Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Sofia Nin @sofiavynin

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

People addressed me by my pen-name, Sofia Nin. I am currently working in as a Personal Assistant cum Patent Secretary for a legal firm based in Singapore. At the same time, I am a freelance poet and a writer under Terfaktab Media label (an emerging publishing company based in Malaysia), I write poems, short stories, quotes and I am heavily involved in the Malay Literary Scene both in Malaysia, Singapore and sometimes Indonesia.

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

Beauty, fashion, food, art, quotes, travelogue, cute animals – you name it, my interests are soo universal (lol). When I first started Instagram, I decided to treat that as an account where I document all my happy things / moments I experience. Generally, I post a lot on food (since I am really a big eater, no kidding) and also, I post a lot on my travelling whereabouts. I worked in an art gallery before, so again if there’s any art events in which I was invited, I’ll post some of the artworks as well. I am into fashion (who doesn’t), but since I am petite in size, I hardly get the right angle to post my OOTD shots (wish I could be taller hehe).

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

@sofiavynin, that’s my account name. I actually thought of getting @sofianin which is my pen-name, but it’s no longer available. So, I added the vy in the middle as some of my close friends called me ‘vy’ (which is pronounced as ‘fi’) – the shortform of soFIa, if that makes sense.

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

I normally use the iPhone photo edit to adjust the colour of the photos I capture. Alternatively, I’ll use Afterlight for cool filters (if needed). Occasionally, I will use Beauty Plus (only when taking selfies lol). That’s pretty much my editing routine.

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

As for the local talent, I enjoy scrolling through @melissackoh feeds. International talents would be @pearypie, @nakdfashion, and @lilymaymac. I would say @pearypie inspires me the most, as she is so bubbly and colourful – which is the main reason why I started my Instagram account – collecting happy things / moments. It’s a form of counting your blessings, and a way of appreciating life.

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

Social Experiments! I always find social experiments interesting and refreshing. It’s good to be able to give back to the community or at least, understand and learn about people’s reactions on certain issues. I believe it’s good to have a two-way communication rather than a one-way communication especially in the current society that we live in, where everyone is too glued to their phones. By doing social experiments, we can sort of balance that up.

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

I am that person who loves to share – be it ideas, quotes, anything. The rationale behind me writing poems, is simply because I want to share my ideas with the community. Being an influencer will give me the opportunity to open the door to reach more people, and of course – do good, and good will come to you. Some may say, happiness is only real when shared, and I totally agree with it.

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

I used to not believe in those captions with hashtags, but that was a mistake. In Instagram, the usage of #hashtags are undeniably important. For instagram purposes, I find unique / creative hashtags will distinguish the authenticity between your products and the others.

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

As a writer myself, plagiarism is just a big no no. At times, to come up with an original content is not as easy as it seems, but that’s the challenge. People (in general) love to be different (who wants to be labelled as a copycat?). The trick is to combine ideas from various sources, and fuse it together. Quality is no doubt, the core. Not the quantity. If the brands have excellent quality for their products, the word-of-mouth will help with the rests.

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

More reach. When partnering with brands, a wider audience can be achieved. Besides, partnering means ideas of both parties can be combined – collective ideas usually are way better than a single person’s ideas.