Influential African women on Twitter making waves
SANDTON– One of Twitter's most influential women Leandri Janse van Vuuren is using her voice to motivate her community
The year 2020 has been a mix of highs and lows and women in Africa have been cementing their place in society with their influence and strength.
A force to be reckoned with, Smart Data Power and The Women in Africa Initiative’s list of the Top 200 most influential African women on Twitter has proved this. Women from 24 African countries are represented, with 58 being from South Africa.
French company Smart Data Power, detects influencers, trends and insights by analysing data from different social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and open data sources. Margaux Birken of the company said there were many reasons why Twitter was chosen to compile this list.
“It’s a social media platform and we can access its data legally. It’s also a platform where women, whether they are journalists, business women or politicians, can express themselves freely.”
On our radar, Leandri Janse van Vuuren who placed number 28 on the list said she was pleasantly surprised to find herself in that spot and was honoured to be recognised for her contribution in the digital space.
“It is a privilege to be counted amongst these powerful women. Having been on Twitter for almost a decade, I have built quite a significant following with over 370 000 active engaging followers. From what I understand, the selection criteria was quite rigorous ranging from account age, active followers to real world impact to name a few,” she said.
Her business, Social Media 101 focused on four main pillars as her winning recipe to success – strategy, content creation, community management and analytics.
She said her social media strategy was simple – believe in yourself.
“I think it is easy to feel invisible, desponded and disempowered in today’s fast-paced world, however, it is important to keep in mind that your voice matters and have impact on those around you, whether you have 10 followers or 10 million.”
She added that for her, it was how she used her voice, lending it to business, technology, empowerment and education, all to make an impact on her community.
With all the world has been through this year, Janse van Vuuren would like to see more kindness and compassion.
“Our words have power that can either build or break so we need to choose wisely.”
