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FORM Founder Sami Clarke's 5 Tips for Standing Out on TikTok

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With more than a billion active users worldwide, TikTok is far more than just a popular app for viral dance routines and comedic clips. The video-sharing platform is also utilized as a strategic marketing tool for businesses to boost success (and nearly five million are using the app for just that). 

Companies often utilize TikTok to increase brand awareness on a rapid scale, build and engage with online communities (i.e. potential customers), promote products or services, develop partnerships, and assess competitors within their respective markets. It’s also a chance to get creative with video clips and establish more connectivity between brands and consumers. 

But with millions of users saturating the TikTok world, how do brands or businesses stand out among the rest? While there may not be a concrete formula for viral success, Sami Clarke—influencer and founder of the digital wellness platform FORM—seems to have it all figured out. 

Together with her business partner and co-founder Sami Bernstein Spalter, the 29-year-old fitness instructor has built a cult following for her motivational workout videos, lifestyle inspo, and self-love approach. Millions of users tune in to her TikTok account for all things wellness, as well as community and connection. This July, the company also launched its new activewear line, the promo for which garnered over 30,000 plays on TikTok.

"All of our teasers have just gone out on socials and the amount of engagement and interaction and excitement behind what we’re doing just shows that we’re not going to need to market outside of just talking to our people," says Bernstein Spalter on the latest episode of WorkParty.

Clarke’s presence on social media has undoubtedly played a role in the success of the brand. Here, she shares five key tips for those looking to stand out on TikTok.

1. Always focus on the content that you want to create. There are so many different people doing workouts, of course, and every space is saturated, but what makes it different is YOU. 

2. Don’t jump on all the trends, but follow the ones that actually do feel exciting and enticing for you. 

3. Think about what content you like to consume. I was very resistant about doing ‘get ready with me’ videos because everyone was doing them, but [those were the kinds of videos I enjoyed] watching. The moment I started doing them within the realm of wellness and talking to camera, my videos were blowing up. 

4. Think about what content your community is craving. You’ll know what people want from you because it’ll get the most attraction.

5. Always stay true to yourself—I know that’s so cliche to say, but it really is so true. 

Tune into WorkParty with Jaclyn Johnson for more on how Sami Clarke and Sami Bernstein Spalter propelled FORM to success in just two years—plus tips on navigating friendship and business partnership.

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Female-Led Women's Health Apps Are Leading the Way in Data Privacy

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This June marks the one year anniversary of the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, effectively ending a woman’s constitutional right to abortion in the United States. In its aftermath, a resounding alarm echoed throughout the tech world and among health app users over data privacy and protection. The growing concern is that prosecutors in states with abortion bans (now 14 states) could subpoena data, such as location, search history, and personal health information, to criminalize individuals in abortion-related cases. 

The allure of logging health details into an app is simple: ease, function, the ability to take control of your health, and informative feedback/insights at the touch of your fingertips. But unlike traditional medical records, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) does not protect this data as it is intended for personal use. With no federal legislation in place, it’s up to tech companies themselves (or individual states) to ensure data privacy and protection for consumers. 

Ever since the Supreme Court draft decision was leaked in May of 2022, women’s health apps, namely period-tracking apps, have been catapulted to the forefront of debate over ethics, data privacy, and protection. Thousands on Twitter called for the deletion of period-tracking apps altogether. The explosive divide and demand for change highlighted a growing mistrust among users and tech companies.

To fully grasp the gravity of the implications is to understand how many women nationwide rely on these programs. Nearly a third of women in the United States have used a period-tracking app, according to a 2019 survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation. One of the most popular apps alone, Flo, has over 240 million downloads and 50 million active users per month. 

Users have increasingly relied on health apps and consented to inputting personal data, but it wasn't until the fallout of Roe v. Wade, that people truly understood the downstream impact of tech without data privacy at the forefront. If they weren't aware before, they certainly are now.

“People are paying attention to the broken systems around our data and how it’s protected,” says Tazin Khan, longtime cyber security specialist and founder of Cyber Collective, a community driven research organization educating individuals on technology, security, and privacy online. “It has ignited the advocates, the ethicists, and the people that care to be fast and move hard to make sure that protection is in place.”

Khan describes data privacy and data protection as two-fold: “Privacy regulation is essentially around the compliance of businesses and how they are maintaining data and hygiene and the way that they’re collecting, storing, and redistributing data,” she says. “It is not about consumer data protection. Consumer data protection is very different, right? Do I have the right to delete? Do I have the right to access my data? Do I have the right to opt out of being opted into something?”

While the overturn of Roe v. Wade has certainly highlighted significant needs for improvement in both categories, it has also brought attention to what some companies are doing right.

Female-led women's health apps putting data privacy first

For Berlin-based period-and-ovulation tracking app Clue, data privacy was always a part of the company’s ethos. Founded and led by women, the Berlin-based app is protected by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), one of the strictest data privacy and protection laws in the world. While it covers various aspects of data protection, including websites, it also includes provisions that protect personal data privacy on apps, from consent requirements, to transparency, to user rights, data security, and more.

In light of growing concerns from American users, the app’s co-CEOs, Carrie Walter and Audrey Tsang, released a statement to its community of 11 million active users stating that private health data will never be shared, including to authorities. “Your personally identifiable health data regarding pregnancies, pregnancy loss or abortion, is kept private and safe. We don’t sell it, we don’t share it for anyone else’s use, we won’t disclose it,” says the release. The GDPR establishes protections over personal data and holds organizations accountable with severe penalties for breaching these protections with fines up to tens of millions of euros.

