As an influencer, you are more or less like a celebrity to your followers. Your job is to share your personality, interests, personal life, and opinions with your fans.
But how much of your life is too much to share? This has always been a grey area for social media users and the answer differs for everybody.
Some of the most popular influencers thrive on sharing their personal lives. And that means the good, the bad and the ugly. Youtube star Trisha Paytas, who has 4.8 million subscribers, is known for sharing her feelings online.
In addition to posting music videos and vlog content, she occasionally posts long, emotional videos about break-ups, fights with friends, and other hardships.
Shane Dawson is another Youtuber who’s been very open about his personal life. He’s spoken in-depth about his childhood, current struggles, eating disorder, past relationships, etc. He’s also one of the biggest YouTubers with over 22 million subscribers.
But there are many other influencers who are not as open about their lives but are still successful. It depends on the platform you’re on and the type of content you produce.
Instagrammers are less likely to share personal things, while Youtubers make many personal videos. If your content is all about helping people through DIYs, tutorials or advice, your content is less centered around you as a person. If your content is vlogs or other entertainment, it’s all about you.
However, your content alone doesn’t determine how much of your life to share. Some entertainers and Instagram models keep work and life separate, and some DIY creators make their brands very personal. It is all up to you!
Here are some general guidelines about how much of your personal life you should share as an influencer.
1. Relationships
Showcasing romantic relationships on the internet is a touchy subject. More often than not, relationships end in breakups. When that relationship has been public, it just creates an awkward tension between the fans and both parties.
Break-ups are painful, and even more so when you have to do it in front of the whole internet. But what’s worse is when your social media career revolves around a relationship and that relationship ends.
Popular YouTubers Liza Koshy and David Dobrik dated publicly for 2 years. But they kept their breakup a secret for 6 months before making a video announcing it. That gave them time to recover and slowly move their careers apart from each other. But they didn’t go into detail about why they broke up.
They were ultimately able to stay friends and fans didn’t have to pick sides.
2. Major Life Events
Sharing major life events is a yes in most circumstances. If you get married, have a kid, move, get injured, etc., definitely share that with your followers.
Life events usually involve an emotional shift, and that can sometimes be negative. Whether you want to share the loss of a loved one, divorce or other major hardship is up to you. But your followers will most likely notice an emotional change even if it’s small.
If you want to share a difficult major life event, our advice is to wait until you’ve had time to process things. Or you can give your followers a short message saying what happened and that you’ll need some time off.
3. Everyday Life
This is what’s really up to you on how much everyday life you want to share. Vloggers, for instance, share much of their everyday lives with fans: their trips to the grocery store, morning routines, workouts, etc. They’re usually not afraid to get personal about the little things and current struggles.
Fans appreciate when they can relate to their favorite influencers. They want to feel like they know you. So share as much of your everyday life as you feel comfortable with!
4. Things You Should Not Share
Many Youtube and Instagram influencers film or take photos at the place they live quite often. But fans are sometimes able to find out where they live just based on those visuals.
Where you live
Obviously, you should never share your address on the internet. But you should also be careful of how much you show the outside of your house, neighborhood, or apartment complex. It’s alright to mention the city you’re in or near, but not which area of town.
When traveling or otherwise going out, some influencers don’t share where they went until after they’ve left, to avoid anyone trying to find them.
Negative relationships
Another thing we do not recommend you share is any kind of relationship that doesn’t end well. That can mean a business relationship, friendship, dating relationship, etc.
Company politics
If a company or someone else wronged you, it can be tempting to expose the situation and call them out online. But that may not always be the best idea, especially if you are trying to keep your brand professional.
Just remember to keep receipts and present information accurately. The truth is on your side.
Oversharing
Sharing too much information about your personal life can sometimes end in public controversy. Influencers will get some degree of hate no matter what they post. Whenever you consider posting something personal, think about how it will help your fans and weigh the possible reactions.
People appreciate vulnerability. We follow people we can relate to and feel connected with. While so many people online only post the best parts of their lives, people notice when someone breaks the mold and posts something real.
Additional blogs you might like:
- How To Overcome The Fear Of Sharing Your Personal Life On Social Media
- How To Become A Full-Time Social Media Influencer
- How To Build Your Personal Brand
Fiona Morgan is currently a blogging intern at LadyBossBlogger. She attends Asbury University in Kentucky and is studying journalism with a minor in art. Fiona has an interest in blogging and a passion for using writing to help others.
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