The challenge

Give a former head of state a personal voice online, launched with the dignity of the office, in a space already crowded with accounts pretending to be her.

What we did

• Twitter strategy: campaign goal, objectives and a weekly posting format, from Motivational Monday to Social Saturday
• A soft launch timed to her 80th birthday on 29 October 2018, with the first tweet: “Today is my 80th Birthday. I am thankful for good health, and a loving family. What better way to start this new chapter of my life than to connect with the world on Twitter.”
• Launch press release, “Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Joins Twitter at 80!”, with VR&C as media contact
• A calendar of African independence days and key dates, so she marked moments across the continent
• Quarterly tweet calendars on women’s leadership, girls’ education, youth jobs and peace, reviewed and approved by President Sirleaf
• Same-day posting of her own statements, from Nancy Pelosi’s return as Speaker to Nigeria’s 2019 elections
• Pursued Twitter verification from 2019 until it came through in June 2020, making hers the official account among many impersonators
• Handover of the account and content library in July 2020, when her office brought all her channels under the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center