The Creators is an editorial series presented by Glory Professional that focuses on the career paths, strategies, and tactical advice of today’s most compelling social media entrepreneurs.
Meet Allegra Shaw, a trailblazing content creator who has been captivating audiences for over a decade. With a passion for fashion, beauty, and personal style, Allegra’s journey into the influencer industry started with her early days making YouTube videos as a creative outlet while still in school. Her unique perspective on fashion and personal well-being has earned her the trust and loyalty of a dedicated community.
Today, Allegra’s impact goes beyond content creation as a multi-faceted creator and lifestyle entrepreneur. She’s also the founder and creative visionary behind Uncle Studios, a Toronto-based clothing brand that focuses on “elevated every day wear done better.” Think: flowing sun dresses, relaxed linen oxfords, and charming knit tops.
The true embodiment of a modern entrepreneur and creator, Allegra Shaw is using her platform and community to build the foundation of her burgeoning empire.
What kind of content do you create? Why did you decide to focus on your niche?
Allegra Shaw: I focus on fashion, beauty and personal style/lifestyle content. I have always loved fashion and feel that it is an extension of my personality. It was natural for me to make this kind of content and to share my fashion and beauty aesthetic but also to share it in the context of my evolving life and lifestyle, and my personal and professional challenges and successes.
What’s your unique perspective on your niche?
Allegra Shaw: I think my perspective on fashion has been fairly consistent even as I have grown. I was the originator of the “quick change” videos that focused on making the most out of your wardrobe and putting distinct pieces together for a complete seasonal capsule. Today I still focus on making the most of your wardrobe—not being overly trendy but finding investment pieces that are going to complement everything in your wardrobe for a long time. I think that also translates into my lifestyle and personal well being content which is about making concrete investments in your mental health, personal acceptance and being authentic (and vulnerable), while living an extremely busy life.
How do you define influence? What does it mean to you?
Allegra Shaw: Having the trust of your community of followers.
Do you take issue with being called an ‘influencer?’ If so, why? If not, what do you say to those that do?
Allegra Shaw: I started on this path before the term ‘influencer’ was coined. So I didn’t try to be an influencer, it was a label thrust upon me as my social media content took off and the industry was forming. While I don’t take issue with the term, I think it’s more about the outcome of what you do and not the title. I don’t think you should aspire to be an influencer. At least for me, I aspire to tell stories, share experiences and knowledge and to help people with their fashion, beauty and personal wellbeing by creating fun, interesting and hopefully authentic content. If those stories and experiences resonate and people trust you and follow you, then the outcome is you’re influencing them.
How long did it take to make the jump to full-time influencing? What was your biggest concern about this leap?
Allegra Shaw: I made content for three to four years as a hobby and while still in school. But this was before being a content creator or influencer was even considered a full time job let alone a job at all. It was really the early stages of the industry being formed so when I took the leap to make this a full time gig it was a big risk. Few companies were including influencer marketing in their budgets at the time, let alone having a social media strategy. Marketing firms were just being created to try and catch the social media wave with many of them still relying on old school formulas. My biggest concern was not making enough money to pay my rent.
What kind of skill set do you think is required to be a successful content creator and influencer?
Allegra Shaw: Creativity, perseverance, storytelling, and adaptability.
What have you found is the best way to gain and retain a loyal audience?
Allegra Shaw: I like the term community instead of audience. And that’s how you build loyalty—by having a community. And community is about relationships, knowing the members of your community, interacting with them, commenting, messaging and most importantly listening to them.
What are three underrated tools (apps, tech, equipment) that you use to create, plan, distribute, or monitor your content that you swear by? Why?
Allegra Shaw: My whole life runs off of Google Cal, Apple Notes, and Milanote. I would be nothing without those three.
What is something that most people get wrong when it comes to their social media strategy?
Allegra Shaw: This is a hard question because everyone’s strategy will be different and should be different based on their purpose and long term goals. But what I can say is that what most people get wrong is not having a strategy. This is a business and needs to be run like a business.
How do you handle online criticism and unkind comments?
Allegra Shaw: I don’t shy away from criticism from my community, it’s good to get feedback (as long as it’s constructive). For unkind comments I do two things: One, I state up front that my channel is a place for respectful comments and that rude and unkind comments are not tolerated. It may not stop it all the time but at least it sets the tone. Two, I really focus on mindfulness so that any toxic comments don’t affect me and I don’t take them personally.
What is your “unpopular opinion” about content creation
Allegra Shaw: Probably that you shouldn’t aspire to be an influencer because it’s empty. You need to aspire to another goal and the influencer part will come.
How do you broker deals with brands? With other creators? What is the biggest difference between them?
Allegra Shaw: At this point in my career I have a full management team that brokers all of my brand deals for me!
What is a lesson that brands and businesses can learn from influencers?
Allegra Shaw: I think it’s important for brands to trust that creators know their audiences and want to create content that will bring both the brand and their community value.
Why should influencers be a part of every CMO’s marketing strategy?
Allegra Shaw: Right now, before people buy something they go over to the content creator they trust or a social media platform to see the reviews. Tik Tok is surpassing Google as a search engine so if you want to have a well-rounded marketing strategy you just need to have content creators in there.
What are your biggest professional milestones?
Allegra Shaw: For me, being able to attend the Gucci FW23 show in Milan was a huge milestone. Luxury fashion is an especially tough industry and it was something I had been working toward.
How do you decide whether to start a profile on a new platform?
Allegra Shaw: I usually get on a trending platform right away to secure my username and then play around with it. You can usually tell if a platform is going to catch on or not pretty quickly!
You have started your own clothing brand, Uncle Studios. How did you decide it was time to expand your career as a creator in that way?
Allegra Shaw: I don’t think it was a calculated decision based on where I was in my career. Uncle Studios was something that was in the works for awhile (at least in our heads) with my best friend and my cousin. We all love fashion, design, creativity and storytelling. Uncle is the extension of these loves. I am also lucky to be able to share the brand journey with the community I have been growing.
Your clothing brand is starting to amass quite a social media following. In a way, it has become an influencer with its own related accounts (@nopostonsundays). How does this ladder up to a larger strategy?
Allegra Shaw: Uncle Studios is a community-driven brand, which is why we interact with our community on different platforms and with different accounts that continue to reflect our vibe. No Post on Sundays is an amplification of our Uncle world. A place where our community is exposed to the inspiration that goes into our campaigns and stories. Our goal is to create a sense of family both online and in real life.
When creating your clothing line, to what extent did you keep your audience in mind?
Allegra Shaw: My community has been such a huge support to Uncle Studios, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them. So, of course they are top of mind when we design our collections and create experiences. I’ve also been able to tap into my community for advice when we’ve struggled with a particular design or prototype. My community is diverse but we have a love of style and fashion in common, which means I have a thoughtful and trusted focus group at my fingertips. Also my community has seen me grow up online (it’s been over a decade) as they, themselves, have grown up and are part of the Uncle Studio evolution as well.
What has been your favourite part of building Uncle Studios?
Allegra Shaw: Who I get to build it with! I’m very fortunate to have an incredible team of amazing people at Uncle Studios. We work hard but we have so much fun learning, growing, and building. We’re a young team so experiencing the creative process together—from the development of ideas to the production of the final product (including our mistakes and missteps)—is all part of the journey. A very close second (maybe tied?) would be seeing my community receive and wear Uncle pieces. I feel like a proud mom when someone says how good they feel when they put on something by Uncle.
