Miss Longford chats about influencing, television and being a rising talent

Olivia Mollaghan is a news co-ordinator in RTÉ, but her beginnings in media started at seventeen when she began to experiment with social media. With her social media platforms called Livipopstar, Olivia has created a successful, budding brand which focuses on being real and inspiring young girls to feel more confident. Most recently, her success has expanded since participating in Miss Ireland, where she became a finalist representing Longford. Young and with plenty of potential, Olivia sat to chat about her experiences since the busyness of Miss Ireland has passed.

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Where are you from in Longford?
So I’m from Longford town, Dublin Street. I lived in a little shop called Donlon’s where I grew up.

How did you start getting into the influencing world?
It is interesting, I always say to people I was such a quitter as a child. Not one hobby I could stick to. Once I got my phone and laptop, I was drawn to video making. Before Tiktok was invented, I was making funny dance videos with my dad and putting them on my Snapchat story. I really loved the process of that. Before Tiktok, it was Musical.ly. I had that app on my phone, exploring what it was about. That was 2019, when I was seventeen. I was making videos and replicating what I saw online. I’ve been at it now for six years. It’s taken that time to build a niche; the type of content. You’re originally replicating what you see online, the trends. I felt drawn to it, really.

When your platform grew in audience, what was that like?
For the first years, it was slow building. I remember my first viral video as I was still in school and Tiktok was new, which was crazy. Then you get nothing, then a viral video, then nothing. That went on till college. I came home to work in my dad’s shop with the sweets and that’s when the consistency grew over summer. That’s why I hold the shop so close to my heart. I started a series where I’d try different sweets in the shop and make jokes and reactions on that. That’s when the growth happened, the consistency. I love creating content and seeing what works. It was just fab. It was great knowing that people loved this content. I took it all in my stride.

Are there any specific examples of where your work helped people out?
Yeah. Absolutely. I try to be relatable and humorous and that can be reflected in different ways. One of the ways to be relatable is to tell embarrassing stories that can be turned into funny ones. I think that brings a sense of comfort. I bet some point in our lives we think of something we’ve done and look back on it being mortifying. It gives people a sense of comfort to think “the situation is bad but Olivia did this.” I really want to tell people that we’re all a floating rock, it’s not that deep. I want people to take a step back and see it’s fine and you’ll survive. Another way is that I talk about my experiences in all aspects of life; school, friends, college. I kind of get vulnerable and what I’ve learnt from it, for them to relate or learn. Some people say social media is a highlight reel of the best moments, so I try to talk about the things that didn’t go well; to be open and honest about it. People come to my platform to be okay with who they are.

Do you think that there can be bad influences in the social media world?
Well, I do think that social media can be a damaging place for especially young girls comparing themselves. Everything is filtered and fake, and it’s a highlight reel of the best parts of their lives. Million and one friends, or claiming to be looking bad without a hair out of place. People can see the highlight version of you, but I think the messy side of you with no makeup, messy hair and looking tired are really important. It’s important for people to be honest. One aspect is that influencers have subtle work done on themselves that they’re not talking about, and that’s causing young girls to strive for something unless they pay for it. I think it is important to be open about this stuff.

You work in RTE as well–how did that opportunity come about; i.e. through internship; did something about you stand out?
Again, I knew from a young age of Tiktok that I wanted to be in the world of entertainment. When you’re in school, you don’t know all the aspects of making stuff for television. I went to college, got to second year and didn’t want to go home to go to work so I could make a life in Dublin. I didn’t want any job. By second year, I knew that to get into the industry, experience is huge. What they look for is experience. So, I went looking for a job and learnt so much. I learnt of this thing called a runner. So I did that with news and current affairs in RTÉ, and branched off in other stuff. Late Late Toy Show, RTE mass, anywhere would have me. The runner was at the very bottom; essentially making the tea and coffee–getting your foot in the door. That was half of college. It was tough going because it was a 12 hour shift. I was a runner for two years and after college, a job opened to be a news coordinator. The timing was really lucky, but that’s how it happened, but I was already in there, which helped.

Well done on being a finalist for Miss Ireland. What do you hope to achieve since participating in it?
Yeah. Now, I’m big in the Hygiene Hub so I’m involved in their school side of things. For me, it’s really important to keep going with that. It’s huge. Yeah, to use whatever contacts I made through the course of the competition, as well as the friendships. Miss Antrim came to stay with me over the weekend, as we became really close. It’s about maintaining the friendships which are important to me as well. I am Miss Longford for the year, so will use that for business, organisation or just getting the word out, that’s what I’m here for. I want to exercise my title.

Would you ever try for any television opportunities?
Yeah, absolutely. That’s always been the dream. To be honest, it’s to be in front of the camera. I don’t limit myself to what that will be. I’m open to everything. In school, I knew that I wanted to be in the media, but I didn’t know what a runner was or a news correspondent. My philosophy is work hard and a door will be open to you. If you know the goal and work hard for a door to open, that’s my plan. That's always worked for me. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy being a news correspondent but to be in front of the camera is the dream. Miss Ireland and the recognition you get always helps. Using whatever contacts I’ve made in the industry, and continuing my Tiktok, having your foot in the door counts. Absolutely, I’d love to be in front of the camera.

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Would you be willing to give any advice to young people in Longford who want to become involved in social media/are following it? Any do’s and don’t’s?
I would always say that I look back on some of my videos when I was seventeen that are cringe. You need to climb cringe mountain. It’s all part of the creative process. When it comes to content creation, you’ve got to try everything. Let yourself explore and try to explore every niche: makeup, funny, day-in-the-life, reels. You need to put the embarrassment aside and have a bigger picture in mind. If content creation is your goal, put every embarrassment to the side and get into it.
For those wanting to get into television and film, creating content is good, especially if you are from Longford without the connections. My Tiktok has always helped my CV. Whenever I’ve applied for a job, it’s there.