You’ve probably heard it once or twice (or 1,000!) – millennials want to know who they are buying from, and because of this, you need to show your personal life on Instagram to connect with potential clients. “You need to show your face.”  “You need to make sure you show your face at least every nine photos so you’ll show up in the top of the 9 block Instagram grid.”  We hear this all the time!  So understandably, we’re often asked, “how much of my face and my personal life do I have to show on social media?”  We think our answer might surprise you.

Not nearly as much as you might think!

While we do think that potential clients want to know a little about you, they want to know more about what you can do for them. Don’t get us wrong. We aren’t saying that posting about your vacation or a cute photo of your child is a no-no. But if all of the personal details overshadow your work and your business, it can do much more harm than good.

So what’s the point?  The point of being personal on social media is to connect with your audience.  This is important for sure! But be careful to make sure that you don’t focus so much on connecting with your audience on a personal level that you aren’t showing them what you can do for them. If you’re a photographer, a potential client should visit your Instagram profile and immediately know what you do and what kind of product you deliver based on what you post. They shouldn’t have to scroll far to decipher what it is you actually have to offer.

As a planner, Becky gets the unique perspective of getting to hear what many clients say about other vendors based on their social media.  She’s heard time and time again from her clients that vendors who share so much personal information on social media on a continuous basis is a turn off. Wow! That’s a super valuable insight!

So how much personal stuff should you share on social media?  We tend to keep it around 10% personal on Instastories, 90% professional work and less than 10% on our feed. Just make sure you don’t over do it. To use your Instagram as a true marketing tool, showcase your work!