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 TikTok Queen, YouTube icon and some may say the UK version of Emma Chamberlain - Olivia Neill. She's spilled the tea on what it's really like being a social media influencer and how she managed to build her following...
Name: Olivia Neill
Age: 19 years old
Social media platforms: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube
Olivia Neill reveals how she blew up on social media
Similar to Emma Chamberlain it seemed that overnight Olivia just blew up and huns, that's probably because she did. However it wasn't easy and in fact, it took her a while to actually start her YouTube channel.
"I’ve always been obsessed with YouTube and always wanted to be a YouTuber in the back of my head but I just didn’t think it was possible," she admitted.
"After years of building up courage I bit the bullet and finalIy posted my first YouTube video two years ago.
"I was 17 and in my first year of 6th form and not expecting anything to come from it whatsoever. I got a small amount of views to begin with but somehow my 3rd video blew up."
In case you didn't know, Olivia's third video was actually her formal get ready with me video.
Side note: she shaves her arms in the video which is #relatable but it's also hilarious. 10/10 would recommend watching...
"I still to this day don’t know how it happened but I’m so lucky and grateful. I had to work hard to maintain that audience which was difficult as I was in school and to be honest I had no idea what I was doing."
After her success on YouTube she decided to turn to other social media platforms.
"I worked hard at YouTube and starting taking TikTok and Instagram more seriously and now here we are!
"It’s been such a whirlwind and most days I have to pinch myself because I’ve been lucky enough to get my dream job."
"Three days are usually for creating content"
Yup. Influencing may seem like an easy job but behind the scenes there's a lot of work that goes into it. And even though Olivia is technically a freelancer she's still, kind of, has a nine to five routine.
"Every day is so different! I try to be up for 9am, I can luckily have a bit of a lie in as I don’t have to get ready or travel anywhere for work (working from home perks!).
"One day a week I’ll have a filming day where I film a video for YouTube, another day will be spent editing that video then the other three days are usually for creating content on different platforms and having meetings!"
She added, "It’s quite flexible what days I work which is really cool because my weekend can be in the middle of the week if I want.
"I try to keep work stuff for during the day then I use the evening to scroll on TikTok and Instagram otherwise I can find myself doing it all day - scrolling on TikTok is literally like a black hole," she jokes.
Hun, we can all relate to that.
Olivia Neill reveals the TikToks that 'do the best' on the app
If you haven't followed Olivia on TikTok, what are you doing luv?
She has over 1million subscribers and that's probably because her videos can be very... random?
She's not like other influencers and instead she's got a second account OliverToeNeill (with 400k followers) that's just as iconic as her main account.
"A lot of my friends and I always find TikToks that you put little effort in to always do the best I'm still trying to figure out the Tiktok algorithm.
"I’m always scrolling on my TikTok For You Page so I feel like I've kept pretty much up to date with the trends and I like to partake in most of them.
"A lot of TikToks are very little effort, one take wonders kind of thing, but I find fashion TikToks quite long and the most effort to film."
She added, "My favourite to film are definitely transition TikToks, they’re so fun!"
One way influencers can make money is through brand deals and Olivia recently launched her own clothing collection with Motel Rocks and an edit with Quay Australia Sunglasses.
However she's admitted that she prefers to steer clear of doing a tonne of #ads on TikTok because of the vibe of the app.
"For me TikTok is a very light hearted platform, I don’t do too much sponsored content on it so I don’t feel a lot of pressure to consistently post on it whereas I would definitely see YouTube as a job and like to consistently post weekly.
"I try to keep my sponsored videos down to one or two a month so it doesn’t get oversaturated."
"I really need to work on my Instagram game"
Despite smashing it on all social media platforms, Olivia reckons Instagram (where she has a whopping 668k followers) is the app that she needs to improve on.
"I am the WORST at Instagram I feel like I hardly post, I think the reason for this is six days of the week I'm in joggers and hoodie with no make-up on because I work from home and the one day I do get dressed up I always forget to get a photo.
"I really need to work on my Instagram game!"
She might need to work on her Insta game (her words, not ours) but she must be doing something right because it doesn't take her that long to get the perfect pic.
"I’m the worst at taking selfies so I usually get my friends to take my Instagrams for me.
"They’ve taken so many for me at this point they know my angles so it usually takes max 5 mins!"
Ohh how we wish we could relate...
And despite how GORG she looks in all her photos on the 'gram, she doesn't actually use any editing apps.
"The only editing I do is on the camera roll app, I love playing around with saturation and temperature to make my Instagrams a bit more vibrant but that’s about the height of it, nothing too fancy!"
