Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Viwern Wong @viwernnn

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

I just graduated from my Diploma in Mass Communication. I’m currently running my own handmade jewellery Instagram store called OVTSIDER (yes I make most of the jewellery myself!), coming up with content to blog or make YouTube videos, managing my Instagram profile and applying for an internship. I’m from Puchong, Selangor in Malaysia!

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

I’m quite a fashion enthusiast. I also enjoy music and art. I’m more inclined towards the alternative scene when it comes to these three things. I love my clothes, music and art with an element of darkness. For fashion, I’m very into grunge, goth and vintage styles. Street wear has recently piqued my interest too. My tastes in music vary from Nirvana, to Bring Me The Horizon, to Lana Del Rey. I occasionally enjoy listening to some Ella Fitzgerald and Chopin as well. I’ve always loved drawing and painting. I’m currently saving up to buy prints from my favourite artists on Instagram. My Instagram posts are mainly feature my life, outfits, travels, art and books I’ve recently read.

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

I started my Instagram way back in 2011. It wasn’t very popular at that time and it was only available on iOS devices. Back then, you could get featured on the Popular Page (which is now known as the Explore Page) easily with just an average of 200 likes. I’ve had a Tumblr blog before Instagram so I had quite a clear idea in mind on how I want my photos to look on my feed. I didn’t had a “neat feed” with nice monochrome colours that is very apparent now on my current feed but I knew what photos I wanted to take. The consistency with my posts and a theme started to appear on my feed around 2013. I became more familiar with editing and handling a camera. My style also became more refined and defined. I’ve had a pretty dark and muted tone feed for almost three years now and I still love it. My Instagram is a way to express myself. I feel that the pictures I take help speak for me on a different level where words can’t.

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

For photos that are taken on my phone, I started out editing my Instagram photos on the app itself. I never used any filters. A lot of people started asking me how I edit my photos and asked what filters I used. I get questions like that everyday so I decided to just make a Youtube video about it. But when Instagram updated, the colours somehow shifted and I could no longer achieve the tone that I want. Now, I use a combination of VSCO and Instagram’s own editing tools to edit my photos. For photos that I took on my DSLR, I edit them on Adobe Photoshop and Photoscape on my Mac. Once I’m done editing it on my computer, I transfer it to my phone and refine it on the Instagram app if needed.

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

Some of my most favorite Instagrammers are @Wioleth, @lyitte, @aliencreature, @violet_ell, @luanna90, @ell4d and @pameluft. It’s really hard for me to pick who inspires me the most because I’m not just into one specific style. I love @wioleth’s goth style, @aliencreature’s vintage/grunge style, and @ell4d’s grunge/street style. I get inspiration from all of them! For art accounts, my favorites are @lucasbavid and @roseellenswenson.

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

Try coming to the dark side! Hahaha!

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

Meeting new people and sharing what I love to the world! I am truly passionate about what I do and it’s nice to see other people appreciating my work and meeting people who share the same passion as me.

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

I see partnering with brands as a win-win situation only if the brand partners with the right influencer vice versa. It’s very important that brands choose the most suitable influencer to achieve their campaign goals. For example, if you’re a Korean makeup company, it would be best if you sponsor influencers who share a similar style to your brand and of course take an interest in beauty and makeup. I personally feel that selecting influencers based on how closely related they are to the target audience of your company is as important as selecting influencers that have a wide fanbase. Selecting an influencer who has a wide following but isn’t keen on your brand/products or does not suit the tone/mood/style of your company/brand reduces its authencity.

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

Understand what do you like and want to achieve. Don’t do something just because everybody else is doing it or just because its currently trendy. I think it’s very important to know what you yourself is into. Once you’ve clearly defined your likes and dislikes, creating original content would be much easier. Quality is important to come off as a dependable and trustworthy influencer. Nice feeds appeal to audiences and with specific themes, your audiences are more focused and narrowed down. As an influencer, when you partner with a brand, you would also play a part in representing the brand. That’s another reason why producing quality content is important. You can invest in a better phone or camera, do research and familiarize yourself with photo editing. Look through Tumblr, weheartit, Pinterest or your favorite Instagrammer’s photos to get inspired! If you like a specific kind of lighting, research on how to do it yourself. It’s all trial and error. The process may be slow but it is rewarding and enjoyable if you love creating beautiful content as much as I do.

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

I love being able to partner with fashion brands who share a similar style or mindset as me. It’s great because we get to create something new together. I get to introduce my own tastes into their company while they bring in their own style into my life. For other brands, It’s a great way to meet new people, expand my horizons and of course, gain new opportunities.

Topics:

• Art
• Design
• Fashion
• Film, Music & Books
• Food & Drink
• Hair & Beauty
• Nature & Outdoors
• Photography
• Travel

Country:

Malaysia