Phumzile Mnisi, popularly known as Wangqhazar is a 25-year-old Social Media Manager based in Johannesburg. Phumzile was born and raised in the City of Roses, Bloemfontein where she started school and completed her matric in 2012.
After matric she studied Marketing and Communication at Motheo FET College and dropped out in her final year when her radio internship from the University of the Free State on their campus radio station Kovsie FM commenced.
“That’s when I can boldly say I penetrated the little industry we had back then. After completing my internship, I got a gig as a news entertainer on the 6-9 show which was a very big deal back then”. Wangqhazar was gradually promoted to co-host a show until she eventually bagged her own show and then went on to work at CUT FM and Motheo FM.
“I first got introduced to Digital Entrepreneurship when people suddenly started approaching me about events and asking me to tweet about it or post it on Facebook, I didn’t even know there was a name for it then. I had no idea that people were getting paid to “advertise” on their social media accounts and I must say that made me fumble a lot of bags. Literally the incentives I’d receive would be a seat at the VIP section or simply a ticket to attend whatever gig I promoted.”
As time went by, she started getting a lot more followers, based off her bold and sometimes very controversial posts. “As soon as my following shot up, I remember very clearly I got a gig to promote for Ambitiouz Entertainment. That was the coolest thing ever, we were about 100 promoters in a WhatsApp group and only 10 promoters were allowed to push one campaign at a time. So it all meant, fastest fingers first. The money was not that good but for money that came in every Friday that helped out a lot.”
From then on, with her new found knowledge on making money online, Wangqhazar started promoting other gigs, brands, and even broadcasting channels. Every single thing she has learned about influencer marketing she’s had to learn on the job. She also learned that campaign managers will always look out for themselves first and that people will just disappear with your expected payment and if there was no contract in place there’s not much one can do.
“I’ve also had a chance to be on the other side and run a campaign. With that all I learned is that the client will always do as they please, they may hire you to bring change and a strategy but 9/10 times they’ll always do whatever they want.”
“Another thing I’ve learned with the community of influencers I’ve been around since moving to Joburg is that people work better once there’s an element of trust built between a team. Clients may delay payments but if you have a relationship with your team you’ll never be dragged for non-payment on the TL. With my background, you realize that I’ve done both traditional and digital marketing and enjoyed them both. But with times moving so instantly the one thing I’ll always recommend is to move with the times. And for an influencer who’s trying to penetrate the industry; Clean up your feed, Sell yourself, Find a niche which works for you, Get a rate card, interact with your favorite brands and they’ll eventually notice you.”
She also says you don’t have to be all over the place like she was when she first started out, you need to find something you’re passionate about and let it make you money.
“The table is big enough for all of us to eat.”