facebook Page, by story type. (Unique Users)
• Fans: The total number of people who have liked your Page.
• Official Facebook Page: A page is only deemed official if it has a
direct link to/from the political party’s website.
• Party News: All updates focusing on news about and specific to
the political party.
• Topical Issues: All updates addressing topical issues, inclusive of
E-tolls, Unemployment, Crime and so on.
• Campaigns: All updates relating to the party’s campaign tactics

5. ACDP

6. g
ACDP
Page Insights
Fans: 1 887
qqqqqqq
ACDP only has 8,3%
engaged Facebook Fans
People Talking About This: 157
q
Most Popular Day: 29th Sep 2013
Most Popular City: Cape Town
Most Popular Age Group: 25 - 34
Category: Political Party
Passive Fans
Engaged Fans

7. g
ACDP
Page Analysis
Content missing on
About Page:
• Location
• Life Events/
Milestones
• Founder’s details

8. g
ACDP
Content Type
Most of the Content on the ACDP
page are news about the party.
Topical Issues Party News
45%
43%
Campaigns
12%

9. g
ACDP
Topical Issues
The most common issue ACDP addresses on Facebook is Corruption
Number Of Facebook Updates Per Topical Issue (OCTOBER)
7
Number of updates
6
4
4
3
3
1
Corruption
Crime
Secrecy Bill Economy
E-toll
Issues
1
Anti-Porn Education Marikana

10. g
ACDP
Facebook Pages
Other Unofficial ACDP Facebook Pages
685
Fans + PTAT
167
Fans
PTAT
14
3
4
2
1
ACDP Youth
ACDP Western
Cape
ACDP Limpopo
Facebook Pages
African Christian
democratic party

11. ANC

12. g
ANC
Page Insights
Fans: 26 268
qqqqqqqqqqqq
ANC only has 9,3%
engaged Facebook Fans
People Talking About This: 2463
qqq
Most Popular Day: 21st July 2013
Most Popular City: Johannesburg
Most Popular Age Group: 25 - 34
Category: No Category
Passive Fans
Engaged Fans

13. g
ANC
Page Analysis
Content missing on
About Page:
• Life Events/
Milestones
• Organisations
Overview
• Founder’s details

14. g
ANC
Content Type
Most of the Content on the ANC
page is the Party’s News.
Topical Issues
12%
Campaigns
40%
Party News
48%

15. g
ANC
Topical Issues
The most common topical issues ANC addresses on Facebook is Education.
Number Of Facebook Updates Per Topical Issue (OCTOBER)
Number of updates
5
2
Education
2
2
E-tolls
Economy
Unemployment
Issues

16. g
ANC
Facebook Pages
Other Official ANC Facebook Pages
23271
Fans + PTAT
3741
1698
1293
117
97
785
534
170
56
97
155
116
Fans
PTAT
16
3
ANC Youth
League
ANC KZN
2
ANC Eastern ANC Limpopo
ANC
ANC Womens ANC Gauteng ANC Northern
Cape
Parliamentary
league
Cape
Facebook Pages

17. g
ANC
Facebook Pages
Unofficial ANC Facebook Pages
42815
Fans + PTAT
3082
1989
916
1433
704
133
34
10
ANC
11
African National ANC Northern
ANC Eastern
Congress
Cape
Cape
Facebook Pages
African National
Congress
Fans
PTAT

18. Agang SA

19. g
Agang SA
Page Insights
Fans: 27 413
qqqqqqqqqqqqq
AGANG SA only has 9%
engaged Facebook Fans
People Talking About This: 2480
qqq
Most Popular Day: 16th June 2013
Most Popular City: Johannesburg
Most Popular Age Group: 25 - 34
Category: No Category
Passive Fans
Engaged Fans

20. g
Agang SA
Page Analysis
Content missing
on About Page:
• Life Events/
Milestones
• Organisation
Overview
• Founder’s
details

21. g
Agang SA
Content Type
Most of the Content on the AGANG
SA page are the Party’s Campaigns.
Topical Issues
32%
Party News
29%
Campaigns
39%

22. g
Agang SA
Topical Issues
The most common issues AGANG SA addresses on Facebook is Corruption.
Number Of Facebook Updates Per Topical Issue (OCTOBER)
17
Number of Updates
15
7
4
Corruption
Education
Women
Unemployment
empowerment
3
E-tolls
Issues
3
Economy
2
Crime
1
1
Marikana
Housing

23. g
Agang SA
Facebook Pages
Unofficial AGANG SA Facebook Pages
Fans + PTAT
216
114
77
76
68
15
Fans
PTAT
3
AGANG SA
Western Cape
AGANG Limpopo
2
AGANG KZN
Facebook Pages
AGANG WC Youth

