Becoming a social media team leader – Xand Venturas’ journey

By Nikita Geldenhuys

What does it take to manage a social media team like the one you’re heading at Saatchi & Saatchi Synergize?

My history of being involved in copywriting, design, strategy, and community management at different stages during my career have been a huge advantage in understanding everyone's role within the team. I try stay up-to-date with all of the latest developments in the world of social media and try to expose the team to [these developments] so they can start thinking about how they can be applied to our clients.

With that said, I’ve tried to steer clear of using gimmicks in our work. I’m not fussed about being first to something. I’d rather spend time understanding how the online community, in general, is using, or not using, something before I invest our time into it.

What have the last six months as social media director been like and what have you learnt so far?

The experience has been great so far. I’ve learnt a lot about managing people and the dynamics of balancing a team. It’s always a challenge to find out what kind of management style people respond to and tweak your behavior to get the best results from each individual. I’m by no means perfect – I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn.

You completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University. How did your studies help you prepare for this role?

The versatility of a Bachelor of Journalism degree has been an asset for the entirety of my career. However, I think the time I spent as online editor and then editor-in-chief of Activate, the student newspaper at Rhodes, prepared me for this more. It was my first experience of managing a team and fostering people's creativity – something that has really helped me in this role.

In your previous role at Superbalist, you were at the head of initiatives that grew the brand’s social media presence dramatically. What was it like to be part of that success story?

It was really gratifying to see strategies being put in place and having them pay off in the way you’d hoped. The thing with Superbalist is that the business is going from strength to strength, and I had to try and keep up with that. They’ve done incredible work since I left and I’m proud of the foundation I laid for them.

You also launched the Superbalist Snapchat account, making the brand one of the first to do so in South Africa. What was the biggest lesson you learnt about Snapchat in the process?

Snapchat is a lot of fun. I feel that the content you put on Snapchat should be less contrived and planned than the stuff you’re putting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

It’s an opportunity to show a human side to your business and to land an authentic message. With that said, with Facebook cloning Snapchat Stories in pretty much every one of its apps – Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook itself – user growth seems to have slowed dramatically on Snapchat. That doesn’t change the fact that it already has an enormous user base, but I would think twice about investing time into Snapchat if you already have a healthy Instagram audience.

Follow Venturas on Twitter or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Considering Snapchat? Read advice from South African experts on how your brand can use the platform in our article, Five things South African brands need to know about Snapchat.