Ever wondered what influencers do all day? Every week we're going to be chatting to famous social media influencers to find out exactly what they do on an average day.
This week we spoke to Love Island 2019 star Belle Hassan who opened up on why influencing isn't an "easy" job, the content that makes her Instagram Story views double and why she's no longer against editing photos.
Name: Belle Hassan
Age: 23
Social media platforms: Instagram, TikTok, Twitter
Belle Hassan on life before Love Island
We all know and love Belle following her stint on Love Island 2019 but she actually had a little following on Instagram before going on the ITV show.
"On my personal page, I had 5000 followers and on my make-up page, I was at 9.5-10k. And I remember when I did make-up I was working on my Instagram for about two years. And I thought, 'I'm not getting any interaction.'
"So for my make-up page, I was like, 'Right, who is the make-up artist that you look up to? So there was a lady called Stacey Marie, she's insane, she's amazing, one of my favourite artists ever.
"And I was like, 'Right, how does she take her pictures? Oh, she does loads of videos, well that's good. You can really see the make-up.' So I was like, I'm gonna do that."
After booking a course with the make-up artist and posting more videos on her Instagram it changed her social media game.
"It really made a difference to my Instagram. I was looking at other make-up artists and how they took their pictures.
"So I'd find a picture I like and get my models to sit in that position. It's just about finding a page that you like and taking inspiration from that."
After building her following and then going on Love Island, Belle is now a full-time influencer and you'll often see her posts on Instagram and TikTok.
So of course, when we spoke to her we had to find out what she gets up to all day because she doesn't exactly have a standard 9-5.
"With being an influencer you don't have a lot of routine. I've never really been good with routine, so it kind of suits me quite well.
"Every day it depends what kind of jobs you're doing - if you've got work on that week or paid posts.
"I always get up, make some food, sort the house out and then it's what make-up look are we doing? Because I do a lot of make-up, it's always pairing make-up with what you're wearing.
"So I'll do a glam orange look and then have to shoot gym wear so the face has got to come off and we've got to do it again."
"People think it's an easy job"
The 23 year old then explained that although she doesn't have a standard 9-5 she still has time off just like a normal job.
"It's a couple of days where I don't think about anything, I don't do anything because it can be too much.
"People think it's an easy job - you post a couple of pictures on Instagram, you've got a million followers, it's an amazing job and that's it, but it's so much more to that," she admitted.
"If you don't sit on your Stories for two days, then your engagement goes down. When your engagement goes down, you lose jobs, because you don't get a certain amount of likes or your followers go down.
"Because there's so many influencers now - if you're not on it every day people want to see new content, they want to know what you're doing every day - if you're taking a break they're like 'No. Next one. Who else can we look at? Don't want to look at her anymore she doesn't post enough.'"
Belle Hassan reveals the difficulties of social media
Unlike the rest of us who can browse TikTok for fun, when Belle is having a scroll on social media she finds it difficult to switch off.
"When I'm looking at TikTok I'm like, that sound would be really good to do a make-up video. And then I'm like, 'How does she do that transition? She used the left hand for this, and then her right hand for that', so I'm looking at it in a really technical way.
"It's never just, 'Oh, that's a nice dance or that's a good transition'. I’m like 'If I'm going to do this make-up look for that song, how many parts is in that?
"It's a constant job. You're on it every day, what can I do on my Stories? How can I make my life look interesting today?" she joked.
"It makes my Instagram Story views double"
Funnily enough one rogue piece of content that Belle often posts does incredibly well and appears to reach more people.
"I'm obsessed with super noodles. So I post how to make them, what I do with them and then I'll go and try like loads of different ones from different stores.
"Because people love to see it, I don't know why, but it makes my Story views double. So it's just a little bit of normality on my Story, which people can relate to."
Belle Hassan's TikTok
Now as for TikTok it appears that Belle kind of has a schedule.
"At the moment, I've got a new brand deal where it's two TikToks a week, so I do my two TikToks a week and on top of that, I'll try and film something on the side of that. So you get like a few videos that are the same look.
"I try to post every day but that doesn't happen. So I post when I can, I'm trying my best. I'm not the best influencer in the world, but I'm doing my bit and that's all you can do".
She then confessed, "I'd say hashtags definitely help for TikTok.
"I hashtag everything on TikTok I’m just like f-–k it. I see what's trending and add that. Get that on the For You Page, that'll do me lovely," she joked.
"I was always really against editing"
As for Instagram? Well despite having a following before going on Love Island, the social media app it hasn't always been easy for Belle.
"Oh God, when I first started doing Instagram after Love Island it would take me hours. I'd get upset, I'd throw a hissy fit and then I'd end up arguing with my mum or my friends and I’d be like 'No it’s you, you’re sh-t at taking pictures.'
"Now I'm not as fussy. I think what it was for me, I never knew how to edit my photos. I knew how to smooth a picture out. I was always really against editing."
However things changed following a conversation with other influencers during a trip in Dubai.
"The girls were like, 'You don't have to change the way you look to edit a photo, you're editing the lighting because you've got shadows on your face."
