Ellie Gilbert and Harley Cooper are young, in love and extraordinarily happy. But they are also aware that, even in these enlightened times, their same-sex relationship still raises eyebrows. They’ve even been subjected to homophobic comments and abuse, some of which they describe as “really horrible”.

That’s why the women, who run their own social media marketing company, are using their professional online skills to support members of the LGBTQ community, highlight stereotypes and dispel the myths. They describe themselves as ‘LGBTQ Influencers’ and are already getting national recognition for their work.

“We are putting ourselves in the firing line for abuse,” says Ellie, “but we want to make it a topic that is easier to talk about. We find a lot of young people still don’t feel comfortable coming out, but they see our social media and it gives them the confidence. And that gives us the buzz to continue.”

Ellie and Harley, who live in Longwood, are building an influential profile for themselves - they have been featured on the E4 programme My Hotter Half and use Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube, as well as writing a blog on www.ellieandharley.com

The blog is an open and honest account of their life together, covering everything from travel and food to sex and coming out - the not-so-secret life of a lesbian couple, as they describe it.

It was through their Instagram account, which has more than 5,000 followers, that they recently found themselves invited to join a LGBTQ recognition party at Facebook HQ in London.

Partners Harley Cooper (left) and Ellie Gilbert of Parkwood, use social media to tell their story of working and living together.

The event was organised by Instagram and Cosmopolitan magazine as part of the LGBT+ campaign #askmethisnotthis, which aims to break down the barriers faced by members of the LGBTQ community and evoke positive changes. A campaign video features the ‘influencers’ talking about the sort of questions they are asked and how viewers might alter their perceptions of LGBTQ people.

Ellie, 22, and Harley, 24, met at Harley’s brother’s birthday party two years ago and have been inseparable ever since. They radiate happiness and togetherness – and part of what drives them is the thought that others could and should be enjoying what they have found, but may be too afraid to grasp. As Harley explains: “You should be able to love who you want. We want to give people the courage to come out. Although we know that in some countries it’s very difficult and dangerous and that’s really shocking. We have heard some awful stories.”

Their own families, they say, were “incredible” about their relationship. “We couldn’t have wished for a better response, “says Ellie. “People see us as happy as we are and they’re happy for us.”

While same-sex marriage was legalised in the UK back in 2014 and civil partnerships have been taking place since 2004, pockets of hostility and misunderstandings remain. For that reason when Ellie and Harley launched their business this year they were at first reluctant to reveal that they were a couple as well as working partners. Ellie, who has a degree in business management from Huddersfield University, explained: “We were really uncertain at the beginning whether to let people know, because we didn’t want to lose any clients. But as time has gone on we have now come to the decision that if people don’t want to work with us because of who we are then we don’t want to work with them.”

So far their clients, mostly small business owners who want to learn how to use social media effectively, have been supportive, but in their personal lives Ellie and Harley have encountered unwelcome attention. Ellie describes the sort of thing they face: “If we walk down the street holding hands we get all sorts of cat calls and men shouting things. We face some really horrible things; men have made sexual comments. They fantasize our relationship. We’ve been sent unsolicited nude and disgusting pictures.”

Partners Harley Cooper (left) and Ellie Gilbert with Poppy, of Parkwood, use social media to tell their story of working and living together.

They’ve also discovered that stereotypes about lesbians are alive and well. As Harley explains: “One thing we get a lot is people saying ‘you two are really pretty lesbians’ because they think lesbians are like men.”

However their social media presence has enjoyed a lot of positive feedback and they have followers from Europe and all over North America as well as Britain.

The blogging and vlogging began after the couple went travelling to Australia last summer and used social media to keep in touch with their families back home.

Harley says: “We were posting pictures of us together and started getting messages from young people who were inspired by our pages. We realised we were enjoying doing it and so continued.” Ellie added: “We posted videos of coming out stories on line. There can be something quite dark about people’s experiences of coming out – they may have suicidal thoughts or experience bullying – but we wanted to make it easier and normal for them.”

While the women consider their visit to Facebook HQ as a real milestone in their careers as influencers they are delighted to also have been chosen by Barclays Bank to appear on a corporate float at the Manchester Pride parade in August. They are, they say, blazing a trail for Northern LGBTQ people.

Visit www.ellieandharley.com to follow their story