Olivia Neill reveals her YouTuber tips
Want to be a YouTuber just like Olivia? Well she's given us her tips for the social media platform.
"Stay consistent! This is so key for keeping your audiences attention. I think being really open with your viewers and interacting with their comments and messages is great for building that relationship with them.
"Create content that you enjoy and feel passionate about and growth will come," she advised.
And despite smashing it online, it's not always easy being an influencer.
"Trolling can be really difficult to deal with. I luckily have a great support system and I’m able to talk to my family about any and every comment that upsets me, which probably really annoys them," she joked.
"However I know that’s not the case for everyone, so my advice would be using the block button. It’s not something I’ve done until recently but blocking anyone that leaves a comment that negatively effects me has really helped because if someone's trolled you before, nine times out of ten they’ll do it again so get rid of them!
"You can also block certain words from your comments which is super helpful."
"I edit my own videos"
Now for the behind the scenes part of influencing. If you're already an influencer or you're planning to become one and sign to a management company, Olivia has spilled the tea on what you should do.
"My advice would be to do your research and read your contracts or if you’re like me and don’t understand fancy words get a lawyer to read them.
"I can’t recommend being with a management enough, I don’t know where I’d be without mine. They have helped to make so many of my dreams come true, handle all the business side of things and are a huge part of my support system."
Olivia actually has "two amazing managers" but despite her success on YouTube she doesn't have an editor.
"I edit my own videos which is great, as I love editing," she explains.
The advantages of being an influencer
When asked what's the most surprising thing about her career, Olivia admitted, "Definitely my viewers.
"I never expected anyone to care what I was doing day to day so having people come up to me on the street and say they’ve been watching my videos from the start and stayed with me throughout my whole career on YouTube is the most surreal thing.
"I am so lucky to have the kindest viewers, they honestly feel like my friends and meeting them in real life is the best thing ever."
And although Olivia shares A LOT about her life including trying to win her ex-boyfriend John back by baking him a cake (spoiler: they're already back together), you don't actually get to see everything she does as an influencer.
"People only really see a ten minute snippet into your week from your YouTube video, the not so glamorous work-y bits and meetings don’t get shown really."
Check out: TikTok's top five richest stars
TikTok wealth estimated by Forbes
heat's Rich List 2020 - TikTok stars
1 of 55) Josh Richards, 18 - £1.1m
TikTok's resident pin-up shot to fame partying with his Sway House collective in their LA mansion. Sponsorships with Reebok and Houseparty, plus a record deal, have made Josh plenty of cash, and he's also co-founded a talent management company, plus an energy drinks firm. He recently caused a flap by moving to TikTok rival Triller.
2 of 54) Loren Gray, 18 - £1.8m
At the start of 2020, US teen Loren had the largest TikTok fanbase, thanks to her videos lip-syncing to Nicki Minaj. Rae and the D'Amelios may have overtaken her, but Loren's still a millionaire through promotions with Skechers, Burger King and Chipotle, who made her do cringey stunts such as a "guacamole dance-off".
3 of 53) Dixie D'Amelio, 19 - £2.2m
Charli's older sister (above right) is no slouch in the social stakes, either. She's scored a record deal - first single Be Happy has been streamed 58m times so far - and has promo deals with clothing and cosmetics firms. With the Kardashians about to disappear from our screens, the D'Amelio sister act is poised to fill that space.
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4 of 52) Charli D'Amelio, 16 - £3.1m
Charli has the most followers on the app (89.3m), but hasn't matched Addison's wealth yet, possibly due to her age. Still, the ex-competitive dancer charges a hefty £37k per Instagram post, sells her Charli-branded hoodies for £47 a pop, and has signed a deal to front US teen clothing brand Hollister, too.
5 of 51) Addison Rae (20) - £3.9m
Became famous on the app last year after posting videos of herself dancing with her mum. Since then, she's picked up 65.9m followers, bagged a brand deal with teen clothing firm American Eagle, launched a podcast and merch line, plus become pals with Kourtney Kardashian. She's also just been cast in a remake of '90s teen comedy She's All That.
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YouTube regrets?
Again, she's pretty much an open book on YouTube but Olivia regrets nothing.
"Everything I’ve done in my career so far has got me to where I am today and I’ve had the most amazing opportunities and worked with the coolest brands!"
And as for 2021? Well, she's got "lots of plans" for the year ahead.
"But who knows if any of them will happen!
"If travel was allowed I would LOVE to go to LA for a bit and meet some creators out there. I’ve also just bought a house so I’m super excited to get it all furnished and settle down."
She added, "As for my career I have lots of secret things in the works right now but I plan on just continuing to work with my favourite brands and keeping up the YouTube content!"