At first Belle was reluctant but after one of the girls edited the photo, the Love Island star noticed, "I looked exactly the same. They'd taken the shadows from my underwear and brightened the background.
"I was like, 'Oh my God, how have you done that?' It's still me. It's just editing the background, which I'm alright with that. You know, everybody has to edit.
"For example, a bit of mascara might drop down on your cheek that you didn't notice when you were taking the photo. You can just patch it out. It completely changed the way I was going in my career. It was good to know."
Belle then explained how to stand out on social media.
"When you're on Instagram or Tiktok, there's so many pretty girls AND attractive guys. If you want to be an influencer, it's not enough anymore to be attractive, everybody's attractive.
"Everybody has something attractive about them, you can find something beautiful in anyone, you've got to be passionate about what you do, whether it's make-up or being funny or just get your personality across.
"So people will love you for you."
"Everybody thinks when you go on a show you have it easy but it's not"
After leaving Love Island, Belle gained over one million Instagram followers but despite having a huge platform it wasn't easy to adjust to.
"It's difficult if you go on a show because your audiences is crazy. Whereas if you build up a following from nothing, they really invested in you.
"Everybody thinks when you go on a show you have it easy but it's not, you really have to build yourself again.
"You have so many people unfollow you, and then you have to rebuild it again."
Staying consistent on social media
Belle has also confessed that even though some content may not do well, she consistently continues to post it if it's her niche.
"I wear tracksuits and gym wear every day. I love a tracksuit but my followers are probably quite girly so I don't really get a lot of likes in tracksuits but you've got to keep going with it.
"You might gain less followers but if you persist with it, those followers will unfollow you, and the ones that are interested will keep coming. So you've just got to find a happy balance.
"I'm still trying to find that balance but I'll get there. You find these bloggers and they've got it all sorted but you forget they've been doing it five or six years."
The disadvantages of influencing
For many influencing seems to be the dream job but Belle has warned, "You need to be strong in yourself before anything. You need to work on yourself, you need to love you because whether you're great at something, a beautiful person or you're doing well, there's always going to be people that want to tear you down.
"It's constantly pushed down my neck - filler, surgeries, boob jobs, nose jobs, bum lifts, lip filler, jawline filler, Botox... For me I personally don't feel like I would want to have anything like that as of now.
"But there has been times I've said to my mum 'Everyone's offering me lip filler, is there a reason? Do I need it? Is there something wrong with my mouth?'
"So be prepared for that if you do get messages from companies It doesn't mean there's anything wrong it just means that if you do want something they'll offer it to you."
Belle went on to say that despite all the free offers influencers receive, "You just have to stay focused on what you love about yourself.
"I get called a man all the time because I'm tall, I mean I don't help myself with the manly comments because I do go on Instagram Live and burp really loud but I don't really care.
"If I can fake burp and do it on a Live, that's sick. I don't care. People should appreciate that as a talent that I've acquired," she joked.
She also admitted that when it comes to online trolling, "You just have to laugh at it because you think who the f--k is sitting behind this keyboard to be saying that to me."
The money side of influencing
As for her earnings Belle admitted, "You know what, the money is really good but that's a good and a bad thing.
"It's not a stable job. It's not a nine to five. You don't get the same amount of money every month or every week.
"It's not always the same job, one month you could make loads of money and one month you might make nothing, there might be no jobs coming in. If you're someone who needs stability and routine it's probably not the best idea."
"You hear all the time that influencers are earning ridiculous amount of money and sometimes I know their managers and I'm like 'What the f--k' and they're like, 'No, it's not. I wish.'"
However she did add, "But with influencing there's so many great things you meet so many lovely people, you get to go to beautiful events and I feel like it definitely helped me develop my fashion sense as well".
How to get signed by a management company
Belle also opened up about getting signed to a management company and admitted that she still receives lots of DMs from management companies and has done since leaving the villa.
"You can be scouted somewhere or have a look at who other people are managed by and maybe drop a few messages saying, 'Hi, I want to get into influencing in life. Do you take on micro influencers? I'm really good at content creating'... Sell yourself whatever you're good at, put your best foot forward."
As for her own team, Belle has two managers - one for TV work and the other for the beauty side of her job.
Any career regrets?
While Belle admitted she wouldn't change anything because it's a learning curve, she did add, "I definitely wish I learned how to take pictures a little bit quicker but in the right way.
"I wish I took my own advice and looked at other influencers, and what was the right way to take the photo".
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Belle Hassan's acting plans
During our chat Belle also opened up about her 2021 plans and admitted, "I'd like to continue influencing. Make-up is really my passion so I'm looking at salons at the moment and just going forward with a beauty brand."
She then teased, "I was set to be filming last year for a film, but I can't really tell you too much about that... That got put off because of COVID. So I would just like to go back into acting and singing.
"It was kind of what I did a little bit before Love Island, I casted for a few things, so I'd just like to pick that up now. After a couple of years it's sort of quiets down a little bit and with COVID it went really quiet.
"So now that everything's picking back up, hopefully these things get resumed".