For the likes: Alona Pichay, John Lim and Zaki Hussain share the craziest thing they've done for content

With great power, comes great responsibility - and influencers have plenty of it.

In fact, around 70% of Singaporean survey participants, and 82% of participants in Southeast Asia, have admitted to being influenced by recommendations from influencers or celebrities in their purchasing decisions.

According to influencer and affiliate partnership management platform impact.com, the reasons users follow influencers vary, including entertainment (73%), lifestyle inspiration (52%), and a desire to learn from influencers (51%).

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However, there have also been instances of influencers taking things too far. Earlier this month, we saw some of these content creators fake their own deaths such as when Malaysian rapper Wee Meng Chee, also known as "Namewee", came under fire for faking his death on April Fool’s Day.

This came after Wee set up a funeral for himself on 1 April, inviting his fans and loved ones to join his farewell ceremony. His Facebook post garnered over 23k likes and 4.2k comments at the time of writing, with some saying they knew it was a prank by Wee, while some said the prank was inappropriate and they did not appreciate it.

On 2 April, Wee confirmed he was fine, and he did the prank to show the importance of “pre-planning for one’s passing”.

While these are extreme examples, in an increasingly cluttered digital space, influencers do need to sometimes do drastic things to get eyeballs. In this series MARKETING-INTERACTIVE takes a look at some of the craziest things our local influencers have done to create content and to get views.

Identity: Alona Pichay, @pinoybrownie

Known for: Lifestyle content

Most active on: TikTok and Instagram

What is the craziest thing you have done for views and content?

One time, I decided to collaborate with a creator I hadn't met before. We were just messing around and kept stitching each other’s videos. 

We pretended to have some beef (conflict).

We had no idea it would blow up, but it did spark some hilarious comments and, plot twist, we actually became friends afterwards. It wasn't our usual content, but I guess it showed the power of being creative and making connections online.

What is the craziest thing you would do for views and content?

Anything, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. I’d probably do something satirical such as stage a fake alien abduction and then change my whole persona and do livestreams as an alien so that people will make conspiracy theories about me. Once it gains enough attention, I’ll just continue with my normal content and pretend that it didn’t happen.

Identity: John Edward Lim, @johnjohnah

Known for: Photography and outdoor content

Most active on: Instagram

What is the craziest thing you have done for views and content?

Flying to Paris for a day.

It was mad. I basically did 26 hours on two flights from Singapore to Paris and back for the craziest first date ever with a lady I’ve never met before.

What is the craziest thing you would do for views and content?

I love traveling and would love to do more travel content at more exotic destinations. I already went on a trip to Mongolia to rough it out in the Gobi Desert so I would love for the next crazy thing to be another great adventure. Maybe to the North Pole to photograph polar bears?

Identity: Zaki Hussain, @zakiv4

Known for: Comedy content

Most active on: TikTok

What is the craziest thing you have done for views and content?

I did a magic trick where I had to pull a cute face.

I’m 32 years old so for me that’s crazy. Surprisingly, it was easy for me to do and easy for people to like. Sometimes we have to do what the people want. Five million views on Instagram and TikTok later, I never looked back in anger.

What is the craziest thing you would do for views and content?

It entirely depends on what my audience wants. I feed off their energy and the horizon is crazy and limitless.

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