Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Yan Ru @yanrula

1) Tell us a little about yourself. What are you doing now and where do you come from?

Hello peeps! I’m Yan Ru. I’m an accounting student and a part time beauty blogger who’s now in her early 20s. I’m in the midst of doing ICAEW in Sunway University, Malaysia. I have altogether 15 papers to do and I’m finally in my last 3! Most people have not heard of ICAEW before, it is the Institute of Chartered Accountant in England and Wales, a professional qualification in accounting similar to ACCA.

2) What are your topics of interest? What do you post on Instagram the most?

Although I’m a beauty blogger, I frequently post photos of my daily life mostly featuring myself at places I’ve travelled to and with food I’ve had. I want to remind myself of the places I’ve visited and the happy moments I had there with my family.

Most of my photos are taken with an iPhone 5 or 6 but I’ll always try to use my Nikon D3200 whenever possible.

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

My name is Yan Ru and I’m a Malaysian. In Malaysia, we tend to add a ‘lah’ at the end of our conversation. I was deciding what name to put when I started in 2013 and suddenly my mind went, just put Yan Ru lah (typical Malaysian speaking style). Then it hit me. I typed in Yanrula and it has stuck with me since.

4) What are some apps you use to edit your photos? Share with us your photo-editing routine!

I used to edit with Snapseed then followed by a filter in VSCO. However I’ve come to realised VSCO is making my photos blurry and grainy so I stopped using it. Although I still keep VSCO on my phone, I only Snapseed now and it is my favourite editing tool. Restaurants lighting and sunlights tend to make my photos look more orangey than I like. Using Snapseed allows me to reduce the saturation and brighten up my photos so that they look more aesthetically acceptable on my feed!

5) Any Instagrammers whom you really like? Which Instagrammer inspires you the most?

I’m in love with accounts that have a minimalist look and my current favourite is Carly Cristman (@carlycristman). I also love to follow YouTubers that I subscribe to to keep myself updated of their most recent videos.

6) If there’s one thing your fellow Instagrammers just gotta try now, what’s it gonna be?

Go out of your comfort zone, do something you’ve been wanting to do but have been afraid to take the first step.

7) What’s your favorite part about being an influencer?

I actually don’t think of myself as an influencer. But I really enjoy being able to share with so many people the best food I’ve had and beautiful places I’ve been to.

8) What are some of your top tips to brands for running campaigns? How do you maintain authenticity?

Numbers are not the most important thing! Sometimes even though an account does not have a large following, they have a huge engagement rate with their followers. That can actually help get your brand to people who are truly interested more effectively.

9) What would your advice be on the importance of quality and original content?

It’s a big no-no to copy some others’ pictures and claim it as your own content. Try to see things from many angles and take multiple pictures. Observing how others do it and mimic their styles in your own photos. Do some trial and error, then from there find your own style that you love the most and show it to the world!

10) What do you like best about partnering with brands?

I love working with brands that are truly inspired by their own products and aim on delivering the best to their customers. They allow me to see purpose in my work and this is one of my main sources of happiness these days.

Topics:

• Fashion
• Food & Drink
• Hair & Beauty
• Travel

Country:

Malaysia