With the advent of the Dobbs decision, privacy advocates and legislators have been working to impose similar federal protections in the U.S. On the state level, select states have introduced comprehensive data privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which grants users more control over the personal data that businesses can collect. Several tech companies in the U.S. have amended their data privacy and protections, largely in response to the demand of consumers, and users have been receptive to these changes.

Also governed by the GDPR is Natural Cycles, the first FDA-cleared birth control app in the U.S., which measures fertility through body temperature. The company is headquartered in Sweden with operations in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. Unlike other apps on the market, the company has integrated a subscription-based model, so selling data to third parties was never a part of their revenue stream. (For many companies, it’s common practice to purchase data from third parties for advertising purposes or to gather information about consumer behavior.) 

“We always cared about data privacy and data protection,” says CEO and co-founder Elina Berglund. “But after the Dobbs decision, we felt like we had to take it one step further.” 

Natural Cycles recently developed its NC° Secure program, an advanced data protection program that includes encryption and pseudonymization (a data management system where identifiable information fields are replaced with a pseudonym). Additionally, the company is rolling out a ‘Go Anonymous’ mode. “We’re separating the personal identifiable information from the census related to your health or fertility, such that not even we at Natural Cycles can know which user has sensitive data,” says Berglund. “If one day, we get subpoenaed, we ourselves cannot hand out any information on a user because we don’t know who they are.”  

The only way to link personal identifiable data (such as name, etc.) from sensitive data (such as period data) is through the user’s own key. So while the anonymous user will be able to get the same personalized insights, including fertility status, within the NC° app, there will be some limitations when it comes to getting personal reminders and help outside the app that require both sensitive and personal data (such as email communication, customer support help, account recovery, etc.). Before a user enters Go Anonymous, the app walks them through these limitations and lets them decide if they want to choose that mode or not.

Taking a broader approach to period tracking is Stardust, a free, astronomy-focused app that provides insights on users’ cycle, horoscope, and mood. Owned and operated by women, the company leads a privacy first model (as stated on its Instagram bio) and has been vocal about user protection and transparency in a post-Roe world.  

“Given the current political climate, we have taken rigorous measures to protect users, especially those in states where abortion is being criminalized,” reads Stardust’s privacy policy. “We believe all period trackers should stringently protect the privacy of users—and be transparent about exactly how they do so.”

Stardust’s policy page maps out exactly what data is collected, how it is being used, and addresses burning questions, such as what happens if law enforcement subpoenas information (in this case, the app will not share period data because it is not connected to user’s login information) and how you can delete your data in the app. 

For other apps, such as Drip, privacy is integrated into the fertility app design itself. When the app was created in Berlin in 2017, developer Marie Koschiek wanted to create a safe and trustworthy product that was non-commercial, free, and gender-neutral, using scientific methods for fertility awareness, as well as being secure and open source—meaning the app is maintained and developed through open collaboration. No data is collected and information is stored locally on the user’s device rather than in the cloud. Additionally, the app does not allow any third-party tracking.

“On the day that Roe vs. Wade was overturned, we saw a significant increase in downloads and users from the U.S.,” says Koschiek of the app, which is run by a collective. “We also had people from the U.S. contact us directly to offer help and support for developing Drip.”

It’s no surprise that those looking for low-risk assessment would download an app like Drip. However, the reality is that the zero data collection/locally stored app design is a rarity. In a world where technology plays such a pivotal role in our daily lives, how can we better educate ourselves as users before putting personal health information into an app?

Red flags to look out for, from a cyber security expert

It’s no question that consumers share concerns over confidentiality and lack of security over personal health information. More than 92 percent of people believe privacy is a right and their health data should not be available for purchase by corporations or other individuals, according to a survey of 1,000 patients across the U.S. conducted by the American Medical Association.

When it comes to downloading an app, for health purposes or otherwise, education is the best tool in navigating the tech landscape and determining what apps are more secure. Here, Khan of Cyber Collective breaks down three red flags to look out for before inputting personal information.

1. You don’t get access to the tool unless you share private information

If you can’t sign up for a service without providing your name, email, and address, it’s likely a red flag. Ask yourself, what are they doing with this information and why is it being collected?

2. Terms and conditions are in ‘legalese’

Is the language overly complex and difficult to understand? Does the app ask you to hit accept without prompting you to read through the terms and conditions first? The best privacy policies are written in simple, concise language that answers your questions, as opposed to prompting more. 

3. The app starts asking for access to things that it doesn’t need in order to function

It’s important to think critically about the function of the app and why it is being downloaded. For example, if you download a flashlight app and it starts asking for access to your photos or mic, it’s important to question why. If the answer doesn’t seem right, it’s a sign to delete the app. 

For Khan, education goes both ways— “If you have the propensity and the time, let whatever entity know that you wanted to download the app, but you don’t feel comfortable using it because you saw these red flags,” she says. “Share how you are feeling because tech companies don’t hear enough from us.”

While these women's health apps are taking significant measures to secure and update their data privacy policies and protections, it is important to educate yourself as a consumer in terms of what information you’re sharing and with whom. As technology continues to evolve and play an integral role in our daily lives, it is crucial to have awareness of the function of the apps you’re using, why data is being collected, where it’s being stored, and your rights as a user in the process. 

