INSTAGRAM MODEL AND UWI STUDENT

UWI student Tenagne Thompson balances academic work and business

Instagram modelling is finding a means by which young women on social media can create their own jobs and challenge the traditional route of the modelling business.

Millions of social media users are using the different platforms to share and discover different aspects of their lives as well as others. However, there are those who have seen the potential that social media has to generate an income, and attempt to maximise on it. Therefore, while many young people are scouting for jobs or contemplating profitable small business ideas, some have resorted to using the most available and affordable tools that they have within their reach. Tenagne Thompson, who is 19 years old, is one such individual who has been earning and establishing herself on Instagram as a model.

“It helps you to build a brand for yourself. It gets you out there and it makes you more able to network with different persons from all areas, not just from the same pool, but business-related people outside the commercial world,” said Thompson.

Thompson said that though she doesn’t necessarily consider herself as being an “ Instagram model”, she does not always post selfies or do photo shoots simply just for fun either. The effort that she puts into these activities is also for the purpose of building her career and solidifying her brand.

Although not many women will get the chance to grace a fashion runway or appear on the covers of fashion magazines — maybe they lack the conventional body frame, the height, or that particular look — persons like Thompson are, however, not dismayed by those issues.

“The thing with social media and traditional modelling… the difference is that, for traditional modelling it is very competitive and you have different steps you have to go through; you have training processes. On social media you can just get dressed, do a photo shoot, and post your pictures, and overtime you accumulate followers. And when you get those followers, different brands want to work with you,” Thompson explained.

She added that she has never tried the traditional route of modelling, as she also prefers the flexibility that Instagram modelling has to offer, because then you are given the chance to work with whomever you see fit, as opposed to modelling agencies where clients are assigned through them.

While it may sound simple to just be pretty and take photos, Thompson said that things are not quite so easy.

“ Instagram is very competitive; social media overall is competitive. You have persons all over the world with many, many followers but the thing is, once you have an identity that people look out for that they like, then you do a few photo shoots, you put yourself out, you try to build a name for yourself.”

Thompson shared that there are persons who might display negative behaviour towards her because they do not have a clear understanding of what she does, and that sometimes it is simply just business.

“As women, we always get the backlash. So you have persons who will say things like ‘ohhh you think you’re hype or you always posting pictures in swimsuits’ and you’re always going to have those people who have something negative to say, or like you. You can really make something out of social media, but they don’t actually know,” Thompson expressed.

Thompson added that despite the fact that she loves what she does, she doesn’t look forward to it as a long-term career. Therefore, while doing what she loves to do and earning from it, she is at The University of the West Indies pursuing a degree in political science. According to her, “Beauty is just for now, it’s not forever, so you have to have something to fall back on.”

She said that she, however, might continue to do it if after graduating from university if she cannot find other forms of employment.

“There is always the possibility that when you finish school you won’t be able to get a job. So starting now, if everything is consistent with my goals and I grow overtime, then I might consider it as a job, because when you network and meet different persons, when you finish up, you have different skills and different persons you can call up on.”

Though she did not reveal how much she earns, Thompson said that, as a student who has particular wants because her education is financed by her parents, it is a big help to be earning money to cater to other needs, and what she does pays well.

“Working with different brands, you can get well-paying jobs, not just parties. You can choose to work at commercial events or big events, where they pay more than the usual. So it actually balances you,” Thompson said.

She added that her job enabled her to develop more self-awareness, confidence, and other skills that are useful for future opportunities.

“Before, I was very shy. I was into myself, I didn’t want to do anything. But it just came to me that I’m going to try and come out of my shell, so that’s when I started doing photo shoots and opening my account, and persons started following me. So that made me more confident — going out to parties and interacting with different people, working with different people, developing certain life skills that will be useful in the future. So even if you were like how I was — shy and so forth, that will make you come out of your shell because of the interaction. You can’t be on social media and be afraid of backlash and don’t like to interact with people, so it’s a good learning experience,” Thompson said.