KUCHING: In an ever-evolving digital landscape, the power of innovation and adaptability reigns supreme.
Digitalisation is transforming industries, redefining business models and reshaping how we connect, work and live.
At the heart of this revolution is the ability to leverage digital platforms to create dynamic content, engage audiences and drive economic growth — a potential 36-year-old, Farah Diyana Samsuddin tapped into.
With a rich and long journey in journalism, Farah recently delved into social media content creation which started from a few words uttered by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg three years ago.
Can you share a bit about yourself?
People know me as Nana, and I’m from Petra Jaya. As the eldest of four siblings and a mother of one, I have a passion for history and reading. My good friend often jokes that I should take their Sejarah exams because history feels like second nature to me. This love for reading sharpened my writing skills, which is crucial in my journalism career. With 12 years in journalism and two years in public relations, I am currently a news editor at TVS.
Recently, I have added a new hobby to my list — content creation. About three years ago, I started my own content creation brand —HaluJii.Sarawak. Since then, I have enjoyed diving into content creation and social media algorithms, constantly experimenting and learning.
To sum it up, I’m a news editor at TVS, the owner of my content creation brand HaluJii.Sarawak, and a mother of one.
What inspired you to take up journalism?
Ever since I was a young girl, I knew journalism was my calling. When I was still in school, I loved to read. Many may not agree with me, but I loved Sejarah and Bahasa Malaysia. Those were the only subjects I would stay awake for while others would always put me to sleep. After school, I would head to my late grandfather’s house, and since there were no televisions or devices, there was only one thing I could do and fell in love doing: reading newspapers.
I told myself that when I grow up I want to be a journalistic writer. Lo and behold, post-SPM, I pursued journalism at UiTM Shah Alam. After my degree, I interned at Newsroom TV3 then got an offer from Media Prima in public relations for two years, returned to Kuching, worked as a reporter for about eight years with Utusan Sarawak and one year with Suara Sarawak, and here I am now as a news editor with TVS.
With your vast experience in journalism, what inspired you to start the creation of Halujii?
Three years ago, while I was still a reporter, I went to the launching of Sarawak’s digital economy officiated by our Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg. That was when it all sparked.
During the launch, he mentioned a phrase that continuously rings in my head until today: “Digital platforms are the new business models.” Since then, I started to churn and wonder what this means. One day, I was scrolling through my various social media platforms and wondered if it was possible to earn money through these platforms.
I thought to myself, “Even if I wanted to sell food on these digital platforms, I don’t even know how to cook, if I want to sell clothes, I don’t have a model’s body. But, what I do know, is that I enjoy eating and travelling.”
Then, I started studying social media algorithms, the niche of the followers, and what people enjoyed watching, and this continued for about three to four months. I explored posting at different times each day, experimenting with the algorithm. While historical content had a low engagement, food, and travel content thrived — that was it.
HaluJii.Sarawak wasn’t my first brand, it was actually ‘Cerita Sarawak Bah Jii’, because I wanted to do more historical content, but it didn’t seem to be what viewers enjoyed. I decided to change it to ‘Halu Jii’ which is a friendly Malay greeting, and that was when my brand started gaining traction, hitting 20,000 followers on TikTok.
How has it been since you started Halujii?
People often label me an influencer, but I prefer to be known as a key opinion leader (KOL) for HaluJii.Sarawak. Unlike influencers, KOLs have vast experience in niche topics. For example, in my small team at HaluJii.Sarawak, I’m a news editor and journalism is my niche. My videographer and editor, who is a childhood friend, is an aircraft engineer, while my talent is studying to become a dentist.
While the KOL community is still quite small, we all work together and sell our content at similar prices to clients which allows us to have collaborations. This fosters a supportive network which I’m thankful and grateful for, even being able to learn from them as well.
How do you balance running HaluJii.Sarawak, a full-time job, and as a mother?
To me, it’s all about time management. Since my off days for my full-time job are on Sundays and Mondays, I will usually shoot my content then. Usually, it takes about two to three hours maximum to shoot. During those times, I would usually bring my son along with me to just watch and spend time together. If a shoot is outside of Kuching, I would usually bring my family along as well so it’s a mini family trip together.
Additionally, my clients usually contact me via social media platforms. Therefore, throughout the week, I’ll be going back and forth with my clients rather than needing to meet up with them physically. This helps to save time and allows me to do my full-time job well while managing HaluJii.Sarawak.
What has been the most significant challenge you’ve faced in juggling these roles?
In the beginning, it was tough to market and convince clients in Kuching of the value of paid content. However, over time and after explaining to them how content creation is our bread and butter, clients have been more understanding and accepting since.
Currently, time is my biggest challenge. A shocking thing to many is that I record my voiceovers for HaluJii.Sarawak around 3am to 4am because after much experimenting, that’s when my voice sounds the best. In the morning, my voice sounds unhappy, in the afternoon, it sounds too lazy, so in the wee hours of the morning it is just right.
Another challenging aspect is being able to write an ear-catching script in less than one minute. I studied a lot of videos and scripts trying to find out how many words are for a script under a minute, and the words I should use as well. With trends being a go-getter nowadays, it is something added to my study list as well. I would also need to work together with my editor trying to make sure my voiceover lays on the video at the right time which is when we end up bantering with one another.
What is the most memorable experience as a social media content creator?
There have been many memorable experiences, but the one highlight for me was when AirAsia and the Indonesian Tourism Board reached out to us to shoot content in Jakarta. Being a street content brand, we were in culture shock as we were treated to one of the fanciest and most luxurious restaurants in Jakarta and even business class tickets on public transportation. It felt like I was on a trip to London, rather than Indonesia! We got to experience and see many beautiful and unseen places during the trip and got to meet other KOLs.
Another fond memory was when I was told by one of my clients that a VVIP knew its place from my video. Since then, it boosted their sales. I was shocked and thankful at the same time as I never imagined HaluJii.Sarawak to go this far.
So, it has truly been a dream come true, and now I understand and see what our Premier meant by, “digital platforms are the new business models,” it is indeed true.
What do you envision yourself to be in the next five years?
Inspired by an elderly woman in Bandung, Indonesia (Instagram username: @rika_dinarjanti) who tells amazing stories through shaky videos, I aspire to continue creating content. I want to reach my goal of a million followers and head towards more historical videos. Sarawak has such a diverse and rich history, which I think is a waste if nobody tells them, especially to the younger generation. Therefore, I hope to merge food and history content together and come up with something innovative people would enjoy and want to watch.
How do you see the landscape of journalism and social media evolving in the next five years?
At the pace we’re going, I see that social media is going to be the main platform for everything — whether breaking news, gossip, food, messaging, etc. Traditional media is declining as people turn to TikTok and other platforms. For myself, I’m not sure when was the last time I switched on my television because everything can be watched online. Even people read their news online or listen to the news through video content on social media. However, it is scary to me as the literacy rate may drop and journalism jobs may become less relevant.
Therefore, before that day comes, I want to make journalism creative through content creation. The funny part to me is that we used to laugh at people who used TikTok or created TikTok videos. Now, look where we’re at.
What message would you like to share with your followers and aspiring content creators?
Go for it! Find your niche and experiment — there’s no harm in trying. However, before that, research, studying, and experimenting, are crucial. Study the platform’s algorithm, audience, content, etc. It’s important to also study and understand your client. Be genuine and strive for raw, organic interactions. I never paid to boost my content, as I believe raw and organic interactions are what matters.
A last tip I discovered and want to share: On TikTok, if your video doesn’t reach 300 views within 10 minutes, it hasn’t hit the ‘For You’ page.
