Ng with his wife and their two sons, who are often featured in his social media posts. Photos: PlacesAndFoods
Switching his content to family-oriented materials came naturally to full-time blogger and influencer, Wilson Ng, due to the pandemic.
The 41-year-old Ng, who is married and has two sons aged nine and seven, runs PlacesAndFoods.com, a blog that focuses on food and travel.
However, when Covid-19 struck, he started to focus more on family-related topics.
“Travelling wasn’t possible during the movement control order and even now, it’s difficult because both my children are in school,” he says. “Restaurants were also doing more deliveries and takeaways at that time.”
Now that the lockdowns have ended and country borders are reopened, Ng has returned to blogging about travel, but not as much as before.
“Previously, I could travel 20 times in a year, but now I focus more on family (topics),” he says.
“It’s a natural progression too since I’m promoting stuff that my own family would use or have,” says Ng, adding that his posts are mostly about family staycations, food, events and other stuff that are useful for families.
“The pandemic was both good and bad for families. While it has been difficult for many, it has also helped certain families get closer,” he says, adding that the latter is true in his case.
His wife Rachel Ting has gone back to work at a bank, so Ng, who works from home, looks after their children.
“I get to spend a lot of quality time with them, and my wife and sons feature a lot in my posts on social media – whether on Facebook or Instagram – as well as in my blog,” he says.
“This is on point because although I have a general audience, families are one of my main target audiences.
“It also depends on the content for each post. Some of my posts are more family-oriented, so they will feature my wife and kids too,” he adds.
“My two boys love to see themselves in my posts. They’re especially excited whenever they see my videos,” he says.
Ng says that he only posts photos of his children in public places, and doesn't reveal much personal details about them, to keep them safe.Ng adds that his wife and children are supportive of him being a content creator.
“In fact, my wife is quite happy since my flexible working hours allows me to take care of the kids... yes, like a househusband,” he says and laughs good-naturedly.
Be genuine and authentic
Ng shares that the most important characteristics or qualities of an influencer are honesty and authenticity.
A lot of people have the perception that influencers must be young and sexy, but it all depends on one’s target audience and the type of products/services one promotes. In fact, there are homemakers, kids (teens) or seniors who are influencers, he says.
“There have been many new influencers in different genres in the last few years. Many of them are really good at what they do, so it’s good to stick to one’s own niche,” says Ng.
Ng shares that he became a social media influencer in 2007 “by accident”.
“I enjoyed blogging for fun and would post about places I had gone to and foods that I had tried,” reveals Ng, who was working in a video production company at that time.
His first “official” paid post as an influencer was about his visit to New York.
Gradually, his “influencing activities” grew from part time to full time. From blogging, he progressed to social media, namely Facebook and Instagram.
“My audience is of a similar age range – 30s and 40s – on Facebook, while those on Instagram are younger, in their 20s.
“However, trends have changed somewhat and more people have taken to Instagram, especially during the pandemic.”
Staying safe
Ng (left) with his wife and their two sons.
Some influencers don’t like to post about their family members, especially their children, due to safety concerns. But Ng feels that it is alright to do so, as long as you take proper precautions.
“We only post photos of our kids at public places, and we don’t reveal much about their school or activities. We also don’t mention their real names,” he says.
“Furthermore, we’re not that famous... yet,” he adds modestly with a laugh.
Ng recently started a second blog on toy reviews called SimplyToysTV.
“I write about things that I am passionate about, so it is authentic and readers can sense my excitement when reading my posts. That’s what makes an influencer ‘affective’,” he concludes.
