How Social Media Is Shaping Nail Art Trends

It used to take months, years even, for a trend to take root and travel the globe. Once a trend was established, it would last for a while, and usually, these trends were dictated by the brands themselves, and were typically inspired by trends in fashion.

Today, a trend can be set in an instant via social media. We are influenced in the moment by what we see. Today’s consumers are dictating what they like and what they want, and it’s up to brands to adapt quickly to meet new demands. Ideation no longer needs to happen around the company conference room table.

I see this as a really exciting time! Companies are using social media to help build emotional connections between their brands and customers.

This digital discussion is a two-way street. On OPI’s Instagram feed, for example, we are constantly looking to our fans and followers — whether they’re celebrity nail artists or women who just love nail color — for the best of their images to share.

Social media has elevated the consumer to a position of influence and authority. It’s invited an influx of creativity and diversity that I feel is always welcome in an industry that relies so heavily on personal expression. Social media has also paved the way for more exciting and innovative nail art. We used to only see nail art worn by celebrities on the red carpet; now women around the globe are using nail art as a form of artistic expression.

Even with the shift brought about by social media, OPI’s success has always been about relationships. We gained the loyalty of millions of women around the world by offering a product they love and a voice they can trust. By reacting in real time to their thoughts and opinions on social media, we’ve been able to further develop these real, meaningful and authentic connections.

To read more about how social media has generated a fundamental shift in the way business is conducted today, check out the new book I’m Not Really a Waitress: How One Woman Took Over the Beauty Industry One Color at a Time.

Originally published on Quora.

How One Woman Took Over the Beauty Industry 

OPI is a famous global beauty icon. But behind all the glamour is the little-known tale of OPI’s unlikely origins—an inspiring story of a timid schoolgirl who arrives in this country with little money and no English and becomes an industry game-changer known worldwide as “the First Lady of Nails.”

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