I’m Taking a Social Media Break & Here’s Why

I’m taking a vacay from social media…

I’m taking an indefinite amount of time away from social media. (For me, practically speaking, this mostly means time away from Instagram.) Maybe it will be a month, maybe it will be more. We’ll see!

And to be clear, I am not taking time away from my business. You can still book a photography session, buy my presets to edit your own mobile photos, or take my Digital Photography 101 course. I am still here for your photography needs, boo!

Why I Am Taking a Social Media Break

In short, I’m hoping to use this break as a way to reevaluate how I utilize Instagram for both my business and my personal life. To assess how or if it is still a good use of my time, in one or both areas of my life. 

Instagram’s Impact on My Business

Instagram has been one of the most impactful tools I’ve used to grow my business. When I started my photography business almost 5 years ago, I was new to Knoxville & I wondered if it would be possible to get a local photography business off the ground when only a few people in town even knew who I was. Instagram, slowly but surely, helped me to grow awareness for my business & gave me a chance to visually show what I had to offer as a photographer. (It was not the only factor that helped me grow my business, of course, but definitely a major one.)

Instagram has changed greatly over the last several years that I have used it for my business, with its most recent shift taking things more towards entertainment & commerce than just social interaction with people & businesses. 

Business Perceived Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Remaining a ~relevant~ part of the photography conversation here in Knoxville

• Maintaining relationships with past clients of mine (I love following you guys and seeing your sweet families & businesses & all the things)

• Keeping myself top of mind for past clients & potential new clients

• Establishing myself as an industry expert through creating content that shows my skill & knowledge

Cons: 

• Allowing myself to get distracted from other possibly more important efforts in my business that might actually move the needle more

• ROI - the return on my investment of time into the app seems to be diminishing

At the current stage of my business, I am curious to see if Instagram is serving my business as much as I think that it does. I’ve thought several times about taking an extended break from social media, but my biggest worry has been whether or not it would impact my business negatively. Consider this my little experiment to see how greatly Instagram does (or does not) currently impact my business.

My Business, If I Had to Guess…

As I embark on this little experiment, If I had to guess right now how not harnessing Instagram for my business would impact my business, these are the things I would wonder or worry about it: 

• Will I no longer be top of people’s mind when it comes time to hire a photographer? Both for past clients of mine and new potential clients?

• Will I lose relevancy in the industry if I am not creating fresh content on social media & constantly showing my evolving skill and craft of my trade?

• Will I miss out on opportunities to book photography sessions with people who come to my social media profile only to find that there isn’t any recent work to see on my profile?

• Will I be forgotten?

• Will people assume that my business isn’t active if I am not also active on social media sharing about my business?

And on the flip side, I wonder if I might discover these more positive possibilities:

• Can I stay connected directly to past clients of mine through other avenues like email?

• Can I stay relevant in my industry by creating content in other places - like my good ol’ fashioned blog or another platform for longford content?

• Can my business maintain where it’s at without using social media? (I would say I’m currently in a phase of maintenance, not necessarily growth, and I am a-okay with that.)

• Can I use the time I would have usually spent on social media to improve the SEO of my website, write valuable content on my blog, or connect with people and market my business via email?

Time will tell friends. Now onto instagram & my personal life.

Instagram’s Impact on My Personal Life

For me, Instagram’s greatest personal impact on my life as of lately has been staying up-to-date (I use that term instead of “connected” because I think it’s more accurate) with friends & family that I don’t see regularly, getting inspired by other business owners, & being entertained. 

But I wonder if the cons might outweigh the pros. Here are some of my current perceived pros and cons. 

Personal Life Perceived Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Keeping up with friends & family that I don’t have the pleasure of seeing as often (people from Florida, where I am from, is what largely comes to mind)

• Being inspired by other creative entrepreneurs & small business owners

• Being entertained by funny reels, specifically in the genre of motherhood and work

• Having a space to share what I believe, think, value, create, see, enjoy, etc. - I enjoy the outlet & expression.

• Opening up my world to other perspectives, experiences, & beliefs.

Cons:

• DISTRACTION. How much is Instagram distracting me from being present to the life going on right around me? I don’t think I’ll like the truth I’ll soon face in regards to that.

• TIME SUCK. I can find myself scrolling for much longer than I ever intend to. And am I better for it afterwards?

• Exposing myself (and my family that matter) to the judgement and critique of (potentially) anyone on the internet. I love sharing vulnerably and authentically in the space, but the truth is - the internet isn’t really a safe space.

• Losing sight of my own personal goals, values, beliefs, ideas due to an overwhelming amount of other people’s lives.

• Being overly “connected” to people, issues, & ideas beyond what is healthy or reasonable for human minds & souls & hearts.

• Negativity. Anyone else feel like social media took an overwhelming more negative turn over the last year?

My Personal Life, If I Had to Guess… 

As I begin this journey, this is how I guess I might feel about Instagram’s impact on my personal life:

• Will I miss seeing snippets of my friends’ lives that I don’t regularly get to see in person?

• Will I miss getting to share my life, my experiences, my thoughts with others through this platform?

• Will I miss the affirmation, the shared laughs, & the me-toos that social media provides what can sometimes feel like an isolated life of motherhood?

And on the flip side,

• Will I realize that there is only so much capacity for actually staying “connected” with people in our lives and that Instagram was providing a false sense of connection that was never really there?

• Will I find that I have more time for the things in my life that matter more?

• Will I be less distracted by other people’s lives & shiny things & beauty & travels & family & be more engaged & in tune with my own?

• Will I find that my thoughts, experiences, & beliefs can be shared with others via an outlet other than social media?

• Will I find other ways to expand my world to different beliefs, perspectives, and people?

• Will my family & I be more protected from the exposure from others we don’t know?

Let’s Wrap It Up

I truly feel giddy, though also a little bit nervous, about this experiment. I’m curious to see how my business might morph & change & adapt AND how I might grow & learn things on a personal level. Here we go!

Have you ever taken an extended break from social media? How did it impact you or your business? I’d love to hear in the comments.

If you want to keep up with what I’m learning, I’m hoping that less time on social media, will mean more time to share things here! Sign up for my Happy Mail email list if you’d like to stay connected during my social media vacay. I hope to see you there! 

I might be off social media for a while, but my business is still active & thriving! How can I serve you?

If my personal thoughts don’t completely bore you, you might enjoy these blogs, too!