“If we want real change, we have to lean into curiosity,” says Khan. “We have to ask questions and we have to be informed.” For more information on data privacy and tracking legislation in the U.S., Khan recommends visiting the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

—Written by Danielle Torres

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Mara Founder Allison McNamara on Must-Have Digital Tools for Day-to-Day Business Operations

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After nearly a decade of TV hosting with stints on The Today Show, the Oscars red carpet for ABC, and the entertainment show Popsugar Now, Los Angeles-based Allison McNamara knows how to tell a story. Her experience informs the content behind her lauded skin-care brand, Mara, launched in 2018. But when it came to the intricacies of running a business, she admits there was much to learn. To fill in those gaps and optimize her business operations, she turned to digital tools and resources. 

The financial arm of her business runs through NetSuite, an integrated, cloud-based business software that offers enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications (a software system that helps automate and manage day-to-day business operations) such as financial management, accounting, inventory management, and procurement. Eighty-four percent of companies in the Forbes Cloud 100 List are NetSuite customers, according to the platform.

“We’ve really streamlined our accounting,” says McNamara on the latest episode of WorkParty. “NetSuite is our cloud-based paper trail. I really use that as the holy grail of our business.” 

She even hired a coach and spent over 100 hours educating herself on the platform. “You have to be open to learning…like basic accounting books or taking the time to listen to a podcast— something that you wouldn’t normally listen to that is kind of an expert in that field,” says McNamara, who bootstrapped her brand of algae-infused products. (The line is now sold at Sephora and received the celebrity stamp of approval from the likes of Chrissy Teigen, Hailey Beiber, and Olivia Munn.) 

As for internal communication, her company uses Slack, an instant messaging program designed to streamline comms and promote team collaboration in an organized, fast, and secure way. Nearly 80 percent of Fortune 100 companies rely on Slack to build their digital HQ, according to the platform. 

“I’m a big quick communicator, so I prefer Slack like texts,” she says. “Get it to me as fast as possible, but just don’t call me, "she adds while laughing.

Even though McNamara is busy running the business, she’s still very much involved in content. “My biggest strengths come from training in media because I’m really good at telling stories quickly,” she says. “I still do all of our copywriting because I enjoy it.”

For all things content, she relies on Google’s G Suite. "That's how we worked when I was an editor," she says. "We made our [Google] Calendars and [Google] Sheets. I work religiously in Docs." 

Over six million companies pay to use G Suite, according to 2020 reports (latest count), up from five million in 2019. The productivity software includes a digital calendar, cloud spreadsheets, presentations, cloud storage for documents, and a video conferencing feature. 

“There’s a tool for everything,” says McNamara.

For more on how she bootstrapped her business and made it to Sephora, as well as candid conversations on her best and worst days as an entrepreneur, tune into the latest episode of WorkParty with Jaclyn Johnson.

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How 3 Trainers Leverage Technology To Expand Reach and Deepen Connections With Clients

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Digital fitness has changed how we stay healthy—from how we get our heart rates up when we exercise to how we slow them down as we catch some ZZZs. In addition to making things easier for customers, this pivot from fitness belonging solely in posh city studios to literally anywhere there’s Wi-Fi reception has helped trainers and entrepreneurs expand their reach and find new ways to interact with their clients.

“By keeping training virtual, people still get the same workout they would in person,” says founder and fitness trainer Allegra Paris. “With lower price points, I’ve been able to reach more people and make fitness more attainable to someone like the mom who just had a baby and can’t get to a class.” 

This expansion of reach has created a big boom in the fitness industry. Market segment projections estimate that digital fitness will reach $19.30 billion in 2023, according to Statista, and revenue is estimated to grow another 6.49 percent by 2027. Prior to 2020, the market was just hitting $11 billion and, in just three years, has nearly doubled its massive reach. 

How are trainers capitalizing on the technology at hand to prioritize their clients and have their fitness content go further? We talked to three trainers to find out just that—keep scrolling for their insights.

Allegra Paris

Armed with a business degree, Paris decided that she could combine her education with her interests to become a fitness instructor. She was on the fly from New York to Miami to Los Angeles to train her clients, but when COVID-19 hit, she took her personal training virtual and scaled her business up. “Going virtual gave me my physical health back,” Paris says. “I was running around New York City, going from client to client, trying to fit everyone in. Now, I am able to get workouts to more people and virtual training allows me to have a lower price point for everyone.”

Today, clients can do her beloved sculpting workouts and track their progress via her app. Still, Paris is excited to see the fitness tech industry continue to evolve and access new, cutting-edge features that can help her better track each client, like the ZOZOFIT 3D body scan app – used with the wearable ZOZOSUIT. “Previously, it might take a few months to really get to know a client and their needs, but new tech options like ZOZOFIT are changing the game,” she says. 

Tracking minute progress from the get-go can boost motivation and accountability early on and change the client’s mindset of what progress is, while showing Allegra real change in increments as small as ¼ inch. 

“This makes my job more efficient and productive as I am truly able to make sure my clients are progressing and seeing results,” Allegra says. 

Both the client and Allegra will also simultaneously utilize the hands-on app that features a precise 3D body scan for each user in less than two minutes, producing ten key body measurements. This eliminates both the human error of measuring and inaccurate scales, and allows clients to visualize goals in a new way. 

“I’ll be able to get information about my clients body fat and measurements that I might not have been able to accurately get before,” Allegra says. “This makes my job more efficient and productive as I am truly able to make sure my clients are progressing and seeing results.” 

Not to mention, the feeling both she and her clients will get from seeing those measurements change even if training remotely. Allegra says she is excited to accurately obtain this information, track it with each training, and be able to guarantee they'll see progress and results. The hyper-focused details make troubleshooting problem areas easier, leading to results from a motivated client. Starting a client in the suit from the get-go, she explains, is opening up a whole new chapter. 

