The duo created a business called Leaked Labs. The short synopsis is that it is business that brings innovative beauty products to the market, inviting customers to provide their feedback and guide the next leak. Sounds innocent enough, but of course it’s bigger than that.
The TikTok famous duo is called the Lipstick Lesbians. It’s a funny social medial handled for married couple Alex and Christina to use as they review makeup and dive deep into the product development process. They came across my YouTube shorts feed after what I imagine was yet another day spent scrolling way too long. And yet what I found was a welcome informed take on product reviews. They went deeper than “I (don’t) like it” opinions that are rampant. And with that came an opportunity. They built a community that valued their opinion and knowledge. The question is whether they took advantage of that trust.
Controversy surrounding the brand is largely on pricing of the products, which are essentially lab samples. And then on top of that, those who bought tiny products watched as influencers opened PR packages with much product in them.
There are multiple ways I can take my commentary on this. The pricing, the product, the PR, and even the image of the founders. Today, I’ll do this take. Social media makes for a very different business beast.
Just as easily as you can build a community for your brand on the backs of your social media account, those same platforms can tear you down. It is very easy to forget that behind the screen, behind your follower account are people. Those people are watching how you run your business. They are watching how you treat people online. They’re watching how others speak about your brand and products. Social media is not one-way communication. I think the Lipstick Lesbians are learning that in a whole new way, moving from creators to brand founders. It’s going to require going deeper into their understanding of their community, to not just create new engaging videos but beauty products that resonate.
I’m going to be following this Leaked Labs controversy a little more and will hopefully write more on it. Let’s see how this unfolds.
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