Social Media

[gemma0408]

I am a loyal CND nail tech. I’ve always trained with them, and use their products, and I do this because I believe they are the BEST especially when it comes to education. However, I’m really starting to feel a little disheartened with the lack of support CND give back to their customers especially on social media, which is huge right now. Most big brands have brand champions, ambassadors and educators however CND don’t have this. Yes you can train to be an educator, but at a HUGE cost! They NEVER like any pictures I post, and I tag them almost everyday. They have, on the odd occasion, shared one or two of my insta stories post, but they mainly use their own professionals instead of promoting us the consumer who buy and promote their products. Social media (especially Insta) is massive right now and since Covid I feel us nail techs and beauty professionals are coming together to support one another, but I feel CND aren’t doing anywhere near enough that other big brands are doing and it’s really frustrating! Is it so hard to like pictures and promote us or have brand champions to recognize and give back to customers who promote your brand? I’m always promoting Shellac, but you get NOTHING back from it and it’s becoming really disheartening. Like I said I love the brand, but I feel they aren’t pushing this enough. They also hardly ever do promotions and you never see them at the shows anymore like they used to be - why? Anyone else feel this? I’ve also just seen that Ellisons are no longer selling CND products

 

[Tash0088]

I feel the exact same way. I've always been loyal to CND but I'm thinking about training with someone else now

 

[CFBS]

Personally, I'm quite happy with the media images available from CND. I also joined their US website so I can get images and download product data sheets, how to use etc etc.
Sweet squared do a great job of posting lovely images of all the new colours being launched and of course there are the CND company videos to launch new collections which are all easy to share to my social media.
Regarding shows - it is a general trend that companies are no longer exhibiting at shows, it's too expensive for them and they can launch new products far more effectively using the internet and still run introductory offers.
For training, Sweet squared have a very good reputation.
For me there is nothing else I need from them. Marketing my salon, products and services is down to me, not any one company.

https://cnd.com/community

 

[gemma0408]

It’s not the media images I’m on about it’s the lack of response and support we get back from them. Social media is a way of interacting with other nail techs, businesses and clients so it works for everyone involved to show support. We’re buying their products and promoting them so why wouldn’t they want to promote that? Other brands do it and are gaining more and more followers each day because of it. I love CND no question about that, but I feel more could be done such as promoting brand champions or ambassadors etc. It works for everyone involved and ultimately would help promote them and the person promoting it plus everyone who’s looking at it - it’s a no brainer! I’d be the first to apply if they were looking for people to promote them xx

 

[Valerie N]

Disagree.

Reputable, high quality gel brand companies don't need to aggressively market or reach out whether it be through social media or their own platforms.

 

[tuna816]

I agree with Valerie. Social media is associated with the younger crowd, who don't really have the funds to afford even a basic gel manicure.

Anybody can post anything on SM today. It dilutes the message one sends. Its also the same with print ads. But usually when CND does advertising, its very high quality, as you can see with my signature.

 

[againstm]

I've browsed here for a few years but joined because I have such strong feelings about this. I'm a tech with a thriving business that was built on Instagram. I have a full book of clients who are about my age (mid 20's to mid 30's). The idea that the Instagram demographic is too poor to "afford even a basic gel manicure" is simply untrue. I have a full book of clientele who pay $85 for a basic sculpted gel full set (my clients frequently pay $125+ by the time they're done because of art and retail). Women in their twenties are spending more on beauty than ever.

And I'm not an isolated case. I've kept in touch with many of the women with whom I attended nail school. The ones who are thriving are the ones who post on Instagram daily. Instagram is so useful; if I have a last-minute cancelation, I post, and most of the time someone will DM me to nab that appointment time. Those who let their social media fall by the waist side are struggling to keep a full book or have left the industry completely. If your clientele is older, they probably respond to traditional marketing methods, but people under 40 are on Instagram shopping for goods and services.

