Interview by Remy Raitt

Online retailers and culture vultures, Superbalist, have set up an account on the social media channel. We spoke to their social media manager, Xand Venturas, to find out why they’re sending seconds long videos, which then disappear forever, to their followers.

Why did Superbalist set up a Snapchat account?

It was something I had been planning on doing before I even started working at Superbalist. We celebrate youth here at Superbalist and Snapchat is certainly a place to connect with the younger market in a way they can relate to.

What does this platform offer?

It offers a level of creativity and informality that you just don’t get from other platforms. You can have a lot of fun with it and show your audience an authentic look behind the scenes.

Why is Snapchat a beneficial platform for retailers in particular?

It’s difficult to rationalise Snapchat as a platform for retailers be on. It doesn’t give you any tangible return on investment. Maybe that’s why there aren’t any in SA who have done it yet. But what it does give you is a way to connect with your audience on a very real and uncontrived manner.

Who is following you?

So far we’ve got a couple of hundred people following us and it’s overwhelmingly young South Africans - no surprises there.

What kind of ‘snaps’ are you sending?

We send a lot of different types of snaps. Sometimes I’ll talk straight into the camera (something I still feel very awkward doing), I’ll explain promos and competitions, highlight content on the site or do product spotlights. Sometimes I’ll hand the account over to Mira, one of our stylists and she’ll snap behind the scenes of photoshoots. Other times we’ll snap from a Friday evening work drinks when we all go out together. Everything we do on Snapchat is an attempt to authentically represent Superbalist as a company to our audience.

What makes a good ‘snap’?

It’s really difficult to say what makes a good and bad snap. I guess I’d say that a good snap is one that is interesting to the audience and adds some value, not some random snap of a coffee cup.

How often are sending them out?

We’re snapping daily. We’ll send a ton of snaps, so sometimes it can be a lot of work.

What kind of rapport does this create with Superbalist users?

We’ve been receiving snaps from our users showing us the products they love on site, or just general love from users. I have received one or two weird snaps from people, but the response has generally been overwhelmingly positive.

You can find them on Snapchat under the username ‘superbalist’.

For more information, visit www.superbalist.com. Alternatively connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.