Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Bethannie Hughes @BethannieRian

1) Tell us a little about yourself. What are you doing now and where do you come from?

My name is Bethannie Hughes. I am a 22-year-old beauty vlogger from the midwestern state, Iowa. I’m currently attending college, working toward a Secondary English Education Degree. I want to be a middle school teacher in the future! I just want to teach people compassion, love, and knowledge. My love for teaching shows on my YouTube channel. My goal is to spread positivity, all while teaching viewers how to apply makeup through tutorials.

2) What are your topics of interest? What do you post on Instagram the most?

I love beauty, and that is why my Instagram features a lot of posts about it. I love playing with makeup. I’m also very creative. As a writer and a photographer, I love that Instagram allows me to express myself through pictures AND words.

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

My Instagram name is literally just my name. My first name is Bethannie, and my middle name is “Rian”. I felt it important to keep my name as my social media accounts because I’m really big on showing who I truly am. I want to encourage everyone to never be afraid to be themselves. I feel that, by choosing usernames, you can mask who you truly are. I never wanted to be anything but real with my followers, and I’m proud of who I am, so using my name was never not an option for me.

4) What are some apps you use to edit your photos? Share with us your photo-editing routine!

My favorite apps to edit my photos are most definitely VSCO Cam and Afterlight. I used to put a filter from VSCO on every photo I’d post. Now, I don’t do much editing. Going back to the last answer, I never wanted to be anything but real for my followers. I ditched the masking filters and now only use the apps for necessary tweaks like brightening. I feel that over-editing photos is not something any influencer should ever do. Stay real and obtainable for your followers. It encourages confidence within them.

5) Any Instagrammers whom you really like? Which Instagrammer inspires you the most?

The Instagrammers who inspire me most are simply brand’s pages. Those Instagrams seek out the best of the best photos when it comes to products shots and makeup applications. They repost the photos and leave us viewers with an easy, one stop shop, way to see inspiring makeup looks and exciting potential products to purchase.

6) If there’s one thing your fellow Instagrammers just gotta try now, what’s it gonna be?

I think that my best answer to what Instagrammers need to try now goes out to anyone who has ever considered being a social media influencer, but never took the leap. Instagram is an amazing community where you can easily get your work noticed. If you’ve ever considered starting an Instagram theme or trying to gain followers, do it NOW. Now is always the best time for anything, especially “trying”.

7) What’s your favorite part about being an influencer?

My favorite part about being an influencer is the interactions that come with it. I’ve met so many people who are so amazing through becoming an influencer. I have so many friends who are also influencers as well, and they are some of the best friendships I have. Of course, the interaction with my followers are amazing as well. I have so many people in real life who I’ve never talked to just stop me and say “Hey, I love your videos!” The compliments always make my day, because it shows my hard work is starting to pay off. Finally, the whole fact that I’m influencing is a favorite part. My mantra is “Spread Positivity”. If I’m able to make someone’s day even a little bit better with my content, I’ve succeeded my goals of becoming an influencer.

8) What are some of your top tips to brands for running campaigns? How do you maintain authenticity?

My top tips to brands for running campaigns is to reach out to the smaller influencers, as well. We often go unnoticed, but some of us smaller influencers have a more loyal following than bigger ones. Just because a bigger influencer has 5,000 followers, it doesn’t mean a thing if only 5 people listen to them. As an influencer with just over 1k, I know of at least triple the amount of real-life friends who would trust my review in a heart beat. The bigger influencers often get viewed as being incredibly dishonest, and a lot of people don’t trust their reviews due to them being viewed as money hungry, fake, and followers of the crowd. Us smaller ones tend to be viewed more as honest because we have yet to be fed the unauthentic scams of some brands.

9) What would your advice be on the importance of quality and original content?

It is so so important to post quality and original content. Nobody likes a copy-cat. Nobody likes to see the same exact picture or video remade. In order to stand out from the rest of the crowd, you must maintain a sense of originality in your postings. As an influencer, you never want to lose your sparkle that makes YOU special.

10) What do you like best about partnering with brands?

I love partnering with brands in order to find and provide my followers with the information about the best brands out there. I like to be the first impression of brands, and I like to help my followers save their money. I love creating a trusting relationship with my followers after recommending them with an amazing product. It’s always so amazing to hear a follower say, “I tried that product you were raving about and I LOVE it!”

Topics:

• Hair & Beauty
• Photography

Country:

United States of America