By ANN-MARIE KHOR and CARLOS RUBEN DOURADO
Photos by MELISSA GAZALI
brats@thestar.com.my

UKULELES, blogshops and social media might sound like an odd combination, but these were the key ingredients of the very first social media fest here in Malaysia.

With a ukulele open mic session and over 47 blogshops – each showcasing and promoting their wares which include everything from locally-made t-shirts to Korean beauty products – visitors who thronged the Social Media Fest were spoilt for choice.

Shoppers at the Social Media Fest were spoilt for choice with over 47 blogshops setting up booths during the event.

Held at Whitebox, Publika in Kuala Lumpur, Social Media Fest 2014 is not exactly a novel idea as event organisers Mohd Izrul Hanafiah and Shazwan Sulaiman noted that they took inspiration from the Indonesian chapter of the festival.

“It’s been held in Jakarta for three years now, but by a different organising team.

“There will also be one in Sydney, Australia, later this year!” said Izrul.

From his personal experience of owning a blogshop, the 30-year-old said that they wanted to create this platform for local blogshops and vendors to “connect the dots”, which was the theme of Malaysia’s Social Media Fest 2014.

“There are a lot of businesses out there which are so creative; we hope that through this fest, they can showcase that,” said Shazwan, 26.

The fest also saw them collaborating with Ukulele Malaya and RATED, a home-grown clothing label.

Mohd Izrul Hanafiah (left), one of the organisers of Social Media Fest, and Nazrul Khairi Razalan, operations officer of local clothing label RATED.

Ukulele Malaya event coordinator Azril Azemi said that the Malaysian ukulele community is talented, but thus far no one has set the stage for them.

“The ukulele community here is growing and trying to build up the scene. This Social Media Fest will give these rising local talents the space and opportunity to grow,” said Azril.

The 24-year-old also noted that the leisurely open mic concept was a creative measure – as they faced space constraints – and a strategic move.

“We didn’t want the performance to be too formal, so it was good that it wasn’t held in a separate area,” said Azril.

Shazwan concurred, adding that this allowed shoppers to be feted with music from the tiny instruments.

Although cousins Izrul and Shazwan may have only started planning for Social Media Fest last August, Izrul has been working on such a platform for sometime now.

“I founded localactmy to help promote Malaysian-made music, art and clothes online. Localactmy even provided coverage for Tempatan Fest (a local festival for Malaysian fashion),” said Izrul, adding that this festival is an extension of his dream to promote local brands and local talents.

“I was quite sceptical about Izrul’s idea at first, but he managed to convince me, so here we are, working on our first event together,” said Shazwan.

Izrul’s powers of persuasion served the organising team well as they faced an arduous task in convincing people to have faith in them.

“We charged a participant fee of RM400 per vendor to cover our rental costs here at Publika.

“Since it’s the first time we’re holding such an event, it was hard getting blogshop owners to trust us,” said Shazwan.

So how did they get the word out about Social Media Fest? Well, you guessed it, through social media!

“We reached out to blogshops with a significant following on social media through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This way, we can ensure that our presence is felt among their followers as well, making it a win-win situation,” said Izrul. “I didn’t think it was that difficult to talk to people about what we’re trying to do, though.”

RATED operations chief Nazrul Khairi Razalan appreciated the exposure his brand has received through events like Social Media Fest 2014.

“We get to build up our brand and gain more followers. At the same time, we can meet and mingle with other blogshop owners. That’s how I got to know Izrul, actually,” said the 30-year-old.

With plans in the pipeline for a music festival (a la Urbanscapes), Izrul has much to look forward to.

“Yes, we’re hoping to make Social Media Fest an annual event from now on. We have big plans for the future, so you’ll just have to watch out!”