Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Farah Bidin @paintstobrushes

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

Hi, my name is Farah and I live in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. I am a self-taught watercolorist by night and I have been documenting my progress in Instagram since April 2016.

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

Watercolor of course! I post mostly about my progress of my watercolor journey and I also post simple watercolor tutorials and talk about the tools & supplies to help fellow beginners out there starting their own watercolor journey.

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

Initially it was penstobrushes but I changed it to paintstobrushes because it only made sense to name my account related to watercolor as the account was more about it.

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

I use Snapseed a lot mainly because I am not a pro when it comes to editing in photoshop etc. I love that Snapseed has basically all the editing tools I need. I will usually edit the brightness, saturation and highlights of my photo and occasionally use the add text tools to say something in the photo itself. It’s usually to say thank you to my new followers.

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

I have a lot! But I learned a lot at the beginning of my watercolor journey from @jolypoa , @monvoirco and also @thismommyiscrafty account as they also post simple tutorials that beginners can follow.

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

Do what you love and document it! You never know who out there who will be inspired by your journey.

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

I love that I am able to engage and connect with so many people who I don’t know in person but I am able to relate to them in so many ways and feel their struggle and celebrate achievements with them. I post watercolor tutorials and it makes my day to know my followers are inspired to try and share their learning experiences with watercolor. I started the hashtag #inspiredbypaintstobrushes so my followers can share their artwork with me.

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

Don’t be afraid of the hashtags but use it correctly and appropriately. If you want to target your audience at the city you are living, hashtagging the name of the city or town helps. Some of the searches might hit your future client or new follower. Most of my clients who commissioned me to do some projects for them came to know about me from the hashtag search.

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

Be honest and don’t be selfish with sharing your tips & experiences of the things you love to do. Make your followers feel that they can relate to you and connect with you! But do be careful with sharing personal details like address of where you live or the exact location you are when you post things on social media.

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

Sharing the lovely things.

Topics:

• Art
• DIY & Crafts

Country:

Malaysia