September 2018 www.womanthismonth.com 46 FEATURE | influencers Two Filipina expats in Riyadh with a wish to highlight the positives of living in Saudi, Janelle and Reina have been blogging for almost 10 years. Stemming from being unable to find a blog that shed light on Saudi Arabia when they were new to the country, the duo decided to cover a wide range of topics including restaurant reviews, shopping, events, travel and how-to guides. They attribute the success of the blog to the fact that expats and locals alike can find beneficial information that enriches their stay. Written in a conversational tone, the documented experiences and stories are subjective, adding a touch of realness to the contents. Having to deal with content and pictures being stolen deliberately and posted elsewhere is a genuine problem bloggers face, and Janelle and Reina are no strangers to this. They are, however, humbled by their loyal followers, who are fondly referred to as ‘RIYADHizens’, and their positive feedback, which encourages them to overcome the challenges and carry on. Janelle and Reina are especially proud of winning the Best Website in Promoting Tourism in Saudi Arabia accolade from the Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards. In further aiming to continue as the best lifestyle guide for their followers, they aim to publish a book in the future, and also hope to develop The Pink Tarha app for ease and efficiency in gathering all their contents. Maintaining a blog twice a week for the past seven years, Shabana Feroze’s The Silver Kick Diaries is all about inspiring women to glam up and love themselves. Having started out as an outfit blog, her content has now evolved to include travel and fitness, fuelled by wanderlust and being a certified fitness instructor. Sophisticated and upbeat in style, Shabana writes the way she talks, making her posts light reads for everyone’s enjoyment. Boasting highquality content, Shabana gives her all to every one of her posts – from the research to the writing and photos – evident at a glance. Her blogposts epitomise top tips on passion, fashion and style, and health and fitness, all of which she focuses on in her book, Loving Yourself in Style, published last October. Shabana wants to continue posting quality content that makes her and her readers happy. Firmly against buying followers on social media, she claims it’s difficult to always expect likes and followers on content that isn’t founded on food, revealing attire and entertainment. However, this does not faze her as she ploughs on to develop her blog with the aim of offering more and more value to her followers. Recognised as one of the 100 Most Influential Asians and Influencers in the UAE, and established as a blogger, Naomi loves creating content that ensures there’s something for everyone on her blog – be it about food, lifestyle, travel, analytics and even informational articles. As a strategy consultant at IBM by day and blogger by night, she reviews her way around town, working alongside luxury brands and restaurants. Grateful for her many, many views, she believes in giving back to followers, which she does in the way of giveaways, hosting food tours and replying to DMs and comments. Naomi treats her followers to six to eight posts a month; however she doesn’t follow a strict schedule when it comes to Instagram, preferring quality over quantity, and posting only when she’s sure she’s got top content. Stylistically casual, she prides herself on her punny captions on Instagram posts, and content that steers clear of formality. As any popular personality would attest, with popularity comes haters. Giving us a peek into the challenges of online fame, she explains that no matter the many compliments you receive, sometimes it’s that one negative comment that stays with you. Ignoring the haters is a process, one that Naomi is still perfecting. Janelle and Reina Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Shabana Feroze Bahrain Naomi D’Souza UAE www.naomidsouza.com www.thesilverkickdiaries.com www.thepinktarha.com/ksa
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