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Vlogs are the content of the moment. The buzzword that has taken over the Social Media, you name it and the content creators are making it; criticism, comedy, fashion, food, lifestyle and travelling. But how productive that is? What value is it adding to our daily life? If we compare our Influencer marketing with the content produced in Europe, USA or India, it can be seen that we are lagging behind. Targeting a particular niche, no one produces content for a broader audience, helping them excel in their daily life.
Tapping into this gap in the market, a new name has emerged in the Industry within the last 6 months; The Daily Dose (TDD) by Syed. Who believes in “Think Local, Act Global”. How is his content different from others? What makes his channel stand out? Phoneworld got the opportunity to interview him. Lets’ see what he had to say!
Q1. Talk about your journey into becoming a Social Media Influencer. How and why did this idea of TDD by Syed come into being?
As the COO – Global Sales of Riversong, I was travelling a lot to China, Middle East, Europe and Africa and hardly spent 10-12 days in Pakistan. During COVID-19, when everything in this part of the world was put on hold, I got the chance to spend time with my family and kids. I identified this gap in the knowledge imparted while upbringing the new generation. Religion was being treated like history and not something to live by. So, the idea sparked and I started bridging this gap with “Islam and modern science” series on Youtube. A friend of mine suggested that I should diversify my portfolio and share my travel and food experiences as well. Even though I started posting different content covering almost all the “trending” domains, something still felt missing, incomplete and purposeless.
Hence, I came up with the idea of mind boggling “30 seconds” reels/youtube shorts which are “informative, precise and to the point” on Instagram & youtube, later shared as YouTube shorts. I made sure the message I want to deliver gets conveyed within these 30 seconds.
Q2. As “A Disruptive Influencer”, do you think people are hearing you out? Or, would you change your approach and choose another area for vlogs e.g. comedy?
When I started my professional journey as a sales director, my Chinese Chairman Mr. Chunming Liu (Wayne) taught me to have belief in what I am doing and to remain steadfast. And this is a thing that I have brought on my Vlogs as well. I don’t have a huge audience on YouTube yet, 8K subscribers in 10 months while Instagram is a hit with a fan following of more than 400K within 9 months. I believe my target audience is on Instagram but let’s hope for the best.
Like I mentioned before, I make all kinds of content including comedy as well. But my main focus is on creating content for the betterment of people and society as a whole.
Q3. We really liked the concept of simple videos to tell a very important lesson and useful hacks. We watched multiple videos of your channels, two young boys are also a part of your videos, can you tell us more about them?
Thank you. I have two sons, Ahsan and Ayan (Alhamduillah). When I floated the idea of these videos, my elder son aged 13 got super excited and wanted to be a part of it. My younger son, who is 10 years old, is already a gaming vlogger since he was 06 years old and also wanted to take part but he is more on editing part , he is little camera shy. They both know the importance of spreading positivity. The topic that we discuss in the vlogs broadens their horizons and expands their knowledge at this small age and that’s what I want and wish for other kids watching my reels/shorts.
Q4. What is the scope of social media YouTube, Instagram, TikTok etc for creating and disseminating content? Which of these mediums according to you should be focused in Future? Or what kind of content should be focussed upon in future?
As a viewer, I understood the dynamics of these mediums first for a couple of years, skimming and vetting through content. We have big names dominating these platforms in Pakistan but their content is mostly on travelling, dining out, Daily Vlogs, parodies and comedy. Add in a motivational speaker here and there, and that is it. Something that I saw missing or the missing or the missing piece of the puzzle as I like to put it in Pakistani context was this; all these vlogs are not inspiring others to mend their ways or pushing to do better in life. These vlogs are informative but they are not inspiring, instead they are creating inferiority complexes or even depression.
Let me explain this with an example, someone who lives on the outskirts of big cities or rural areas of Pakistan, living almost on the poverty line or trying hard to make ends meet, such videos might add to their knowledge but won’t do them any good on a personal level. This “glitter” will make them “wish” but not “work”. So what value are you adding? What new are you telling? What is the mark you are leaving behind? Isn’t it better to teach them something that will help them in their professional life like how he must behave for interview , what kind of people around him , how to find jealous people around you etc and all of this is within 30-40 seconds reel/shorts.
To educate them on topics that truly matter, to inspire them into becoming better human beings, to impart knowledge, to help them develop or polish soft as well as hard skills, to help them with attitude and aptitude. My videos are fulfilling this purpose, bridging this gap, motivating them to become a better version of themself. And even if a single person learns from it, my purpose is fulfilled. This is exactly what kind of content that should be focused upon in future.
“You should Strive to Inspire” – Syed Ali
