These days there are a lot of analytical tools that enable us to analyze data. Just as there is so much information being gathered online, especially through social media platforms, there are many ways to sift through some of this info.
We recently used one such analytical tool, Social Bakers, to come up with a list of the top 10 Facebook Personalities in Zimbabwe. While compiling our list we only considered accounts associated with the individuals either directly or through management. The list represents the diverse interests of Zimbabweans ranging from the arts industry to religion.
1. Mufti Ismail Menk
Mufti Ismail Menk has 1.1 Million FaceBook followers. He was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. The Islamic Scholar is well known within the Islamic community worldwide. He is the Head of the Islamic Scholars of Zimbabwe known as Majlisul Ulama Zimbabwe.
He made world headlines after he expressed dismay at the Boston Marathon Bomber’s retweet of one of his messages and then condemned the bombing. He has 551,000 Twitter followers and more than 120,000 subscribers on YouTube.
2. Strive Masiyiwa
The founder of Econet Wireless has about 840,000 Facebook followers. He usually responds to comments from his followers. His posts mainly focus on business, technology and religion. He posts a series of educational posts in a story format. The network that he founded, Econet Zimbabwe, is also the most followed Zimbabwean brand on Facebook with 571,000 followers.
3. Prophet. Emmanuel Makandiwa
The United Family International Ministries leader has about 345,000 Facebook followers. Dedicated church members religiously follow his Facebook posts and comment.
4. Dr. James Makamba
The Zimbabwean businessman has about 250,000 followers on Facebook. He posts on Facebook on a regular basis, sometimes more than few times a day. The posts are about his daily life, his perspectives on business, entrepreneurship and religion.
Dr. Makamba once posted a video of himself taking part in the ice bucket challenge in which he nominated fellow telecoms mogul Strive Masiyiwa and his wife and Dr. Philip Chiyangwa.
5. Prophet Uebert Angel
Spirit Embassy founder Prophet Uebert Angel has about 245,000 Facebook follows. His page is integrated with that of the Spirit Embassy Church.
6. Winky D
Winky D aka Bigman has 142,000 followers. The ZimDancehall’s singer’s page has information on his performances, links to new songs and fan updates. He capitalizes on his social media presence to advance his musical career.
7. Shingisai Suluma
Shingisai Suluma, the Gospel singer, is quite active on social media. Her Facebook page is a great way for to keep up with her music and her personal life. She has 142,000 Facebook followers.
8. Morgan Tsvangirai
The MDC Leader has about 133,000 followers on Facebook. His posts chronicle the events he is involved in and his views on various issues affecting Zimbabwe.
9.Psychology Maziwisa
The local politician has about 92,000 followers on Facebook. He is involved in discussions about local politics and religion. There are regular political debates on his Facebook posts.
10. Alick Macheso
The Sungura music maestro has 71,000 Facebook followers. He posts updates about his music, promotional and charity work. His Facebook shows Macheso’s personality beyond his music.
Other Zimbabweans who make up the top 20 Facebook Personalities list include Stunner, Thomas Mapfumo, Jah Prayzah, Oliver Mtukudzi and Pokello Nare.
How are these personalities using their social media presence?
Most of the people in the top 10 personalities carefully manage their digital presence to build their personal brands. The top 5 personalities use Facebook to address issues they care about most. Mufti Ismail Menk’s posts focus on religious teaching. Strive Masiyiwa and James Makamba use social media as a platform to share their entrepreneurship philosophies.
A theme that is echoed across the top 10 pages is religiously updating their pages. Facebook fans want to follow with personalities that post engaging content and communicate with fans. Directly communicating with fans on Facebook is a great way to built a strong digital brand. Strive Masiyiwa often responds to comments on his Facebook. His page has the highest growth in terms of the number of followers. Followers feel more connected with him because of the direct interaction with him.
Note: Social Baker’s analytical tool is by no means perfect. If a Facebook profile does not include the location, it is overlooked. To ensure that our data was as reliable as possible, we had to ask other local Facebook users who they thought was missing on the list. We’d love to know from you if there is any profile we missed.
Update : The Article previously mentioned Stunner as number 10 on the list. MDC Leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has about 133,000. This places him on position 8 on the list.
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