Getting to know Laura Jade Stone
Hi BTG Fam! We are back with another amazing interview with the one and only, Laura Jade Stone, fashion and lifestyle instagram influencer with nearly 1M IG followers.
If you head on over to her feed, you will notice Laura is known for her iconic blunt blonde bob, stunning belts and picture perfect style. You will also notice her fifth sense is creativity.
Laura describes herself as hardworking, which is a given considering how far she’s progressed in the social scene. However, there’s much more behind the scenes. If you’re curious to know how Laura made her mark on socials, keep on reading!
When did you first start using social media?
I started using social media, it would have been myspace times and obviously that was not for work or anything but more to connect with friends. After I moved on to Facebook and then I started using Instagram in 2014/2015. Around 2015-2016, I worked at Tony Bianco, which is a shoe store in Australia and I was taking photos of my outfits while at work. We had like a full-length mirror there, so I would always try on all their shoes and post my daily outfits and people sort of started to take a liking to it.
I started to grow quite quickly from it, and keep in mind this is back when there wasn’t many bloggers, so it was much easier to get your foot in the door because it wasn’t oversaturated. As I grew, I started doing more work for their social media, so they would give me shoes to shoot, and then it all kind of escalated from there with other companies contacting me and asking me to shoot content for their social platforms.
After a year of working at Tony Bianco, I quit and went full time. In the first year, I gained 50,000 followers and the following year was 200 to 300,000 followers, so I really hit the ground running and was growing quite quickly once I decided to pursue it full on.
Walk me through the step-by-step process that you went through to get to where you are today. What was the first thing you did? Next?
I never really expected this to turn into a full time job, so I guess I didn’t really take any steps at the start because I was just doing it for fun and I really loved showing my outfits. Also, I’m not a big planner, so I feel like it all just happened, which sounds really cliche but it’s true.
However, I did make sure I was always posting consistently and producing content that was interesting. Flash forward, my partner has been working with me for a full year now, and he shoots all my work. He also deals with all the emails, negotiates the contracts, and he’s really amazing. I also used to work with lots of brands back in the day, and I was still finding my true style, so I was more receptive to accept deals. Nowadays, I am super particular with what I post and ensure I love everything I share online.
How long was it before your social media platforms became profitable? How did you live through those first few months/years? Did you have any struggles?
When I started off, I was working at Tony Bianco as the sales manager, so I didn’t quit my job until I could financially look after myself, so I never really had any struggles. Slowly but surely, I started cutting down my hours to focus more on socials until I left entirely. Everything was super calculated to ensure I’d be successful.
What did you do prior to influencing on social media?
I’ve always wanted to be a part of a job that was related to events, or fashion shows. I don’t think I’d do that now, but maybe I’d be a stylist. I’ve always loved fashion, so if I could be a stylist for one of the big designers, I’d love that.
What are your thoughts on social media? And what do you think is the most commonly misunderstood thing about social media?
It’s a highlight reel and that it’s only our happiest moments. In addition, there’s a lot that goes on behind closed doors that we don’t post. I think people sometimes get lost on social media and compare their lives to other people that are on there and I think we’re all guilty of it.
In terms of the most commonly misunderstood thing about social media, I’d say that people either see it as positive or negative. For example, influencers view social media as their careers. Others may view it solely as a platform that contributes to anxiety or depression.
Tell us something about yourself that your followers don’t know
I’m super messy like really really messy actually.
I am not an organized person at all. I am not structured, and definitely a go with the flow type of person.
What negative assumptions, if any, have been made about you via social media?
Do you know what? I’ve had a pretty good run with negativity. I don’t get much negativity on my page. I do get some messages every now and then that might be not very nice, but nothing that’s stuck with me permanently.
I think mainly because I don’t put enough of my life out there for people to make comments about or attack. I’m also not very opinionated on my social media, and I don’t speak about politics on my platform. Of course I mention things that I might be passionate about every now and then but I don’t think it’s enough for people to grab on.
Of all the gifted packages you receive as an influencer, which product/item excites you the most? What would be your dream brand to collab with?
So I actually don’t really get that many packages anymore. Back in the day, when I first started I was getting a lot but it was just too much stuff and we are really trying to cut back on things and live a bit more minimally, especially for the environment. However, since I always receive clothing since i am mainly fashion focused, I do love receiving makeup, especially Charlotte Tilbury.
For my dream brand, I’d love to work with Prada.
Who are the three most influential people in your life, and why?
My grandma because she is probably the kindest person on this planet in my eyes and she had her own brand and store back in the day and she sewed all of our family’s wedding dresses. She’s so talented and I think that is where my love of fashion creativity is from.
My mum as well because she was always my style icon when I was young. I used to love her clothes a lot and she’s an interior designer, so she’s always been amazing with color coordinating, and I look up to her.
My boyfriend for taking all of my photos, and being my support system. He’s so kind and has an amazing personality – everybody who meets him, loves him!
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to an aspiring influencer if you only had a few minutes to give them your best tip?
Create content that you love, not what you think is trending. And find your own style. Meaning find things you love, and clothing that looks good on you vs. what the latest trends are on social media. People love you for what you’re wearing and what you’re doing and they aren’t coming to your page to see the latest trends, and if they do, it will look the exact same as everyone else’s page.
So my biggest tip is to keep to your own look and vibe. You will go much farther this way.
To follow along with Laura’s journey, click here.
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