Government agency’s Facebook followers increase by 50-fold in less than 12 months
Dubai Land Department (DLD) has announced that the number of people following its activities on the popular social media site Facebook has grown by more than 50-fold in less than 12 months. The government agency says that the current figure of 26,000 fans on its official DLD Facebook page represents a spectacular increase from its initial number of 500 followers that was recorded in September 2013.
DLD says that the impressive increase is a result of its commitment to ensure maximum interaction and engagement with its customers and the continuous enhancement of its communication methods. The organisation has been working hard for some time to strengthen its presence across different digital channels and social networking sites, believing that improving its communication tools will enable it to highlight and in the national economy.
“Dubai Land Department is an important entity in the community due to the significant real estate services it provides to its customers,” said Majida Ali Rashid, Assistant Director General, DLD. “In order that we can communicate with our clients in an effective, reliable and convenient manner, we have created specialised pages on various social networking platforms. We consider our customers and the general public to be important partners and interacting with them via social networking channels is vital to ensure that they are kept up to date and are aware of our offerings. In return, we are able to find out about their thoughts and ideas relating to our services, which helps us to improve in the areas where we need to,” she added.
DLD established specialised pages on social networking sites that also included Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, which have also recorded significant growth achievements. The department’s Twitter page saw an increase of followers by 100 per cent in the same timeframe, going up from 3,091 followers recorded in September 2013 to 6,322 in June 2014. DLD’s Instagram page had 167 followers in September last year, with numbers increasing by 310 per cent to reach 518 last month. Similar success was achieved with the organisation’s official LinkedIn page, where the number of followers increased more than ten-fold from 127 in September 2013 to 1,313 in June 2014.
DLD’s outstanding success in the social media sphere led it to collect two major awards last month. The organisation won the ‘e-Government Shield’ in the category of ‘Best Interactive Platform’ for its official Facebook page and scooped the ‘Strategic Golden Shield’ in the category ‘Social Media pages of Official Institutions.’ The two accolades were bestowed at the fifth installment of the e-Government Shield Awards, organised by the Pan-Arab Excellence Awards Academy. The ceremony was attended by a large number of dignitaries, executives and government officials from across the region.
“The use of these platforms plays a major role in communication between the department and the public and is hugely important for effective two-way conversations,” said Rashid. “Our proactive approach has enabled us to promote Dubai as being a leading global destination for real estate investment. It has allowed potential investors to understand the systems, laws and regulations used in the United Arab Emirates, thereby helping them to make the right decisions before entering the market. It has facilitated the identification of opportunities and enhanced awareness of other aspects that are vital to an investors’ knowledge, such as the latest developments and trends in the city’s real estate sector,” she added.