“I am excited to start out a new client wearing the suit,” Paris says. “Now, I have to take a few months to fully get to know each client and fully understand them. Having this at the introductory is really cool.” 

While she grows her business and community, she will continue adding new and innovative ways to stay connected. “ I think everyone should have equal access to training,” she says.

Cleopatra Lee

Cleopatra Lee, trainer and founder of Cleopatra’s Army, is reshaping health and wellness for women of color. “What pushed me to create Cleopatra’s Army was growing up in Harlem, I noticed a lack of wellness initiatives,” she says. “There needed to be more well-rounded opportunities for people of color and especially women to focus on their own health. That is what really pushed me to start Cleopatra’s Army.” 

Lee found her footing in high school, posting her track outfits, and she extended this reach post-grad to further fitness. “If I can platform myself looking cute, I can use that attention and shift that focus to health and wellness.” Today, Lee says what motivates her is the community she has created. “It’s what keeps me going,” she says. “I get to spend a lot of time around a lot of different women with a common goal, and helping them reach their health and wellness goals motivates me.”

Her community is anchored in connection. They utilize accountability chats, the website forum, and even an Instagram chat to keep each other focused on their well-being. “Following up and checking on people is one of the most important parts of the business,” she says. “It lets them know you are there.” 

She plans to utilize the ZOZOFIT to take that interactive feature and connection to the next level.  “You can track even the body fat percentage along with the measurements,” she says, which helps her clients stay in tune with their goals. “​​Having access to the ZOZOFIT gives my clients direct access to monitor themselves without a Cleopatra’s Army trainer being present.”

Cleopatra’s Army is rooted in providing wellness opportunities for minority groups, and while the tech industry continues to evolve, high price tags can price some clients out. ZOZOFIT, however, democratizes fitness in new ways by offering precise, high-tech tools for under $100, a piece that aligns with Cleopatra’s values and with her training approach. 

“Cleopatra’s Army is dedicated to making wellness more accessible to minority groups, and accessibility requires affordability,” she says. “ZOZOFIT being well priced creates opportunities for more people to benefit from this new fitness/technology crossover.” 

Beyond the price point, the tech can also be utilized by anyone who has a phone, bringing fitness and training to their fingertips.“Our ‘Army Bratz’ will have access to new tech that can help them picture their fitness goals and share their progress,” Cleopatra says. And not to mention, the ZOZOFIT app comes with a free subscription and unlimited scans. As new fitness technology like ZOZOFIT and more help her provide new ways to reach her growing army, this is just the beginning. 

From apparel and workouts to forums and events, Lee and her army are changing the fitness industry. 

Sami Clarke

Sami Clarke, trainer and creator of FORM, an online digital fitness platform, describes her training style as relatable and tangible for those on the go. “When I moved to LA, I started playing with different workouts and finding my routine and my groove,” she says. “As I started to travel and talk to other women, we connected on finding the enjoyment of moving our bodies  and it not being a chore.” 

In 2016 when Instagram added the Stories feature to the platform, Clarke saw an opportunity to share insights into this movement-as-pleasure model. “I realized this was my time to share what I am passionate about, and I was passionate about really taking care of myself,” she says. She began by sharing her workouts, what she was eating, and what her day looked like—and it resonated with her followers. From there, she began curating 30-minute workouts for free on Instagram Live and YouTube.

As the pandemic sent everyone looking for ways to stay active while remaining apart, Clarke had a greater realization. She founded FORM after seeing the ease with which anyone could participate, modify, and use her workouts. “It is an inviting welcoming workout that is 30 minutes,” Clarke explains of the hybrid HIIT and Pilates workout. 

Looking ahead, Clarke is excited to continue to expand FORM. The brand just launched nutrition on its site and Clarke is continuing to look for ways to use technology to deepen her connection with her clients on the app and in forums. “I feel like the tech is allowing us to communicate with our audience and not feel far away,” she says. In the meantime, she is just excited to see how small actions can have huge impacts on the FORM community. 

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How the Beauty Industry is Using Blockchain to Tackle Transparency Issues and Drive Loyalty

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When you hear the term “blockchain,” it’s unlikely that the next words that come to your mind are “lipstick,” “cleanser,” or even something as broad as “cosmetics.”  

Because the beauty industry is fueled mostly by females and the cryptocurrency scene is primarily dominated by a male audience—women make up only 15 percent of Bitcoin traders, according to investment platform eToro—it’s no surprise that blockchain isn’t commonly associated with cosmetics and personal care products.

But blockchains infiltrating the beauty industry would be quite the lucrative move, since the global cosmetics market is projected to reach $758.4 billion by 2025—with male beauty alone set to reach $276.9 billion by 2030.

What do beauty brands stand to gain from using blockchain platforms? Aside from adopting cutting-edge technology to keep up with an ever-evolving innovation landscape, one of the biggests answers is something that the beauty industry has been historically lacking: full transparency. 

Blockchain could help the beauty industry meet consumer demand for supply chain transparency 

We’re seeing a rising number of digitally savvy consumers who are growing increasingly conscious of what exactly they are consuming and demanding more clarity from the beauty industry. A global study done by the Fashion Institute of Technology found that 42 percent of shoppers do not feel companies inform them enough regarding the safety of ingredients while 72 percent would like brands to explain what the ingredients in their products actually do. And more than 60 percent want brands to identify sources for ingredients.

As a decentralized method of storing and transmitting data that individuals or companies can access globally in real time, blockchain allows brands to show consumers exactly what they want to know about the products they are buying. For example, when a brand has a product claim like “100 percent natural,” “cruelty-free,” “organic,” “clinically trialed,” or “sustainably sourced”—each one can be stored on a decentralized ledger—that cannot be tampered with or falsified—to provide a consumer with its dated accreditation or certification to justify the claim. 

This is exactly how Cult Beauty, a global online cosmetics retailer headquartered in London, began using blockchain—they worked with Provenance, a software developer specializing in designing applications to provide supply chain transparency, to install over 1,500 of what they call “proof points” across 60 of their different brands.

In 2021, European luxury brands LVMH, Prada, and Richemont announced a partnership with The Aura Blockchain Consortium. According to LVMH’s press release: “This unprecedented collaboration between competitors represents a single, innovative solution to shared challenges of communicating information on authenticity, responsible sourcing, and sustainability in a secure, digital format. The objective is to provide consumers with a high level of transparency and traceability throughout the lifecycle of a product.”

While supply chain transparency is one of the most important and needed benefits, it is only a small piece of how we are seeing brands begin to embrace blockchain in the beauty industry’s bigger picture. 

Using blockchain to centralize and elevate the customer loyalty experience

A strategic, compelling loyalty rewards program can elevate the customer experience but one that comes with low client redemption rates, time delays, and high costs can break a brand. 

By centralizing a customer’s loyalty program, blockchain can modernize and elevate the structure a few different ways: 

  • Reducing system management costs with smart contracts that report secure, tracked, transparent transactions guaranteed by cryptography. 

  • Enabling a transaction to be recorded and accessed by multiple involved parties in near real time, helping the provider credit points faster.

  • Creating an immutable and time-stamped distributed database entry of every single transaction ever made, making each transaction and its record easily traceable, but also rendering them irreversible to preventing double spending, fraud, abuse, and any other type of manipulation of the transactions.

Em Cosmetics, founded by Youtube beauty guru Michelle Phan, turned to blockchain solutions to offer its customers more flexible loyalty initiatives. Partnering with Lolli, a cryptocurrency rewards company, they offer up to a 4.5 percent portion of Bitcoin to any customer who downloads Lolli’s web extension and shops with Em Cosmetics. So instead of the usual cashback, customers on Em Cosmetics receive Bitcoin back.  

NFTs and ‘Crypto Comsetics’ could be the future of brand relationship building

In the world of beauty, brands are constantly looking for fresh and exciting ways to extrapolate their DNA. Good branding not only sets a brand apart from its competitors, but it also allows a company to build relationships with its audiences, eventually turning them into loyal customers. 

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are electronic tokens that have been recorded onto a blockchain ledger (meaning it can be verified as the original of that specific file) and represent the unique and genuine possession of a digital or real asset or concept.  They are completely unique digital assets that can be auctioned on and traded in cryptocurrency marketplaces. 

The art and fashion world were some of the first industries outside the crypto-universe that began using NFTs to create unique pieces for their consumers that would offer digitally preserved right of ownership—resulting in a buyer’s sense of exclusivity and ability to feel like they own a little piece of the brand the love.  

The beauty industry isn’t too far behind now as we start to see some cult brands offering NFTs:  

  • Clinique created three editions of their first NFT, called “MetaOptimist” in October 2021. Instead of selling them, each year over the next decade the brand is giving its Smart Rewards members the chance to receive the NFT and a selection of products. To enter for a chance of winning, they are asking customers to share their stories of optimism and hopes for the future. 

The lines between metaverse and real life are becoming as blurred and smudged as leftover lipstick after a Friday night out. It was only a matter of time until technology like blockchain began to fuse with beauty—which can be confusing given the tangible nature of cosmetics. But considering the bold benefits and all the ways it’s already begun to revolutionize the beauty industry, it seems that the mutually beneficial relationship between the two has a future. 

And considering that blockchain offers the beauty industry an opportunity to become more digitized and interactive—one that actually aligns with the values that consumers are beginning to demand most, authenticity and transparency—it’s a future that looks bright.

Written by Kate Dillen

Everything You Need To Know About the TikTok Bans—And What They Mean for Your Social Media Strategy

While it may appear to be business as usual on your TikTok feed (you know: line dancing, salad dressing hacks, bunnies sleeping on panda bears, and the like), a lot is going on behind the scenes. The app, which is owned by ByteDance (a China-based social platform-focused tech company founded in 2012), has been under fire for its privacy settings since 2019, when it was fined is fined $5.7 million for child data privacy violations. In the years since then, various branches of the United States government have attempted to ban the app (including the military and President Donald Trump). And in 2023, those efforts continue.

The "why" behind TikTok bans

Many U.S. government agencies have discussed nationwide bans on TikTok, citing security and privacy concerns. Here's why: ByteDance, which, remember, is the parent company of TikTok has had a history of lawsuits over privacy issues. For example, earlier this year, Buzzfeed News reported that ByteDance employees were accessing non-public data for TikTok users—including phone numbers and birthdays.

This event is part of a larger concern that China's national security laws may require companies like ByteDance to supply personal and proprietary data to the government on demand, reports NPR. (However, it's worth noting that TikTok claims this data stays within the U.S.)

This growing concern for data privacy has led Republican lawmakers to introduce a bill that would ban the app nationwide. FBI director Christopher Wray has also expressed his concerns surrounding the app. "They include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so chose, or to control software on millions of devices, which gives it an opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices," he said last month.