I think this thread shows you why CND isn't engaging on social media the way that other companies are. Their brand-loyal techs don't value social media the way that others do, therefore they don't use their resources to employ social media managers to engage with techs the way others do. Let's face it, CND deserves respect for popularizing gel polish but they aren't keeping up with changes in the market. Most brands offer a 100% gel product for curing reliability, much longer shelf life, and product stability; CND Shellac is still a hybrid. This company is resisting change across the board, not just social media. Eventually, it's going to catch up with them because companies that feature and sponsor techs are growing exponentially.

If you're someone who's younger and you have a clientele that finds you on your socials, you should consider switching to another brand that will promote you. There are so many high-quality gel manufacturers that offer fabulous education and will engage with you on social media these days. If you're doing great work, you deserve the opportunities that Instagram offers: growing your following, filling up your book, and being considered for brand deals.

 

[Valerie N]

Why are you guys making this an ageist argument? That is so foul.

CND already has the market and built their strong reputation. They are on social media. They have Instagram live tutorials.

They don't aggressively market to maintain their target demographics: Professionals. Instagram is about following numbers. How many professional nail techs and nail industry related ppl are there? The industry is quite small compared to the rest of the beauty industry.

In general. The most high end products don't really market because they are exclusive, and the quality speaks for themselves. That's where the money goes. Not on pretty, but cheap packaging, cheap impure chemicals that are harmful and tons on advertising. I'm not saying CND is there. They could use some improvements like in their shellac formulation. They came out with CND Luxe and were super quiet about that. I wouldn't say they are resistant to change. That would be really backwards for a chemist when CND is science based. Rather chemistry doesn't change too often but discoveries are made in a decade or longer. It takes time. They found a formulation that they patented and is competitive. I can't name one builder gel that functions better than CND's. I have no reason for company bias. Simply looking for the best of the best.

Wanting something New New NEW with a wow factor rather than something reliable says something about heavy social media users.

Their brisa gels (builders) are still the best I have tried and can blow any others out of the water. My only complaint is their color range but that's another topic.

 

[Valerie N]

I've browsed here for a few years but joined because I have such strong feelings about this. I'm a tech with a thriving business that was built on Instagram. I have a full book of clients who are about my age (mid 20's to mid 30's). The idea that the Instagram demographic is too poor to "afford even a basic gel manicure" is simply untrue. I have a full book of clientele who pay $85 for a basic sculpted gel full set (my clients frequently pay $125+ by the time they're done because of art and retail). Women in their twenties are spending more on beauty than ever.

And I'm not an isolated case. I've kept in touch with many of the women with whom I attended nail school. The ones who are thriving are the ones who post on Instagram daily. Instagram is so useful; if I have a last-minute cancelation, I post, and most of the time someone will DM me to nab that appointment time. Those who let their social media fall by the waist side are struggling to keep a full book or have left the industry completely. If your clientele is older, they probably respond to traditional marketing methods, but people under 40 are on Instagram shopping for goods and services.

I think this thread shows you why CND isn't engaging on social media the way that other companies are. Their brand-loyal techs don't value social media the way that others do, therefore they don't use their resources to employ social media managers to engage with techs the way others do. Let's face it, CND deserves respect for popularizing gel polish but they aren't keeping up with changes in the market. Most brands offer a 100% gel product for curing reliability, much longer shelf life, and product stability; CND Shellac is still a hybrid. This company is resisting change across the board, not just social media. Eventually, it's going to catch up with them because companies that feature and sponsor techs are growing exponentially.

If you're someone who's younger and you have a clientele that finds you on your socials, you should consider switching to another brand that will promote you. There are so many high-quality gel manufacturers that offer fabulous education and will engage with you on social media these days. If you're doing great work, you deserve the opportunities that Instagram offers: growing your following, filling up your book, and being considered for brand deals.

CND offers Creative Play, their Gel Polish.

Also if you can please share some of the other high quality gel manufacturers brands that do engage with their social media and users. I do love to try new products every now an then.

 

[againstm]

Why are you guys making this an ageist argument? That is so foul.

CND already has the market and built their strong reputation. They are on social media. They have Instagram live tutorials.

They don't aggressively market to maintain their target demographics: Professionals. Instagram is about following numbers. How many professional nail techs and nail industry related ppl are there? The industry is quite small compared to the rest of the beauty industry.

I don't think that I'm denigrating any age group by refuting the idea that young people must be too broke for professional services. Look, I approaching this from a tech/ salon marketing perspective. The average Instagram user is between 25 and 34. In my salon, that's my target demographic. If that's anyone else's too, you need to seriously consider Instagram as your primary marketing tool. And getting featured by a manufacturer will seriously increase your marketability on the platform.

No one said they aren't on social media. OP is upset that they don't feature techs regularly even though they ask people to tag them. When you as a tech feature a company's products on social media, you are giving them exposure and therefore, marketing their product for free. In turn, most companies will repost some photos or stories, boosting that tech's profile. This is how social media promotions work across the board, regardless of industry. Personally, I work about 36 hours in the salon and spend the rest of my work week on the internet making money via commissions as a blogger. Every company I partner with sends me products, I feature them, they turn around and feature me, and so, we both increased our exposure. That's a fair trade for everyone.

Many of the professional techs that I know both locally and nationally use Instagram as their primary marketing tool. Every pro educator I follow spends a significant amount of time there daily. I don't know how you can suggest that Instagram isn't for professionals. Personally, I chose Light Elegance for my salon because the builder gels, color gels, and glitter gels especially are the best I've ever used. They're also formulated and produced in-house, free of HEMA. I also like that they've had one-on-one virtual classes for years in addition to traditional education. But the reason I tried them in the first place is they promote techs who use their products via their Instagram stories (and posts to a lesser degree unless you are a brand ambassador).

And my point above is that doesn't CND signal-boost techs' work on Instagram because Instagram techs aren't their target demo. Instead, they trade on their name as a legacy product in the beauty space. They're also a huge multi-national company that built their business as well as their reputation before Instagram existed.

 

[againstm]

CND offers Creative Play, their Gel Polish.

Also if you can please share some of the other high quality gel manufacturers brands that do engage with their social media and users. I do love to try new products every now an then.

You're right. But I don't see people use it as much as Shellac so I wonder if people know that it's out there or how the two products are different. Many don't understand the difference; there are plenty of techs, at least in the U.S., who still don't even work with gel polish at all except top coat. It's clearly not being used as much; the Creative Play line has 65 colors while Shellac has over 100.

Have you tried Light Elegance? I tried a lot of brands but when I discovered LE in 2017, I never looked back. Their glitter gels are unique because the glitter stays suspended in the gel, making it faster and easier to work with.

 

[Valerie N]

I don't think that I'm denigrating any age group by refuting the idea that young people must be too broke for professional services. Look, I approaching this from a tech/ salon marketing perspective. The average Instagram user is between 25 and 34. In my salon, that's my target demographic. If that's anyone else's too, you need to seriously consider Instagram as your primary marketing tool. And getting featured by a manufacturer will seriously increase your marketability on the platform.

No one said they aren't on social media. OP is upset that they don't feature techs regularly even though they ask people to tag them. When you as a tech feature a company's products on social media, you are giving them exposure and therefore, marketing their product for free. In turn, most companies will repost some photos or stories, boosting that tech's profile. This is how social media promotions work across the board, regardless of industry. Personally, I work about 36 hours in the salon and spend the rest of my work week on the internet making money via commissions as a blogger. Every company I partner with sends me products, I feature them, they turn around and feature me, and so, we both increased our exposure. That's a fair trade for everyone.

Many of the professional techs that I know both locally and nationally use Instagram as their primary marketing tool. Every pro educator I follow spends a significant amount of time there daily. I don't know how you can suggest that Instagram isn't for professionals. Personally, I chose Light Elegance for my salon because the builder gels, color gels, and glitter gels especially are the best I've ever used. They're also formulated and produced in-house, free of HEMA. I also like that they've had one-on-one virtual classes for years in addition to traditional education. But the reason I tried them in the first place is they promote techs who use their products via their Instagram stories (and posts to a lesser degree unless you are a brand ambassador).

And my point above is that doesn't CND signal-boost techs' work on Instagram because Instagram techs aren't their target demo. Instead, they trade on their name as a legacy product in the beauty space. They're also a huge multi-national company that built their business as well as their reputation before Instagram existed.

There's too much that I agree and disagree with you to put it down in a cohesive manner here. Talking to you in person would be rather interesting.

I didn't imply that there are no professionals on IG. I meant to point out our industry is small so they are not going to haul ass in IG exposure to anyone.

I really don't know where to go from here when everything you mentioned is based on their "marketing and outreach" and not on actually knowing and using their whole line of products.

To recap: They are resistant to change? They just came out with CND Luxe AND gave their Shellac packaging a newer sleek makeover. Instead of sticker labels, the label is imprinted right on the color coordinating bottle. They only have hybrid polishes? I mentioned their Creative Play gel polishes.

I've used Light Elegance. For me their gorgeous glitter gels is their selling point...that's pretty much it for me. However, I hate the strong odor and their packaging. It rubbed off easily with the swipe of a finger. They updated their packaging so that's great. Odor still there. CND has virtually no odor.

Lastly. CND is a gel manufacturer and you're a nail salon business. The advertising techniques are def gonna be different.

 

[gemma0408]

 

[againstm]

Read my posts again, I didn't claim that they didn't have another gel line, only that Shellac is a hybrid gel. I'm well aware of their product line because it was one that I tried it switching to Light Elegance. My nail school kit was a CND kit so I've used Retention+, Brisa gel, Creative Play, Vinylux, and Shellac. I tried Lux in 2018 when it was introduced because I go to the beauty shows. CND is not for me but that's just my own preference. I'll admit that I don't like hybrids in general, so I am biased against it.

I know that marketing varies between manufacturers and salons, obviously. I'll say it again, my point isn't an issue with CND. It's that techs who want to succeed on Instagram need to engage with companies that will support them. And this thread was started because a tech doesn't feel supported by CND. If that's her experience, it's valid.

 

[Valerie N]

Read my posts again, I didn't claim that they didn't have another gel line, only that Shellac is a hybrid gel. I'm well aware of their product line because it was one that I tried it switching to Light Elegance. My nail school kit was a CND kit so I've used Retention+, Brisa gel, Creative Play, Vinylux, and Shellac. I tried Lux in 2018 when it was introduced because I go to the beauty shows. CND is not for me but that's just my own preference. I'll admit that I don't like hybrids in general, so I am biased against it.

I know that marketing varies between manufacturers and salons, obviously. I'll say it again, my point isn't an issue with CND. It's that techs who want to succeed on Instagram need to engage with companies that will support them. And this thread was started because a tech doesn't feel supported by CND. If that's her experience, it's valid.

If we're going with that then this whole discussion was pointless.

 

[Valerie N]

You meant to discuss your disappointment with CND's engagement when it comes to nail tech support. Have you tried to communicate this in writing?

My impression is that you are not satisfied with their lack of engagement via instagram and want us to agree with you.

I have stopped using a brand because I found their lack of support distasteful. I find that CND's pro website to contain all the info you need in pdf. and video if you ever forget a step or two in addition to their training.

So...what kind of support are you looking for from CND? For them to tag you in their insta stories so they can promote your work? Because you buy and use their products? If so many other great gel brands are doing this then I see no reason to make the switch to using another brand to gain exposure for your work\business.

 

[BobSweden]

I wonder how many images are tagged with CND each day? Possibly thousands. For CND to review and Like photo's is a huge task and would require a team of people. But in addition, this team need to be able to understand if the nails are well made - and represent the company in a good light.

I agree with others that the main priorities for a brand are to offer good, safe, legal products and to provide high quality education to help their customers develop and be more successful. Good customer service is also important, as is keeping customers informed and providing good images they can use.

Some of the work I have seen by some brands Ambassadors, frankly makes me shudder.