Sara Ali Harbi – An Emerging Saudi Influencer
Sara Ali Harbi emerging Influencer
Introduction:
I am Sara Ali Harbi, an influencer aged 20, born in Thailand. My studies have been related to computing and business. A person while getting an education, generally does not know what goals have been made for him in the future. With time he gets to know what his interests really are. This happened to me as well. It all started when we moved to KSA during my early childhood period. We are the witness of Saudi’s revolution in every field of life.
What kind of content /influencing work you are mostly into?
Before the evolution, a lot of interest had already arisen within me. My enthusiasm increased drastically after Saudi was modernized. I have always been following trending things a lot and paid close attention to whatever is now popular. Even as a little girl, I had a good eye for makeup and clothing. Instagram was the first place I shared my work online. Then I realized that uploading additional clips to YouTube will increase my audience size but it was quite time-consuming. My challenges lessened after the introduction of Tiktok. In my experience, it’s one of the most accessible platforms to share your interests with the world and gain a massive following.
What are your hobbies?
I enjoy doing a lot of other things in my spare time. I play basketball for my university team. I’ve also been interested in acting and ads. I did it because I’ve always wanted to be famous. Moreover, I’ve always had a desire for stardom and always yearned for recognition and acclaim. In my childhood, I used to imagine that my fans are following me in a long line.
How this idea of Becoming an influencer came into your mind?
As I told you earlier, I used to imagine myself surrounded by a crowd of people/fans, this thought made me restless from the beginning, I thought of every way to get people’s attention, and I know you might find me a bit blunt. Subsequently, my mother encouraged me to follow my dream. I owe everything I am to her. She saw me trying very hard to pursue my dream. She told me that I could become an influencer by making content.
What do you think makes a good influencer?
You need to know how other famous influencers are working. You do not need to copy them, as people will like your unique content. However, you should know what is trending. Since my content is about makeup and fashion, I need to know not only the newest ways to put on makeup but also which beauty artists are the most well-known. I should also try to come up with new ideas for my content. I should also take care of innovation in my content. If I don’t, people will get bored very quickly. One thing that you should not ignore is you must be aware, of which age group of people are watching your content. If your followers include both young and old age groups, then you should create special content for both. Although it is very difficult for me to show makeup in old age, if I do it and win people’s hearts then this is the true beauty of a content writer.
I believe in quality rather than quantity of content. There are so many posts/ videos that I have wasted because I find them useless. I want my fans to always learn something new and interesting from me.
Are you being called for promotions?
Yes of course, initially people used to get promotions done for free, but now they pay. This doesn’t bother me because, at first, I just wanted people to know who I was in any way.
How do you feel about the way KSA is changing? How are things for women now?
Every change has both good and bad parts. In this case, the bad side is that people are now too open. The boundaries that were there earlier were used to save people from many evils. However, the good news is that people have many jobs to choose from. Before, there weren’t many jobs and businesses, but now there are lots of ways for people to make money and improve their lifestyles. Due to this the country’s economy will flourish.
Do you think this society is ready for a strong, curious woman to live here?
I think that our women should have as many chances to work as women in more advanced countries. We can’t compete with the rest of the world if we only do what’s right. When a country can’t keep up with the times, a powerful country will soon take it over.
In today’s world, it is also expected that men and women work together and fight for the country’s growth.
As a promoter, are people interested in what you have to say about different cafes and restaurants?
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do” is a saying. I try to follow this rule and dress according to the place I’m going. I can understand and respect why some people don’t like it when women show their faces, and hair, or wear dresses that show off their bodies. I don’t want to upset them, so I always according to the place I am going. I hardly hear anything bad feedback about me because I dress up modestly.
Have you faced any embarrassing moments during any videography? What is your most unsatisfying and best experience?
A lot of embarrassing things happen at work. But yes, there have been times when I had to deal with a lot of shame.
I once had the chance to do modeling. I was really thrilled. I was told to get to sharp at 4 o’clock. I got there on time and waited for the influencer who was also in that modeling. When that person got close to the place, it was 8 p.m. I was so annoyed with their non-professional attitude. To add more injury to my pain, the shot was canceled and I had to return wasting my whole day. It was such an embarrassing and annoying memory to recall.
The second time I got much embarrassed was when I was ready for my professional photography. I was just waiting for the photographer when I got to know that he had canceled the shoot almost 1 hr after my shooting time. I was so furious and annoyed at the same time.
On the other hand, I had a lot of good experiences during work. Seeing how the camera works is always fun. I like posing differently. I remember one good experience while we were having an abaya photoshoot. Abayas are always in trend in Saudia. When the filming was over, the owner gave us very pretty abayas. I also remember once I got a proposal for a vintage picture only for university. The good feedback from people urged me to do it more.
Do you consider yourself a successful influencer? What do you think are the key points for success?
No, not even close. I’m just at the first stop of a very long trip. I think I have to work very hard to get where I want to go. I need to learn more about what I’m interested in. The influencer has to be very active on social media to update his followers. The content has to be very unique, trending, and useful and should be posted daily or on alternate days. Procrastination or delaying tasks may bring a bad image to the content creator. I also inhibit this bad habit. However, I am now working to get myself physically active and well-committed to my work. Social media is such a platform where your fan following is raised within a day and can be vanished the other day.
How do you find the work of other influencers?
In every field of life, you will find good and bad people. Here too, you will find some very popular influencers who might get a good fan following in the beginning but when people get to know about their useless content, they unfollow them. Therefore, one has to be very cautious while posting any content. Because once you lost your fans and get a large number of bad comments, people will stop following you and your rating may be lowered in ranking. I learned from both good and bad influencers. Regardless of any age or popularity ranking, I just keep on watching their work for the betterment of my content.
Is this a team work or do you do everything alone?
Till now I have done all the work alone. I never took help from anyone. However, I generally discuss my work with my brother. I show him everything I do.
What are your future goals?
I want people to know me. I want people to understand my thinking. Whatever content I create, people take an interest in it and love me. I don’t necessarily do all this to be famous. However, this is my passion and would be my business in the future too. I would like to work on makeup products and other accessories along with my current work.
What advice would you give to someone who hoping to become an influencer?
Hard work and consistency are the keys to the door of success. People’s bad feedback may hold you back but you should never give up. Just be silent and never get angry or answer back their comments. You just respect every audience despite the fact they like or dislike you. Your focus should be on your work. You need not tell them every time who you are. Eventually, you will see it is not the influencer but his work that always matters. Thus, believe in your hard work that will pay you back one day.
Any message for emerging females in the work field.
For all the females, who are reading this, I would say it’s your time now. Be always confident and have faith in your abilities. You will be backlashed when you step forward, but you should never stop moving forward. Get yourself physically fit and active because without good health you can never participate actively. Once you step us, you are getting closer to your goal. Therefore your consistency, hard work, and determination would lead you to the right path.
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