CJ in a podcast with Aspect Ratios called Mamak Sessions (with JinnyBoy). — Picture courtesy of CJ
KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): Every day we are “pushed” new content — depending on what social media accounts we follow — and as we look at this parade of new faces, nobody can blame us for thinking it must be pretty easy to be a content creator.
After all, they just seem to be eating and commenting, or just going to events and wearing nice clothes or just telling jokes!
But, in truth, it takes a lot more than that to succeed.
A good content creator is someone who produces quality content and has high engagement rates, entertainment agency Xeno Entertainment founder Prashan Chitty explained.
Most of the creators that Malay Mail polled said that the job can be quite complex and time-consuming.
“It really is a full-time job. You need to plan out the drafts, the story, the idea. After creating the story, you need to find a date to shoot and edit,” said content creator Christopher Mathews Jacob or Chris MJ, 29, more commonly known as @christhechindian on Instagram and TikTok.
Chris, who rose to Instagram prominence with his house tour videos, explained that producing a 90-second video can take up to four hours and everything needs to be scheduled.
“Two days, I set to shoot. Two days, I set to edit. And maybe two postings a week,” he said, adding that he runs “Sudu on the Street” with his long-time friend and business partner Ow Ji John, 29.
Agreeing with Chris, food content creator Daniel Liew, 30, more popularly known as @danieldineskl on Instagram and TikTok said that a lot of effort is required to maintain the volume and quality of the videos.
“I work more than a nine-to-five [job],” he said.
A behind-the-scenes picture of Christopher editing a clip before posting it on social media. – Malay Mail photo
“If you don’t think about what happens in the background, it’s a very easy video. Technical skills — very easy. But if you break it down, it’s extremely difficult.
“I can take one to two hours to shoot. It can take six hours [total]to make one video,” he added, referring to editing, filming, and script writing, among others.
Although he has over 249,000 followers on Instagram, being a creator is only a side gig for Liew as his main job is working with local food discovery platform Good Foodie Media which houses popular food platforms such as KL Foodie, Penang Foodie and more.
But for some online personalities like @isawkwardguy or CJ, 26, who posts comedic videos on Instagram and TikTok, being a full-time content creator requires charisma and talent.
“I’m a really spontaneous person, whenever I feel like making it, I will do it.
“My content basically requires no planning, no script, some minimal editing and that’s it. Every dialogue, expression, and camera angles are improvised.
“And the reason for that is once I start planning, a lot of the initial humour, etcetera, will go away,” CJ explained.
But all these successful creators have one thing in common — loving what they do.
Despite having a degree in petroleum engineering, Liew said he really did not love his last job and viewed getting laid off before the 2020 lockdowns as a “blessing in disguise.”
After losing his primary source of income, he needed to find a way to make a living and there was no other option than to make content creation profitable.
“All I knew was English, and that I liked food,” Liew said.
Liew poses for a picture during an interview Malay Mail in Kuala Lumpur, March 24, 2024. — Malay Mail photo
During the pandemic, he ate at home in front of a camera and for two years, Liew only had 2,000 followers.
Chris and Ow, on the other hand, began vlogging on YouTube when they were still students. But after working as a mechanical engineer for a few years, Chris decided to quit his job to do what he loved — hosting and emceeing — full-time.
“If not now, when? Worst case — it doesn’t work out. I still have my degree,” he said.
He invested around RM10,000 to create a YouTube series called the “Khabar Baik Show” which never gained as much traction as his current Instagram series where he only uses his phone to produce his street interview videos.
So what began as a friendly suggestion to conduct street interviews, transformed him into an internet sensation overnight.
“It wasn’t really a career choice. I just liked making videos. Enjoying the process of documenting, being in front of the camera and connecting with people,” Chris explained.
Nonetheless, he and his partner faced multiple rejections before people began allowing them to enter their homes.
Chris knew he was good at speaking, Liew knew he loved food, and CJ knew he was funny and they all turned it into a career.
After quitting his day job, CJ was not worried about following social media trends because he is aware that his main asset — humour and sarcasm — is the reason people enjoy watching him.
“If you follow the trend, how much of yourself are you going to lose?
Christopher reenacts an interview session at The Food Merchant. – Malay Mail photo
“While chasing the trend is the most obvious way, content creators, even myself, tend to forget a lot of your followers are watching you.
“They want to see you in your element, your zone, that’s why they follow you,” the content creator with over 136,000 Instagram followers said.
Similarly, Liew thinks the most important part of growing a page is doing what people want to watch first.
But to maintain an audience, both Liew and Chris acknowledge that it’s essential to be aware of the constantly evolving video styles that people prefer watching.
“Four years ago, people watched three-minute food videos.
“Can you imagine watching three minutes of a video on Instagram now?” Liew asked, referring to the market demand for one-minute videos now.
Contrary to popular belief that being a content creator is all sunshine and rainbows, it also comes with reading a bulk of negative comments from viewers.
As a food and lifestyle vlogger, it is imperative that both Liew and Chris read comments to gauge demand.
CJ, however, prefers to read criticisms rather than suggestions.
“Instead of reading suggested content from people, I read criticisms instead… mainly because it’s funny and I like feedback,” CJ said. – Malay Mail