Now, as the year comes to a close, seven states have issued bans of TikTok on state-provided devices. Below, you'll find the TL;DR on who is now pursuing TikTok lawsuits and bans. Plus, what all this TikTok drama really means for your business's social media strategy.

Efforts to ban TikTok by state

Alabama

In Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey has prohibited the use of TikTok on all state IT infrastructure as of December 12. “Protecting the state of Alabama and our citizens’ right to privacy is a must, and I surely don’t take a security threat from China lightly,” Governor Ivey said in a statement. “After we discussed this with our OIT secretary, I came to the no brainer decision to ban the use of the TikTok app on our state devices and network. Look, I’m no TikTok user, but the evidence speaks for itself, and I want to make sure I’m doing everything we can as a state to stand against this growing security risk.”

Maryland

On December 7, Maryland banned the use of TikTok and certain China and Russia-based platforms in the state's executive branch of government, an effort led by Governor Larry Hogan.

Nebraska

The first statewide ban of TikTok on all State electronic devices was announced by Governor Pete Ricketts on August 12.

South Carolina

"Protecting our State’s critical cyber infrastructure from foreign and domestic threats is key to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of our citizens and businesses," Governor Henry McMaster wrote in a letter to South Carolina Department of Administration Executive Director Marcia Adams (released December 5). "Federal law enforcement and national security officials have warned that TikTok poses a clear and present danger to its users and a growing bi-partisan coalition in Congress is pushing to ban access to TikTok in the United States."

South Dakota

South Dakota announced that TikTok will no longer be accessed on state-owned or state-leased devices.

Texas

Governor Greg Abbott banned TikTok on government-issued cell phones and computers, stating that TikTok "harvests" data from its users' devices.

Utah

Utah Governor Spencer Cox also banned the use of TikTok on state-owned technological devices on December 12.

How concerned you should be about TikTok bans right now, according to a social media expert

So, what does all this mean for your business? According to Ashley Rector, Founder of Laura Alexandria Marketing, an organic and paid social media marketing company, this news should encourage you to keep a close eye on TikTok and consider how it fits into your overall brand strategy. "Several states have already banned Tiktok on a state level for government devices, which only gives more credibility to the legislation that was just introduced to ban Tiktok in the U.S. as a whole," she explains.

She adds that taking a broader view of this news and looking beyond TikTok itself may also be useful. "Data privacy is extremely important," says Rector. "It won't be the last of new laws and regulations coming out that will hinder social media apps and advertising, so connecting with audiences in an organic way is important." In other words: As a founder, it's crucial to keep close tabs on privacy and data news so that you can pivot when necessary and remain agile in your marketing efforts.

6 tips for TikTok proofing your marketing plan

1. Diversify your content channels 

"Utilize Tiktok up until the final nail in the coffin, however, make sure you are also prioritizing content on other video-heavy channels like Youtube and Instagram," says Rector. "Youtube Shorts is an excellent way to start testing out Youtube if you are currently not on the platform." She adds that Instagram is also a solid option since Meta has proven it has staying power.

2. Let go of TikTok perfectionism

While you should still have a "business as usual" mindset about TikTok, Rector recommends taking shortcuts on the app. That way, you can lend that time to other platforms. "Less polished content is key right now, so stop spending so much time creating the perfect video and let it be a little rough around the edges," she says.

3. Have fun with new social media platforms and releases 

"Every social channel copies what the other is doing, so instead of resisting what is coming, lean in and make it your own," says Rector. Give Youtube Shorts a try or experiment with BeReal. Why not?

4. Look at who your customers/clients are—and allow that information to inform your social media strategy

If you don't know who your people are yet, now's the time to really get to know them, says Rector. "Get really clear about who your target consumer is. What is their age? Where do they live? What do they like? Each social platform has a strong base of a certain demo, so start there," she says. Once you've gathered this information, you can make strategic decisions about which non-TikTok platforms deserve your brain space.

5. Tell your TikTok followers to check you out on other channels

"Make sure you leverage Tiktok now," says Rector. "Tell users that they should follow you on other channels. We did that for one of our clients and saw a big increase in followers on the other social channel we directed them to."

6. Always focus on what you can control 

Here's the not-great news: At the end of the day, no social media app is 100 percent reliable. "It is extremely important to use social media to funnel into your other marketing efforts," says Rector. "So think about where you can lead people on your channels. Is it an email list, your website, where is it?" Sending your community to places you control is critical—and, right now, TikTok ain't it.

This is a developing story.

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5 Steps To Successfully Launch an Online Course, From a Multi-Million Dollar Course Creator

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The first time I ever made money from one of my online courses, I was standing in line at the grocery store. 

*Ding* 

My phone buzzed. It was a notification that I had just made $3,400… while grocery shopping!

In the following week, I made over $18,000 from selling my first online course. As a service-based business owner, I realized I could generate more revenue in one week selling an online course than I could in a few months of trading my time for money with one-to-one services. 

To date, my company, Bucketlist Bombshells, has generated over $5 million dollars of revenue from our online courses that have taught 10,000 women worldwide how to successfully start and grow an online business from scratch. One of the things that I always tell our members inside our monthly business-growth membership that teaches women how to grow their business to 6-figures is that the key to scaling your business is to stop trading your individual time for money.

Maybe you currently have a service-based business, and you’re maxing out on the number of hours you have to serve your clients. Instead of offering your services one-on-one, you’re curious about packaging your expertise into an online course to sell one-to-many. Plus, by offering an online course, you can maximize your business’ reach, mission, and impact.

