Do You Need a Social Media Declutter?
You might be asking yourself, what exactly is a social media declutter and why do I need one? If your social feeds have become crowded and noisy then keep reading.
My social feeds had become an untidy mess and were stressing me out. They were a mixture of things I was no longer interested in and people I had followed just because they followed me.
Much like the junk drawer that you may have in your home, when you are looking for something it’s likely you will be digging through things that you no longer need like those elastic bands you kept just incase or an old remote control which you can’t even remember what it controlled.
I was spending more time scrolling through things I no longer had interest in to find those really great tweets or instagram photos I enjoyed looking at. If you find yourself doing the same, then maybe it’s time to have a social media declutter.
Why it’s ok to unfollow someone
First off, we need to stop getting so upset when someone hits the unfollow button. I know many people are very vigilant when it comes to checking their follow stats and losing followers is a big deal to some. Of course, if you spent hours creating the perfect flatlay photo for instagram then notice you have a drop in numbers it can be disheartening but usually that photo was made for your blog right?
Assuming you are a creator of some kind, whether that be a blog, website, or Youtube channel you want people to see the things that you spend time creating. The article that you spent 4 hours researching, writing up, taking photos for and thinking about at 4am. The vlog that you got your whole family involved in on a fun day out but behind the scenes it took you precious time editing it so it looked amazing.
Are you spending time reading tweets or instagram posts asking to ‘click link in bio’ to read the full post or tweets to watch the latest Youtube video, but don’t actually have the time to see the content itself? Well others may be doing the same with your content. I personally have a hard time keeping up!
100 Superfans or 1000 followers?
Would you rather have 100 superfans who are excited for your next upload, or 1000 followers, some of those scroll past your social content, so many of them will have you muted and the others are only following because you followed them. Leaving a handful of people who truly enjoy what you have to say.
So by unfollowing someone, you are actually doing them a favour! Social networks are big on their algorithms and so those ‘dormant follows’ could be affecting your reach to the people who are eager for your next post.
I must add that if I unfollow someone on social, it doesn’t mean that I won’t be enjoying their blogs or videos. I use Feedly.com which is a simple to use RSS feeder so I can organize my favourite sites and catch up with them in my own time. You won’t find me active on BlogLovin’ but I may have your blog added to Feedly, I highly recommend you check it out.
Another tip I have is to use Pocket for when you are browsing on your phone but don’t really have time to read the article that looks interesting. This is great for when you do see those ‘click link in bio’ call to actions on Instagram. Pocket saves up the articles you save and you can catch up on them later over coffee via the app or desktop. This is handy if it’s not a blog you usually follow so of course it wouldn’t already be in your Feedly list.
Tips to Declutter Your Social Media
It’s much like the KonMari Method but the digital version! Does this feed spark joy?
✅ If you don’t want to unfollow someone on Twitter but want to reduce the noise a bit, consider turning off Retweets for that person.
✅ If you really enjoy their blog but not their tweets, consider adding their blog to an RSS feeder like Feedly so you still see their content. Then you can unfollow on whichever platforms you like.
✅ Consider setting your Trending Topics to a language you don’t understand. I have mine set to Korean.
✅ Check your instagram to see if any accounts you followed early on have changed. You can now remove certain people who are following you! I’ve noticed this with a few spam accounts, they started out normal but then they may have been sold on (yep people buy IG accounts for high number of followers or great usernames!)
✅ If you find yourself scrolling for 5 minutes past a lot of photos on instagram, ask yourself why. Take the time and look at that particular feed and once again, if it’s a blog you enjoy consider following on an RSS feeder, then just click unfollow.
✅ Open your Facebook account and check out how many pages you have clicked like on. Is there a yoghurt shop in there that you visited once when you went to the Lake District but has since shut down? Do yourself a favour and unlike those pages so that the Facebook algorithm can (even though it doesn’t want to) deliver updates from the pages that matter to you.
✅ Are you active in the Facebook groups that you are a member of? Do you scroll past the updates from a group for something you are no longer interested in? Click that leave group button.
End Goals
To free up more time and actually read people’s web content rather than the tweets and statuses telling you to go read their content.
Less anxiety when browsing social media.
Enjoyable content that you can’t wait to read.
As a creator having more ‘superfans’ of your work and knowing that people are enjoying it.
Do you have any tips on decluttering your social media? Let me know in the comments! ?
Also, I’ve been practicing minimalism (my own version of it) for a few years now. It takes time! ?
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