Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Tayla @tayla_clement

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

My name is Tayla, I’m 19 years old and I am from Auckland, New Zealand. I am have represented my Country for Paralympic Swimming for about 3 years now I am am currently aiming for the 2020 Paralympic Games. I also dabble in a bit of social media…I love being active online and giving my opinions on relevant topics and giving advice to people and i have recently started a YouTube channel and I am loving it so far!

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

I like to post a lot of motivational and inspirational captions with my pictures and I like to use a good old hashtag now and then. I just really like being able to express myself through photography and videography and just letting my creative juices flow, if you will haha! I was born with a rare syndrome called Moebius Syndrome which effects my 6th and 7th cranial nerves which basically means I have facial paralysis causing me to not be able to smile…..because of this I was bullied throughout my whole schooling life up to the point of being suicidal, but, all that is behind me now and I like to use my story to help other people and to spread the awareness of mental health and normalising it.

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

Well my instagram handle is kinda boring, its just my first and last name with and underscore in between the two hahaha, but my screen name and YouTube Channel name is HeyTayla and I chose that name because 1. its such a fun, but simple name and it is really easy to remember, and 2. because I like to give advice and help people with problems or situations that they may be facing, I thought that the name ‘HeyTayla’ was a good idea because people always used to message me and start off by saying “Hey Tayla” so it kinda just stuck 🙂

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

So basically the only photo-editing app I use is the VSCO Cam…..I used to use FaceTune a bit, and I still have it on my phone, but I don’t use it anymore, in fact I’ll delete it right now haha! After I’ve edited it a bit on VSCO Cam I’ll just go into the Instagram app and just put up the brightness and warmth a bit and voila!!

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

Oh my gosh that is such a hard question haha, I have so faves on Instagram and I guess I like to use all of them for inspiration…..a couple of my all-time faves are Lauren and Jack from @gypsea_lust and @doyoutravel I really love both of their accounts and they both definitely give me a lot of inspo when I’m looking for the perfect shot. A couple of others are @tammyhembrow @gabbyepstein @kayla_itsines @limecrimemakeup (their makeup is to dieeeeee for) @colourpop and @danimansutti there are so many more but those are just a few off the top of my head.

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

It sounds a bit cheesy, but I would say to just be yourself when it comes to your instagram account. I know a lot of people try and get the ‘perfect feed’ or like the ‘perfect shot’ or whatever, but I think an Instagram account is so much more appealing when its got its own spin to it, that’s just what I do anyway and it seems to work for me haha.

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

Definitely being able to share my story with people and being able to share my advice and tips and everything. It just makes me really proud of myself to know that I am helping other people and i get to do it while sharing my passion (photography and videography) at the same time, so it’s definitely a win-win for me!

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

I feel like I’ve said this a million times already haha, but it would definitely be to just put your own spin or your own edge on the campaign. I wouldn’t want to see the same thing again and again popping up on my feed or on my YouTube channel so you’ve just got to really put yourself out there and make yourself/brand memorable.

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

Like I said before, just be yourself. Not everyone is going to like you or your content so it doesn’t really matter in the big scheme of things, just be yourself and someone out there will enjoy it!

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

I like partnering with brands because 1. I love being able to support brands that I love and 2. Because its fun and I love giving my opinion on the brand and I love finding new products!

Topics:

• Design
• Fashion
• Hair & Beauty
• Health & Fitness
• Photography
• Travel

Country:

New Zealand