“We’re not the big fish,” said Klook Kreator Amer Ridzuan, in a video promoting his speaking slot at WiT Indie. “We’re the anchovies.”
Cue laughter, but the message was serious.
This wasn’t your typical influencer panel built on vanity metrics and polished promo reels. At WiT Indie, these influencers delivered a masterclass in indie honesty – raw, irreverent, and refreshingly real.
Moderated by TikTok’s Eason Zhang, the panel featured a novelist-turned-hotelier (Karina Robles Bahrin, Author, The Accidental Malay, Co-founder, LaPariPari and fatCupid), a cultural archivist with a camera (Prestine Davekhaw, Disappearing Cultures), and an engineer-by-day, creator-by-passion (Amer Ridzuan, Klook Kreator). Together, they tore down the façade of influencer marketing and showed what true content creation, the kind that converts hearts, not just bookings, really looks like.
“Give me more than a postcard”
Karina, who co-runs the boutique hotel La Pari-Pari in Langkawi, made her stance clear: “I try not to work with influencers. Ninety percent of them want to give me postcard content, the kind I can shoot myself. If you’re not bringing something deeper, don’t bother.”
That indie defiance runs deep. For Karina, storytelling is sacred, whether through her award-winning novel The Accidental Malay or the boutique experience she’s curated on her property. “If you want to tell the story of why we built this place, the values behind it, then we’ll talk.”
Building trust takes time (and sometimes a Kedah accent)
Amer Ridzuan, known for his authentic Malay-language TikToks with a local Kedah flavour, represents the new guard of creators who don’t chase virality – they build trust.
“People remember your voice, your vibe,” said Amer who, despite the fact that he can speak English well, prefers to use his Malay voice. “I don’t care if I’m not in English. If I’m real, AI can translate. And if I make you feel something, you’ll come back when it’s time to book.”
That’s the long game. And it’s a game influencers like Amer are playing well, not with ads, but with emotional currency.
Followers? Or follow-through?
Prestine, founder of Disappearing Cultures and a former campaign partner with brands like Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and OPPO, offered the flip side. “Follower count does matter not because it makes you more influential, but because it makes brands take you seriously.”
Her best collaborations? “When brands trust me to be me.” With STB, she was given full creative freedom: “They said, go tell two stories. Whoever you choose, however you shoot – just make it real.”
That’s where value is born – from autonomy, not algorithms.
Breaking the script (and the algorithm)
The creators agreed: the best-performing content was never overly scripted. “I’ve tried hacking the algorithm,” said Amer. “Never worked. But the moment I poured my emotion into something personal? Boom. Viral.”
Prestine added, “You can post a heartfelt piece at 2am and it still flies. You can post a polished brand spot at prime time, and it flops. If it’s sh*tty, it’s sh*tty, no matter the time.”
Conversion culture vs. creative control
Eason pressed the creators on what brands really want: results. Bookings. ROI. So how do they balance authenticity with conversion?
Prestine had a tactical tip: “Use tools like ManyChat – let people comment, and serve them links in their DMs. Add giveaways. Make it a two-way relationship.”
Amer reminded the audience that travel has a longer decision cycle: “You’re planting seeds. No one books a trip the next day. But when they finally get leave approved? That’s when they remember the reel.”
Indie manifesto: Trust us, or don’t
The creators didn’t sugarcoat it. Some partnerships don’t work and that’s okay. “Not all briefs are a fit,” said Prestine. “That’s why we keep our day jobs so we can say no.”
And maybe that’s the most indie thing of all: the freedom to walk away.
So, should you work with influencers?
Only if you’re ready to play the long game.
“Don’t expect one post to deliver four bookings,” said Prestine. “We’re not ad tech. We’re storytellers.”
Karina left the audience with the big question every brand should ask: “If I have limited budget, do I go all-in on one creator? Or do I diversify – work with five different voices, five different audiences?”
In a room full of travel rebels, the answer was clear: depth over scale, value over virality.
And maybe, just maybe, a little anchovy over a big fish.