24. COPE

25. g
COPE
Page Insights
Fans: 2 008
qqqqq
COPE only has 9,2%
engaged Facebook Fans
People Talking About This: 186
q
Most Popular Day: 4th August 2013
Most Popular City: Johannesburg
Most Popular Age Group: 25 - 34
Category: No Category
Passive Fans
Engaged Fans

26. g
COPE
Page Analysis
Content missing on
About Page:
• Life Events/
Milestones
• Organisation’s
Overview
• Founder’s details

27. g
COPE
Content Type
Most of the Content on the COPE
page are the Party’s news.
Topical Issues
7%
Campaigns
33%
Party News
60%

28. g
COPE
Topical Issues
The most common issue COPE addresses on Facebook is Corruption.
Number Of Facebook Updates Per Topical Issue (OCTOBER)
Number of Updates
3
1
Corruption
1
E-tolls
Crime
Issues

29. g
COPE
Facebook Pages
Other Official COPE Facebook pages
Fans + PTAT
563
Fans
PTATA
14
COPE Youth league
Facebook Pages

30. DA

31. g
DA
Page Insights
Fans: 37 539
qqqqqqqqqqqqq
DA only has 15,9%
engaged Facebook Fans
People Talking About This: 5981
qqqqq
Most Popular Day: 22nd Sep 2013
Most Popular City: Johannesburg
Most Popular Age Group: 25 - 34
Category: Political Organization
Passive Fans
Engaged Fans

32. g
DA
Page Analysis
Content missing on
About Page:
• Location
• Phone

33. g
DA
Content Type
Most of the Content on the DA
page focuses on Topical Issues.
Topical Issues
46%
Party news
25%
Campaigns
29%

34. g
DA
Topical Issues
The most common issues DA addresses on Facebook are E-tolls & Corruption.
Number Of Facebook Updates Per Topical Issue (OCTOBER)
Number of Updates
13
10
5
4
4
3
1
E-tolls
Corruption
Unemployment
Education
Issues
Crime
Economy
Marikana

35. g
DA
Facebook Pages
Other Official DA Facebook Pages
Fans + PTAT
9591
948
311
101
Fans
PTAT
13
4
DA Youth
DA Abroad
Facebook Pages
DA Women Network

36. g
DA
Facebook Pages
Fans + PTAT
Unofficial DA Facebook Pages
2257
286
502
353
159
8
DA Eastern Cape
DA Gauteng
Facebook Pages
DA Mpumalanga
Fans
PTAT

37. EFF

38. g
EFF
Page Insights
Fans: 53 867
qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
EFF only has 3,8%
engaged Facebook Fans
People Talking About This: 2051
qq
Most Popular Day: 22nd Sep 2013
Most Popular City: Johannesburg
Most Popular Age Group: 25 - 34
Category: Cause
Passive Fans
Engaged Fans

39. g
EFF
Page Analysis
Content missing on
About Page:
• Life Events
• Contact info
• Organisation’s
Overview
• Mission
• Founder’s details

40. g
EFF
Content Type
Most of the Content on the EFF
page focuses on the party’s news.
Topical Issues
30%
Campaigns
33%
Party news
37%

41. g
EFF
Topical Issues
The most common issues EFF addresses on Facebook are Crime
Number Of Facebook Updates Per Topical Issue (OCTOBER)
Number of Updates
4
3
2
2
1
Crime
Marikana
E-tolls
Issues
Corruption
Economy

42. g
EFF
Facebook Pages
Unofficial EFF Facebook Pages
49739
3013
3264
2330
Fans + PTAT
991
244
Fans
PTAT
Economic Freedom Fighters
of SA
EFF
Facebook Pages
Economic Freedom Fighters
- EFF

43. IFP

44. g
IFP
Page Insights
Fans: 454
qq
IFP only has 3,3%
engaged Facebook Fans
People Talking About This: 15
q
Most Popular Day: 4th August 2013
Most Popular City: Johannesburg
Most Popular Age Group: 25 - 34
Category: Political Organization
Passive Fans
Engaged Fans

45. g
IFP
Page Analysis
Content missing on
About Page:
• Life Events/
Milestones
• Phone
• Organisation’s
Overview
• Email

46. g
IFP
Content Type
Most of the Content on the IFP
page are Topical Issues.
Topical Issues
39%
Party news
29%
Campaigns
32%

47. g
IFP
Topical Issues
The most common issue IFP addresses on Facebook is Corruption.
Number Of Facebook Updates Per Topical Issue (OCTOBER)
Number of Issues
4
3
2
1
Corruption
Crime
Traditional Issues
Issues
Housing

48. g
VF Plus

49. g
VF Plus
Page Insights
Fans: 11 774
qqqqqqqqqq
VF PLUS only has 1,8%
engaged Facebook Fans
People Talking About This: 217
q
Most Popular Day: 4th August 2013
Most Popular City: Pretoria
Most Popular Age Group: 25 - 34
Category: Political Organization
Passive Fans
Engaged Fans

50. VF Plus
Page Analysis
Content missing on
About Page:
• Life Events/
Milestones
• Organisation’s
overview
• Location

51. g
VF Plus
Content Type
Most of the Content on the VF Plus
page focuses on topical issues.
Topical Issues Party news
39%
56%
Campaigns
5%

52. g
VF Plus
Topical Issues
The most common issue VF Plus addresses on Facebook are Economic Issues.
Number Of Facebook Updates Per Topical Issue (OCTOBER)
Number of Updates
5
4
2
Economy
Crime
Issues
Corruption

53. Political Parties
Facebook Performance
Benchmark

54. Political Parties
f Fans Benchmark
The Political Party with the most fans on Facebook is the Economic Freedom
Fighters
Facebook Fans
53867
Fans
37502
27413
26268
11774
2008
EFF
DA
AGANG
ANC
VFPLUS
Political Parties
1887
454
COPE
ACDP
IFP

55. Political Parties
f Engagement Rate
The Political Party with the highest engagement rate on Facebook is the Democratic
Alliance.
Engagement Rate(%)
Percentage of fans that engaged with the Political Parties on Facebook
15,9%
9,3%
9,2%
9%
8,3%
3,8%
DA
ANC
COPE
AGANG
ACDP
Political Parties
EFF
3,3%
IFP
1,8%
VFPLUS

56. Political Parties
f Conversations
Demographics of people conversing about Political Parties
640K 560K
170K 184K
Conversations Volume
16,8K
9,2K
5,4K
4K
2,4K
1,2K
2,4K
1,08K
Males
Females
#ANC
#DA
#AGANG
#VF Plus
Demographics
*Data for EFF & COPE was not available for this section
#ACDP
#IFP

57. Political Parties
Issues
News
ACDP
f Content types
Campaigns
ANC
12%
AGANG
COPE
11%
43%
7%
40%
32%
39%
45%
33%
49%
60%
29%
DA
5%
29%
46%
25%
VFPLUS
IFP
EFF
33%
30%
37%
32%
29%
39%
39%
56%

58. Political Parties
f Topical Issues
Topical Issues that most political parties address on Facebook are Corruption and E-tolls
% of Issues
35
Topical Issues that most political parties address
20
18
16
11
Corruption
E-tolls
Education
Topical Issues
Crime
Economy

59. Political Parties
f Topical Issues
Number of Corruption updates in October.
Number of Updates
17
10
7
4
3
2
2
0
AGANG SA
DA
ACDP
IFP
COPE
Political Parties
EFF
VFPLUS
ANC

60. Political Parties
f Topical Issues
Number of Crime updates in October
Number of updates
6
4
3
3
2
2
1
0
ACDP
DA
EFF
IFP
VFPLUS AGANG SA COPE
Political Parties
ANC

61. Political Parties
f Topical Issues
Number of Economy updates in October
Number of updates
4
4
3
3
2
1
1
0
ACDP
VFPLUS AGANG SA
DA
ANC
Political Parties
EFF
IFP
Cope

62. Political Parties
f Topical Issues
Number of Education updates in October
Number of Updates
15
5
4
1
AGANG SA
ANC
DA
0
ACDP
COPE
Political Parties
0
0
0
IFP
VF PLUS
EFF

63. Political Parties
f Topical Issues
Number of E-toll updates in October
Number of Updates
13
3
3
2
0
DA
ACDP AGANG SA
EFF
COPE
Political Parties
0
0
0
VFPlus
ANC
IFP

64. Political Parties
f Insights
•
•
•
•
•
•
EFF is the party with the most Facebook Fans.
IFP is the party with the least Facebook Fans.
DA is the party has the most engaging Facebook page.
Political Parties have an average of 7,5% engagement rate.
The most common issue political parties address is Corruption.
The most common content type posted by political parties are the Party’s
News.
• The most popular city amongst the Political Parties on Facebook is
Johannesburg.
• The most popular age demographic amongst the Political Parties are
between 25 – 34.
• Political Parties in this report have more men conversing about them on
Facebook than women.

65. Recommendations
For strategic insights and recommendations, see
the detailed report here:
http://info.zasocialmedia.com/social-media-audit-south-africanpolitical-parties

66. Tel: (011) 321 0201
www.zasocialmedia.com
audit@zasocialmedia.com
Compiled by:
Sandile Mayambala – Social Media Analyst
ZASocial Media
@sanzasurf
Tela Litana – Content Strategist & Social Media Manager
ZASocial Media
@tela_telz