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Now following: Cheekiemonkies

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Last week, Marketing spoke with mummy blogger Michelle Hon from The Chill Mom, but in lieu of Fathers’ Day, we now turn the spotlight on Kelvin Ang, known for his work on his blog Cheekiemonkies.Finding a daddy influencer in the parenthood blogging space is an occurrence that is few and far in between. After all, when it comes to marketing products and services meant for families and children, mothers are usually a target audience for many brands.In this edition of “Now following”, Marketing sits down with Ang, who talks about his experiences with brands so far and how he got to where he is today. A father to two sons and one daughter, Ang also has a day job as a financial services consultant.Some brands that Ang has worked with include Fiji Airways, SilkAir, Hasbro, Legoland, Hong Kong Disneyland, Resorts World Sentosa and National Heritage Board, to name a few.[gallery link="file" ids="181514,181513,181512,181511,181510"]When and how did you start out as an influencer?I actually did not start with the intention to be an influencer. When my eldest child was born in 2005, my wife was the one who started the blog as a means to document the growing years of our children. When she went back to work after her maternity leave ended, I took over the reins and saw the blog as a way to chronicle my journey with fatherhood.What is your “claim to fame?”Over the years, our blog has slowly evolved to one which serves to share kid-related ideas and activities with fellow parents. I have often heard how some parents lament that Singapore is boring for kids, and that they are unable to think of any kid-friendly activities or places to go to whenever the weekend rolls around.Nonsense, I say.There is tons of stuff to do and places to go in Singapore, if you know where to look. And that's where the sharing through my blog comes in. So hopefully, we are able to inspire other parents to embark on an exploring and bonding journey with their kids too.How did you carve a niche for yourself as a “Daddy blogger”?I guess what people can expect when they visit my blog is honesty, humour, with a dash of sarcasm and a lot of reality.  And because we enjoy discovering new, fun, and kids-friendly places in Singapore together as a family, whether it is an indoor playground or theme park, I would like to believe that my blog entries add value to the lives of the many parents who visit my blog.How would you describe your followers?My followers are predominantly parents with toddlers, young children and older children going into their teenage years.What do you do to strike a connection with your followers?For my blog entries – even those that are advertorials – I make it a point to ensure that the posts are relevant and value-added for my readers. Also, I ensure that I reply to every parent who leaves a message or question on my social media platforms.Which social media platform is your favourite?Facebook, because that is where I have the most followers! In all seriousness, Facebook is a great platform for my blog to reach out to a wider audience as popular articles tend to get shared very quickly on Facebook.Facebook also gives me the highest engagement. Blog posts which introduce new family-attractions easily get close to 500 shares on my Facebook page. I also get plenty of comments from parents, usually tagging their spouses to get them to read it!What are some of the challenges of being an influencer in Singapore?Being an influencer means one needs to feed your followers frequently, which, I feel is the most challenging task. If your followers don’t receive interesting and inspiring updates from your social accounts then they will lose interest.What kind of client personalities do you avoid working with?  How about those who are good to work with?I avoid working with clients who micro-manage. They tend to nit-pick on the slightest thing – I had one client who complained that the photo taken was slanted and wanted a re-shoot. Thing was, the event was already over!I love clients who are open to trying new angles and ideas.In this day and age where attention span is short, it is those unique articles that stand a better chance of going viral.What are some things you feel clients should take note of when it comes to working with influencers? Clients should take note of the following 3 R’s:Relevance: The influencer is sharing content and developing a following relevant to your business and the particular market segment you want to target.Reach: The number of people you could potentially reach through the influencer’s follower base that would bring value to your business.Resonance: The potential level of engagement the influencer can create with an audience that’s valuable and relevant to your brand.Who is an influencer you look up to? Any fellow local influencers you look up to?Without a doubt, he is our Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong. He is clearly up to the mark in this game called social media. I love the photos that he takes, and his creative use of hashtags. Not to mention the fact that any photo he posts up on Facebook or Instagram garners more likes than any of our local influencers!What are some of your views on the influencer landscape locally and globally? The rise of social media globally has deeply influenced and reshaped the way people in Singapore work, communicate, and consume information. Social media has become an essential part of our everyday life but whichever way you look at it, I always believe that content is still king.Influencers should always strive to give their honest opinions and add value to their followers’ livesThat is the true responsibility of being an influencer.What’s next for you?My new book, a revised edition of my first book, Got Kids, Go Where? has just hit the book stores.  It features a whopping 550 activities for parents to take their pick from so no more excuses to head to the mall every weekend!Moving forward, as my kids get older I intend to let them take over in narrating some of the experiences on the blog. So watch out world, there may be new influencers in the making!Read also: Now following: The Chill MomNow following: Eunice AnnabelNow following: XiaxueNow following: Youtiao666Now following: Andrea ChongNow following: Jemma Wei

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