But what does it really take to successfully launch your own online course? Here are five steps you can take to successfully launch your own online course and add a significant revenue stream to your business.

1. Choose your online course niche

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the first step is to decide on your online course topic or “niche.” Some ideas to get you started on choosing your online course topic are to brainstorm: 

  • What expertise do your customers currently come to you for? 

  • What are the top questions you’re constantly asked? 

  • What topics are you an expert in?

  • What results are you excellent at getting people?

Your online course niche doesn’t necessarily need to reinvent the wheel. There may be plenty of online courses on your exact topic. However, your students may choose your course because of your past experience, teaching style, or your unique way of doing something. 

For example: If you’re a book illustrator, you may want to create an online course that teaches others how to become a book illustrator using your years of experience and your unique creative methods.

2. Build a community of potential students

Now that you’ve decided on your online course niche, it’s time to begin building a community of potential students. 

There are many different platforms to host a free community. One of the easiest and arguably most accessible is by simply starting a free Facebook group around your topic. 

Not only will your Facebook community be an amazing source of future customers as it grows, it will also provide invaluable insights to your target audience. Pay attention to the struggles that your community members have around your topic. What questions are they constantly asking? Maybe even run a poll to gather their feedback as you start building your course.

Quick tip: Gather email addresses when members request to join your group to start building your email list, too. When it’s time to launch your online course, you’ll have an entire group of potential customers to sell to!

3. Create a waitlist page

Don’t wait until your online course is created to begin marketing it!

By creating a simple waitlist page, you can begin to gather leads for your new online course. If you already have a business website, I recommend adding a link to “Get on the waitlist!” for your new online course coming soon. 

As you execute other marketing strategies in your business (like blogging, guest podcasting, creating YouTube videos, etc.), you should always link to your waitlist page to continue building your list of future students.

4. Create your course content

Now for the extra fun part: actually creating your course content! 

In a nutshell, all you need is a microphone and a computer to create your course content. 

One of my favorite brainstorming techniques for creating a new course is what we like to call “The Sticky Note Method.” Using sticky notes, write down all of the concepts you’d like to teach in your course. Next, group similar concepts together to define your course “modules.” Think of your modules like chapters in a book!

While there’s no “perfect” amount of content you should have, keep in mind two important things I’ve learned the hard way:

  • Stick with bite-sized videos, as people tend to have a short attention span.

  • Avoid overwhelming your students with too much content. 

For a very user-friendly and all-in-one platform to create and host your online course, I recommend using Teachable.

5. Launch your online course

It’s time to launch your online course! 

Using the leads from your waitlist page and the members of your Facebook community, it’s time to execute what online course creators like to call “a launch.” 

Your online course launch should have:

  • A sales page

  • A deadline to enroll

  • An exciting and special sales offer (i.e., a discount, bonuses, etc.)

This is officially your time to strongly market and sell your online course to your community. Remember to focus on the results your online course will help someone achieve rather than focusing solely on the digital product itself. How will your online course add value to their lives? What pain points will it help someone avoid or breakthrough? What goals will it help them to achieve?

By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to successfully launching your own online course, too.

About Shay Brown

Shay Brown is the COO and co-founder of the Bucketlist Bombshells, an online community that equips women with the confidence, skills, and business foundation to start and grow a thriving service-based online business. She’s been featured on Forbes and CNBC for teaching over 10,000 students around the world to successfully launch their own businesses. If you’re ready to grow your business to 6-figures, learn more about their monthly business growth membership here or tune into their top-rated Freedom Filled Life Podcast™.

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Daria Shapovalova on How Digital Clothing Can Disrupt the Fashion Industry

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Imagine a closet filled with clothing that automatically fits your body, always looks good in photos, and is sustainably and ethically made. That’s what virtual fashion is designed to do: Blur the lines between fantasy and reality by creating digital garments to be worn by your online avatars using 3D technology or edited onto images of your body using augmented reality. 

While the concept of selling virtual clothing is still relatively new, it’s not totally foreign. In May 2019, the world’s first piece of ‘digital couture’, an iridescent, translucent one-piece designed by Amber Jae Slooton, was sold at a New York charity auction for $9,500. 

And 2023 CC100 honoree Dara Shapovalova, co-founder of DressX, the first multi-brand digital fashion retailer, predicts that in the future, every fashion brand will offer a digital collection regardless of style or price point—similarly to how high-fashion luxury brands branched out to offer perfumes or accessories when the industry saw a rise in those categories. 

DressX was created as a “metacloset” for consumers and brands to easily access the Metaverse. Launched in 2020 by Shapovalova and Natalia Modenova, the digitally native company’s main goal is to offer every person in the world an infinite digital wardrobe for their online identity with no limitations on creative expression. The company just raised $15 million in Series A funding, which it plans to use to improve its app and NFT marketplace.

“Digital fashion offers a more accessible and eco-friendly way for customers to experience luxury fashion while still providing a sense of exclusivity and excitement that comes with wearing designer pieces in a digital space,” Shapovalova explains. 

A few pioneering fashion houses have already begun to pave the way for luxury fashion in the metaverse: Gucci, already well-known for its experimenting, released virtual sneakers while Louis Vuitton launched a metaverse game where players can collect NFTs.

But the biggest hurdle, when it comes to digital clothing going mainstream, is understanding what the Metaverse is and how virtual fashion exists inside of it.

