I have over four years of experience in Social Media, with specialties in online reputation management, content ideation and curation, research and data interpretation as well as influencer marketing and management. My experience includes working with various clients in the automotive, air travel, confectionery, and consumer goods industry.
In my role as a Social Media Community Manager, I’ve worked with various brands including KIA Motors SA, Enterprise Foods, British Airways, Mondelez, and now Dove and Skip SA.
I have been with Ogilvy Johannesburg for almost 2 years and managed to work on Influential campaigns such as #Plates4Days for Tiger Brands and I’m looking forward to continuing being part of this amazing work.
Tell us a bit more about your role and what your day-to-day looks like?
Everyday is different, but what stays consistent is the engagement with the different communities, content management and having your ear on the Social Media grounds. It’s important to be up to date with conversations happening on social media and being able to find tactical opportunities to stay relevant. Social media listening, data analysis and Community management thus play a huge part in identifying pain point areas and ensuring your audience is heard and you are giving the people what they want.
Did you know the potential of Social media when you first started using it? What were your initial thoughts on Social Media?
Not at all. Social media for me was a means to engage with my circle of friends, I never thought it would become such a significant part of PR and Marketing – never mind a whole career!
What has been the most exciting/challenging social media campaign that you have worked on?
One of the most exciting campaigns I’ve worked on is definitely the Plates4Days rebranding campaign that Ogilvy did for Tiger Brands Corporate in 2020. Plates4Days is the flagship university nutrition programme by Tiger Brands in partnership with some of South Africa’s universities.
There is a trend with businesses looking for social media unicorns. Do you believe social media managers can be all-in-1 unicorns Designers, copywriters, paid specialists, community managers, content creators…
Yes, but whether it’s ideal or not, that’s another story. With time comes experience on different aspects of Social Media so it’s possible to gain some experience on most of the different things. However, Social Media is so niched and each specialty should not be taken lightly. A lot of work and detail goes into each specialty and therefore I believe businesses should not skimp on the resources (if they can help it) and invest in specialists for each role if you want quality.
Do you feel there are particular skills every social media person should have?
Social Media changes often so some of the skills I would say are communication, writing and customer care skills as you are dealing with people – also, a knack for storytelling also helps 😉. Some attributes I would say are curiosity, empathy and a constant desire to learn and be teachable. These should be a good foundation to have in this ever changing Social media industry.
How do you keep your creative juices flowing on a daily basis?
I’m a creative at heart. So whether I am working on content for work or not, I always try to write often or be involved in activities encouraging creativity. I find that I also have to make my environment conducive for the juices to flow, so some sunlight, being surrounded by certain colors or even changing to a different location altogether can make all the difference in stimulating creativity. (Fun Fact – the below image was taken at our chill area which quickly became my ‘Sun Office’ when I was still at Kia, where I used to go work when I needed my creative juices to flow. 😊
Which mentors or role models have positively impacted you in your SM career, and what’s one lesson that they taught you?
Nunu Ntshingila and Nadia Mohammed. These two ladies are phenomenal and have taught me that you don’t have to be “hard” as a woman in leadership to be a good leader and make an impact. We can fully be ourselves and not feel like we have to lead like men to be successful. They show me that I can be unapologetically female and still be an amazing, barrier breaking leader.
How have you upgraded your social media skills in the 4+ years that you have been in the industry?
By practicing as much as I can. Social Media changes rapidly so I always try to stay on the ball by taking short courses (through Linked In, Red and Yellow etc) and finding opportunities to put what I learn into action – either at work or in a personal capacity. This can be anything from creating a blog to helping friends or family manage their Social Media pages and running ads. Practice is the best teacher.
How do you stay up to date with social media trends and culture especially when the industry is fast paced?
There is a Social Media Managers group on Facebook which is honestly my daily bread. A colleague added me in 2017 when I was a junior and told me to check it everyday, I haven’t stopped since lol.
This is an awesome community where everything Social Media is discussed, from trends, to updates and problematic features, that is where you find the tea. The industry is so fast paced so it helps having a platform you can check daily for any important news or share some yourself.
LinkedIn is also a great way to stay up to date as it has Social Media groups you can join as well as signing up for Newsletters/Updates from Social Media platforms like Sprout Social and Hootsuite.
What books, apps, blogs, pages would you recommend to other Social Media managers that have helped you?
The Social Media and Digital club on Facebook as well as the Hubspot, Sprout Social, Hootsuite blogs. If you are into podcasts, one of my favorites is the Social Media Lab Podcast. You can’t go wrong there. 😊
What skills do you want to improve on in the future?
I would like to improve on my paid media skills and learn more about designing content. Digital is fun because it’s so multifaceted. I’m looking forward to getting exposure to most of the different components.
Where do you see yourself in the next 3 years?
I see myself as a Digital Marketing all rounder – or heading there at least. Social is only a part of Digital, so I’m really excited to explore other areas of it.
If you could give a message to your younger self what would it be?
Don’t lose focus, keep going.
What do you do on a regular basis to celebrate your woman self?
Self-love comes first, so I’ve made a conscious decision to consistently practice that, then from there I can pour into other cups. This shows up in different ways but lately I’ve been enjoying the little things, like buying myself those flowers and not waiting to be gifted, buying that perfume and wearing it even though I’m working from home lol, it sounds small, but it does make a difference and serves as a reminder of my super power – being a woman.
