Bethan Weston-Wesgate joined Opera as an intern with marketing experience, plenty of curiosity and, by her own admission, not always the confidence to speak up. Since then, she has grown into an Influencer Marketing Specialist, working with creators and teams across global markets. In this conversation, Bethan shares how she found her voice, what she has learned about creativity and trust, and why some of the best ideas start simply by being brave enough to share them.

Q: Can you start by telling us a little about your role at Opera and what a day in influencer marketing actually looks like?

A: No two days look the same, which I love. My role is about finding creative ways to promote Opera through influencer marketing. We have a lot of competitors in the same space, so the challenge is to think differently while also measuring performance and understanding how our campaigns contribute to business goals.

We’ve been able to do that successfully because we have a great team and so much knowledge and support across the wider marketing team.

There’s also a lot of staying up to date with trends and a lot of scrolling through Instagram and TikTok! We need to understand what audiences expect, how influencer marketing is evolving, and the legal requirements that come with it. All of that makes the work incredibly varied. You’re never really doing the same thing twice.

Q: You joined Opera as an intern and are now an Influencer Marketing Specialist. When did you start feeling confident enough to trust your own ideas and speak up?

A: The biggest change was my confidence. In my first year, I was a little shy. I didn’t always speak up, and I wasn’t completely confident in my abilities. That year helped me become more secure in what I knew.

By the second year of my internship, I felt ready to share my opinions based on my experience and what I’d learned. I also knew I would be heard. That was really important. Even senior managers made time for me and gave me space to contribute.

We put several of my strategies into practice, which I think helped me move into the specialist role. But the main thing was learning to trust my own expertise and the people around me. When you have that support, you learn so much.

Q: As your confidence grew, how did your first year at Opera change the way you thought about marketing and your own work?

A: I came to Opera with some good experience, but I still had a lot to learn. It taught me to think from a different perspective: where we’re positioned in the market, what makes us different, and what we need to do to keep moving forward. It’s a competitive space, so you have to be ready to move quickly and think creatively.

I also learned a lot about communication. My team has been brilliant over the last two years, and we’ve grown together. Even when we didn’t have an immediate answer, we could say, “Okay, maybe we’re out of our depth here, but we’ll figure it out together.”

There was always someone who could help or bring expertise I didn’t have. In a way, my first year felt like starting from square one and rebuilding my knowledge around a completely new challenge. Looking back, it’s incredible how much I learned in that time.

Q: You’ve since worked on major browser launches and with high-profile creators. When you see a piece of influencer content that really works, what makes it feel authentic?

A: Our work sits at the intersection of performance and creativity, and the most important thing we’ve found is trust. We need to trust our creators and give them room to do what they do best.

You see campaigns where someone is clearly reading from a script, and the audience doesn’t engage. We’ve spent a lot of time understanding what makes each creator’s audience unique. What are they interested in? What matters to them? How can we connect with that?

The answer is different for every creator. Some want complete creative freedom, while others appreciate more guidance. It’s about getting to know them individually and understanding how to support them.

That approach has led to some amazingly creative content. We keep learning and refining how we work, but the trust we give our creators has stayed consistent.

Q: Your first marketing role was in Oslo, and at Opera you suddenly found yourself working across around ten markets. What surprised you most about connecting with audiences in very different parts of the world?

A: My first marketing role was in Oslo, so I was very comfortable working in Norway. When I joined Opera, I suddenly found myself working across around ten markets at once. It was definitely a big change!

I learned how important it is to understand local culture, trends, and what people value. Some audiences are especially interested in AI, for example, so we adapt our campaigns to reflect that. A creative approach that works in the US may need to take a different shape in Türkiye.

There’s a lot of research involved, but one of the best things about Opera is having colleagues from all over the world who can help. I worked closely with our regional manager for Türkiye, and she supported me by explaining the market as we entered it. I’ve had similar support when working in Brazil.

I follow the UK market closely, and we also have our team lead from Spain, which is one of our key markets. Those different perspectives are incredibly valuable.

You don’t have to figure everything out alone. It’s about doing your research and learning from colleagues who bring local knowledge you might not have.

Q: Influencer marketing brings together creators, product, brand, and regional teams. When launches get intense, what helps everyone pull together?

A: Communication is the foundation. You need to understand how different teams work, what their processes look like, and how to adapt to one another.

It can get intense, especially around a launch. You might have a release the next day, creators waiting for information, or something that needs fixing at the last minute. But everyone respects each other’s work and comes together to make things happen. It’s reassuring to know you can rely on people.

Learning how to communicate across so many teams and countries takes time. Once you understand those different ways of working, though, it opens up so many opportunities to collaborate.

Q: Looking back at the intern who was sometimes hesitant to speak up, what would you tell someone starting their own journey at Opera today?

A: Be curious about everything. There are so many opportunities to grow, but you need to get to know people and make use of the resources around you, especially in your first year.

You can learn so much from colleagues, visiting different offices, attending conferences, or taking part in workshops. Stay open to those opportunities.

And if you have an idea, share it. Don’t keep it to yourself because you’re unsure whether it’s good enough. Even an idea you think sounds a little silly can start a conversation and develop into something else.

Keep that curiosity even when things get challenging. Opera moves quickly, but you’re here to learn and grow. For me, it’s been a great place to do both.