Waiting for ‘meta fashion’ to have its moment

Purchasing in-game “skins” and cosmetics, used to customize characters, is nothing new to the gaming world. And now the fashion industry and its consumers are starting to take notice—Morgan Stanley forecasts that the virtual fashion market could be worth over $55 billion by 2030. 

“Meta fashion presents a great opportunity for the industry to reach new heights, open up new opportunities, create new markets, and become integrated into the digital creative economy,” says Shapovalova.

“The transition from traditional fashion to its digital form continues to take place in a natural way,” she adds. “It’s reflecting the overall shift in how we live and experience the world around us.” 

She describes how within this rapidly changing landscape, we are increasingly becoming “the avatars of ourselves” on various social media platforms, gaming, messaging, and streaming services, adding that “digital fashion serves to adorn our digital personas.”

Like media, fashion will have to embrace digital to survive

For luxury fashion to thrive in the next decade, brands will need to release their collections into a digital world where most young consumers are already spending or gambling with the chance that contemporary artists who are already well-versed in the online world will release some sort of variation before them, which recently happened to the French luxury brand Hermés.

In December 2021, digital artist Mason Rothchild released an NFT collection of faux fur, colorful variants of Hermès iconic Birkin handbag dubbed “The MetaBirkin.” After being sued by the famed fashion house, the court ultimately ruled against Rothschild in February 2023 when a nine-person federal jury in Manhattan determined that he had infringed on the company’s trademark rights. The jurors also found that his NFTs were not protected speech.

Virtual fashion paves the way for a more sustainable future

With the fashion industry being the second-most polluting industry, it’s been widely debated whether or not virtual clothing is a definite answer to its long-existing environmental issues. According to TechCrunch, an estimated 30 percent of all manufactured goods end up as waste within months of rolling off the production line every year. In a survey commissioned by the credit card company Barclaycard, nearly one in 10 UK shoppers (9 percent) admit to buying clothing only to take a photo for social media. 

Considering the current data combined with the continuous rise of fast fashion that only promises more waste to come, the benefits of digitally constructing fashion present a compelling opportunity for brands to reshape outdated business models and pave the way for a more sustainable future.   

Shapolvalova says that the production of a digital garment produced by DressX emitts 97 percent less CO2 and saves 3,300 liters of water per garment on average, compared to a physical one.

“By replacing just one percent of physical clothing with digital garments, we could save five trillion liters of water and reduce the fashion industry’s annual carbon footprint by 35 million tons,” says Shapovalova, citing a report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. 

The reality is that as long as physical clothing exists, the industry will still likely struggle with the damage done to the environment. But if digital outfits can be used as more sustainable alternatives when it comes to things like content creation or building, introducing trendy, one-off collections, and building hype around brands, that damage could be reduced dramatically.

Looking forward to digital fashion

As Shapovalova explains, meta fashion will definitely shape the future of the fashion industry. Even though digital fashion cannot fully replace physical clothing in its current form, what it can do, she says, is allow us to continue to enjoy the fun of fashion while also making a meaningful contribution to the environment. 

And while an argument can be made that virtual fashion only exists in the digital space, robbing us of the tangible joy that physical clothing can bring—it isn’t any less real because of that. Virtual fashion opens up previously locked doors that lead us to very real experiences that are at the core of the traditional fashion industry: creativity and self-expression. While the clothing may not exist in real life, those feelings still do.

Rewatch the Keynotes, Panels, and Workshops from Future Summit

Create & Cultivate recently hosted our Future Summit in Austin, Texas, which brought together founders and entrepreneurs from some of the most disruptive brands in the tech and innovation industries. The conference aimed to help attendees stay ahead of the curve with emerging technologies such as Web3, cybersecurity, fintech, and customer acquisition.

Below, the keynotes, workshops, and panels provide actionable advice and resources from the speakers, who shared their firsthand experiences and expertise on timely topics and trends in the industry. Dive into the conversations below, and check out the next events to sign up for.

How To Be a Multifaceted Creator with Tinx

Tinx has continually innovated throughout her career to be in service of her audience, who consistently asks for her help with wide-ranging issues. In this talk, we'll dive into how she stays on the cutting-edge of trends and what's next.

How To Use Burgeoning Tech To Bolster Your Small Business with Victoria Mariscal

This conversation will focus on how small businesses can leverage Web 3 tactics to build stronger brands. The tenants of this talk will be about creating community, developing new ways to get your brand in front of customers, and utilizing NFTs to interact with your customers, etc.

Web3 and Beyond: What Every Entrepreneur Should Know

From open-source social media to the leaps made in AI, AR, VR, and beyond, 2023 will push forward how small business owners and entrepreneurs approach their digital footprint. In this panel, we’ll discuss a handful of these new technologies—what they are, how to use them, and where they’re headed.

The Realities of a Recession from Women at the Top

The economic downturn calls for new protocols from leaders at every level. In this panel, we’ll bring together leaders to talk about how they’ve pivoted given the looming recession, how they navigate during tumultuous times, and use technology to do so.

What EComm Looks Like in the Metaverse

Explore the intersection of e-commerce and the metaverse, including virtual storefronts and immersive shopping experiences. Follow along and fill out the corresponding worksheet here.

How To Grow a Quality Audience

Discover how to optimize business performance by incorporating AI and data science strategies into your operations—from Chat GPT to programs that help you dive deep into your company's analytics.

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Slow Stories: Creating and Consuming Content During the COVID-19 Outbreak

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Slow Stories: Creating and Consuming Content During the COVID-19 Outbreak

“We've never had more tools at our disposal to create content that inspires action.”