Top Malaysian Influencers Share Their Journeys And How They Got Where They Are Today
Jane Chuck, Han Pin Ma, and Brian See are three highly popular Malaysian influencers who have come a long way from humble beginnings.
By Gowri Chitra — 09 Dec 2022, 09:31 AM
Having started out as a blogger at 14 years old, Jane Chuck is now one of the top social media influencers in Malaysia
The fashion and beauty influencer still continues to blog even today, but has since also become an entrepreneur, with two beauty and lifestyle brands — Chuck's and Motherchuckers — under her belt.
Hailing from a humble family, Jane's main source of income is her sponsored content on social media, as well as revenue from her aforementioned businesses. According to her, she draws inspiration for her content from other social media accounts and through conversations with people from different industries.
Jane's current success did not come easily, as the influencer once had to choose between being a full-time blogger or continuing her university studies. She ended up dropping out of uni after two semesters to pursue her passion full-time.
Though the journey was challenging, Jane feels like it was all worth it in the end, especially with the creation of Chuck's, which she says is her biggest and proudest achievement to date.
Her advice to other aspiring influencers or entrepreneurs is to "always be honest with yourself and find your niche".
Jane's husband, Han Pin Ma, is also a successful influencer, fitness trainer, and entrepreneur
The finance graduate started his first business as an oil and gas retailer, in his full-time role as managing director at Bakalima Sdn Bhd. Apart from being an influencer and a retailer, he also runs F&B and fitness businesses as passion projects. This includes sports bar Barcade Malaysia, men's wellness brand Gote, and cycling studio Pwrhouse.
For Han Pin, his biggest struggle is time management, as he finds it tough to juggle between equally important things like family, friends, his business, and himself. That's why he makes it a point to plan ahead, utilising a planner to do so, ensuring that he has enough time to take care of everything.
When it comes to his content, authenticity is key. Han Pin thinks of social media as a sharing platform, and only wants to portray his authentic self. Most of his content tells his stories on a daily basis, from what he does and feels to things he thinks are worth sharing.
Drawing on his own past experiences, Han Pin's advice is, "Don't do business with your best friends. Also, you will never go wrong by doing something you're passionate about, that you genuinely love, and that relates to you. And have hope, because that's the only thing that makes you wake up in the morning."
As for Brian See, the popular fashion influencer started his social media journey 10 years ago, and was one of the first Malaysian male influencers to pioneer men's fashion trends
Growing from blogger to fashion influencer and entrepreneur, the 27-year-old is now the founder of b/ree, his own beauty brand. He even has his own YouTube channel, where he posts vlogs on fashion, travel, and more. That's not all — Brian has also released original music.
"It has indeed been a very long journey but I think every challenge is an experience to grow better. The main challenge I find is to be able to create content that is relevant and also be on top of the game," he shared.
The inspiration for his content comes from everywhere in his daily life, from the content he sees online to the people he meets and places he travels to. With memorable experiences such as working with various big fashion brands, Brian credits still being able to do what he's passionate about as his biggest achievement, and is grateful to everyone who has supported him along the way.
His advice to budding influencers?
"Be passionate about the things you do and always remember why you took the first step in embarking on this journey. Always stay true to yourself. There will be a lot of negative voices that will try to bring you down, but don't be affected by it and just do what you want to do!"
Besides their success and popularity, something all three influencers have in common is their outlook on e-commerce and how important it is to their work and businesses
For Jane, it's the convenience of e-commerce that's key, believing that it helps her business by allowing people to easily and effortlessly shop online from wherever they are.
Echoing her sentiments is Han Pin, who added that he recently ventured into an online business and getting people to know Gote hasn't been easy.
"We are able to serve more people across the nation with e-commerce. We can save a lot more on operation costs and it's less time-consuming," he said.
Meanwhile, Brian added, "I think social media could help a lot on e-commerce, especially targeting a younger audience, because shopping online is so much more convenient now with everyone having a phone in their hand."
Thus, it can be seen how social media influencers and e-commerce platforms have a symbiotic relationship
Influencers are key to building a powerful online brand community, which can help to create awareness for trusted e-commerce platforms like Shopee.
Having said that, influencers can leverage Shopee too, which offers innovative services, such as the Shopee Affiliate Programme, Shopee Influencer Marketing Programme, and Shopee Live to help them make their businesses, offerings, and products more accessible, ultimately making a career for themselves.
With the credibility of Malaysian influencers and a highly-engaged online community on Shopee, brands or sellers are then able to easily and effectively reach new customers.
