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New B-M study explores political leaders' social media presence

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crisissocialMore than 70 per cent of governments worldwide have set up an official Instagram presence, but a third of the 305 accounts surveyed are dormant or inactive, according to a new study by Burson-Marsteller.

The World Leaders on Instagram study, based on data collected in February 2016, found that 136 of the 193 United Nations member states maintain an official Instagram account.

US President Barack Obama is the most popular world leader on Instagram with six million followers on his Barack Obama campaign account. Obama is followed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, an amateur photographer, who counts more than two million followers.

Modi to establish new website to encourage public-private partnership innovation-813Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (pictured left) is in third place, just ahead of the White House with 1.7 million followers each. Queen Rania of Jordan and HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai, each have 1.4 million followers.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Argentinian President Mauricio Macri and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi complete the Top 10 list with more than half a million followers each.

The findings form the second installment of the 2016 edition of Burson-Marsteller’s annual Twiplomacy study, which analyzes how World Leaders and governments use social media to engage citizens.

“This is the first ever study to examine how political leaders around the world are using Instagram as a communications tool to reach the public,” said Donald A. Baer, Worldwide Chair and CEO, Burson-Marsteller. “While Instagram is a newer medium for world leaders compared to Facebook or Twitter, its emphasis on visual communications makes it a powerful channel for connecting with citizens. Corporations, NGOs and other sectors can learn a great deal from the ways governments are using Instagram to build stronger relationships.”

Over the past four years, governments have increasingly experimented with Instagram, posting images to illustrate their daily activities, including so-called behind-the-scenes shots, to engage with their voters and constituents. On February 2, 2016, all of the world leaders combined had accumulated a total of almost 23 million followers and had published more than 76,000 posts which have received more than 160 million likes.

“This study illustrates that governments are ready to communicate across all the key social media platforms,” said Jeremy Galbraith, CEO, Europe, Middle East & Africa and Global Chief Strategy Officer, Burson-Marsteller. “Each platform has its individual unique selling proposition, but it’s clear from our study that Instagram can open up new channels as well as reinforce information conveyed through other networks in a more visual and appealing way. Creativity and the use of image is critical for communicating with impact today, and clearly world leaders know this,” Galbraith continued.