Podcast. You’ve heard about it, listened to one or maybe it is something new to you, but for us in Nuffnang, it’s another skill on our belt.
Okay, let’s lay it on the line. Who even reads interviews anymore? When you’re in a car, reading an article can be dangerous for A, the driver of course and B, a passenger with motion sickness.
BUT, what if this article was read to you out loud while you are driving, taking the train, exercising or even on your lunch break?
Now you see why podcasts are slowly becoming a part of the big social media family? In a world replete with content and on-the-go lifestyle, podcast listeners are a growing breed.
Podcasts might not seem to be making a big impact yet in Malaysia, but we have started to notice a few influencers starting their podcast as well, such as Mamak Sessions by JinnyboyTV, The Takeaway Table by The Ming Thing and Weird And Wonderful by the Azman sisters (Iman Azman and Amal Azman). This year, our very own RTV Malaysia team also took the initiative to establish its own podcast called, Ssup, Influencers?!. This podcast is founded with the hope that they will be able to provide a safe space for influencers to be their most raw and authentic self, while also having the comfort to share new perspectives on influencers. Our hosts try their best to have heart to heart conversations with our local influencers about their knowledge, skills, experiences, emotions and opinions that make them who they are today.
Before we dive deeper on what Ssup, Influencers?! is all about, you might be wondering why start a podcast and not a YouTube channel or other popular social media platforms? Well, the working timeline for a podcast is so much shorter compared to curating YouTube, Facebook and Instagram videos. In fact, it also sets a more comfortable setting for the guest (our influencers) to sit down and have a chat with the hosts without having to worry about how they look, hence allowing them to speak their minds more freely.
Ssup, Influencers?! kickstarted with its very first episode with Eric Lau Löfstedt, a 21-year-old content creator with an impressive portfolio. His social media is all smiles and fun, but the grass is not always greener on the other side. Through the podcast he shared about his personal growth and mental health, braving through his decision to drop out of college. This also applies to other influencers they had spoken with, such as:-
- Mark O’dea and his opinions on cyberbullying
- Nurin Afiqah on school bully and becoming a Muslimah Zumba instructor despite the hardships
- Harith Zazman on his road from content creator to singer
- Clinton Jerome Chua on his journey of self-exploration and acceptance
- Alexis SueAnn sharing her thoughts on the evolved beauty pageant industry.
We also had the pleasure to talk with some unique influencers, such as:-
- Dr Ibrahim on dentistry and being passionate about what you do
- Melissa Tan on environmentalist and zero waste
- Siu Lim, an American single mother with 4 children who left an abusive marriage and migrated to Malaysia, sharing about her rebirth after the divorce is such a testimony for true self-care and self-love.
Within just an hour of the podcast, we all learned that they play a bigger and much more important role in influencing, educating and raising awareness on social media.
What our team hopes to achieve from doing this podcast is through this platform the listeners will be able to see the vulnerable side of the influencers, because what we always see online is a very filtered version of them. There are actually a lot of stories to share and have never been able to talk about before. Our team also hopes through the podcast, the listeners will be able to relate, empathise, laugh and even cry together with the influencers who are at the end of the day, human.
Don’t forget to check out Ssup, Influencers?!:
