why I’m taking a break from social media in my business

Over the past year, the role of social media in my business has changed a lot. I’ve become very clear on the role it plays in my business (more sharing, less selling), and feel good about it. Nonetheless, I’ve decided to take a break from social media, in particular Instagram, this Autumn. 

I’m increasingly craving a deepening, a further grounding, a quietening, in my life and in my business. 

Since the summer I’ve been feeling a very deep sense of groundedness in my business. I love this feeling: it’s a quiet, calm yet strong sensation of feeling really good about my business. Of feeling really good about the pace in which my business is growing, how I’m running it and how I’m showing up.

I still get impatient. I still worry sometimes. There are things I’d like more of in my business. I’d love to really get a consistent passive income from my social media guide for small business owners and my business boundaries guide. I’d like to fill up my schedule for 1:1 clients. 

why and how I’m taking a break from social media

Taking a break from social media is a logical step for me at this time. As I’ve written about in other blog posts, social media (Instagram in my case) has a very clear place in my business. I’ve been deprioritizing spending time and energy on Instagram for various reasons, from the lack of control that I have over who sees my posts, to the addictive nature of the platform and the effect that it has on many users. 

I feel strengthened in this by the release of the Facebook papers, which don’t only affirm how morally problematic all of this is, but also that what Facebook and Instagram are looking for are younger people. My clients are not teenagers or students, and not people in their early twenties either. They are generally people who have some experience working, often in a traditional 9-to-5, and are now running their own business in a way that breaks with traditional ideas of productivity and busyness. 

Of course, the sheer fact that I’m announcing that I’m taking a break shows that Instagram still feels important to me, somewhere.
Even though Instagram is it not at all central to my marketing strategy, I am not immune to the expectation that to run an online business is to be on social media. 

And: there are a lot of people on Instagram that I feel connected to. I genuinely wonder how those people are doing. But I’m going to challenge myself to connect with them in different ways. 

I love working with small business owners who want to grow + run their business in a way that feels good to them: without the hustle, old ideas about productivity or following someone else’s rules.

Find out if we’re a good fit together or send me a message to chat (no strings attached).

an experiment: using my time + energy off social media

I’d love to invite you to explore grounding + deepening, in your business and in your life. What would finding more groundedness look like in your business? What would it mean to lean into the things that make you feel good, and spend less time on the things you feel you should be going?

my plan for the coming months: 

• at least a month off Instagram, starting October 29th. This means not having the app on my phone, and blocking the site in my browser (on phone, iPad + laptop);
• deepening my connection with my audience + potential clients through writing: blog posts like this, as well as my monthly newsletter;
• brainstorming and trying out ways of acquiring more 1:1 clients–using communities that I’m part of, as well as outreach + newsletter trades;
• using Pinterest more to drive traffic to my newsletter, my guides + 1:1 services. I’ll be working with a Pinterest strategy to tweak my approach;
• focusing on slow and grounded + giving myself the space that I need. 

I’m not taking a break from my business. Rather, I see taking time off social media as going deeper into my business. And it feels really good. 

discover my list of resources to change the role of social media in your business (or quit altogether)

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