A few months ago, I decided to switch my business accounts on social media to 'off mode'. I closed down my Patreon, I stopped uploading to YouTube and I unpublished my Facebook page.
Why?
Because it felt right and good to do it.
They are still there, if I want to reignite them and use them to connect. However, I felt that much of my time was spent on my phone or computer. More than that, I had this subconscious awareness that I would need to create content and that feeling was having an impact on my day. I would gently ponder what I might post on my daily sharings, how I might frame it or how I might articulate a reflective lesson. On quiet days, I would be searching out content. I didn't like just how it was always kinda there, in the back of my brain.
I was aware that if I didn't have a daily presence, I wouldn't have enough engagement on my social media and culture has recently taught me that social media is the most effective way to grow my business. I felt like it didn't give me days off. I had this idea that I have to post regularly and consistently or my people would abandon me. The current online business model suggests that if you don't produce that 30 second read during the day, amid the flood of all the other options, then you won't have much luck in growing your brand. And on and on and on and on and on... Blah blah blah blah. I decided to find out what would happen if I said: No. I don't believe that. It isn't true for me.
So, I turned it all off.
Honestly, it's been freeing. I still have my own personal account where I upload things I want to remember. I'm a huge fan of the 'memories' feature and I love being reminded of my special lived experiences. It helps me to remember how wonderful my life can be and I like that. I post photos of things I find funny, of my nature photography and of my loved ones. I like that, that feels good to me. Of course, I am of the social media generation and I don't feel the need to be done with it completely (yet). I do like some of my social media stuff. The difference now is that it is completely without purpose or intention to achieve something. It is all for me.
When I stopped thinking about what I could post online for my work, I just had a different curve ease in. It's been like riding a completely different wave in my life. It's also been one of the ways I've been able to let go of pressurising myself to push on, making things happen or achieve, achieve, achieve - when it just doesn't feel natural to do so. Sometimes, I don't have anything to say to the world you know?
If you've been trying to find my Facebook page or wondering why I haven't uploaded anything to YouTube (although you can still watch the backlog of videos if you fancy getting a snapshot of who I am and how I work), well this post explains why.
If something changes in the future and I feel that having an account on something feels super fun, then I will breathe new life into them, for now, I'm happy with having a more relaxed approach to online business.
What I am realising all the time, over and over and over is that if you don't have a social media presence, believe it or not, you still exist to others and your people will still find you.
I am having lots of fun talking to clients on a one-to-one, it's my favourite way to connect with you guys. I've also been roaming the countryside, spending time with friends and family, going on adventures and all sorts of other things but one thing I haven't been doing is getting lost in my many social media platforms. I am also entertaining ideas of what else I might like to begin, explore or create. The world is full of possibilities and I look forward to living them!
I am still here and still working, I'm still connecting, conversing and creating and you can still book in with me - I always love our time together.
Lots of love,
Emma x
Here are some photos of some of the beautiful things I've seen recently:
