10 January 2021

Why I Don't Share My Personal Life in My Art Feeds

The polite answer:  it's not my thing.  

The short answer:  I don't think your politics, family, religion, etc. belong in your business feed.  

The long answer: 

I find it kind of irritating when people tell me about things I'm not there for.  If I follow someone for their lifestyle that's one thing, but if I'm following a business/creative page I'm not interested in the personal life of said page.

Yes, I know the "rules" say it helps followers connect on a more personal level.  Gonna go with no on this rule.  As someone who follows a number of creators on social media, I will tell you I came for the creative content.  I'm not here for the cute photos of the dog or the new baby.  I don't mind the occasional shot of the family or pets, but if an account shares personal life as much or more than creative content, I'll go elsewhere.  I'm not your people.  

I love dogs and babies are cute, but I follow friends and family for that.  I follow creators for the inspirations, the information, and the techniques.  I follow because I like someone's style, color palette, or process.  I am quite honestly creating the experience I enjoy.  Before you ask, NO, I am not the only one who feels this way.  

Have you ever asked your friends what they like seeing in the feeds they follow?  Have you ever asked them what they don't enjoy seeing?  I've had this conversation with countless friends, real people not some marketing hack on a blog telling me what my followers want.  Do you know what I learned?  I learned that many of them don't enjoy all the personal life posts, those "human factors" we're told are helping us connect with viewers.  I learned that many of them follow because they want to see the content the creator is known for.   We expect personal life photos if it's a social account for a family or lifestyle creator.  We don't enjoy it if it's about Art, Food, Gardening, Etc.  Sharing it in isn't offensive, it's the sharing overload that kills the follower.  

Beyond that, I'm a private person and don't feel my followers need that much insight into my personal life.  I can hear you - "but the rules say".  If you've followed me anywhere for very long you know I'm not known for following rules.  Rebel.  I'm am a rebel and I don't like to be put in a box.

This is my art space and I've learned that writing about my personal life doesn't work here.  Those posts about personal life don't get likes, comments, or in the case of a blog they don't get read.  

What are your thoughts?  Do you enjoy seeing personal life posts on business/creative pages?

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