INSTAGRAM FREE for 6 Months – Has it Hurt My Business?

Hey Friend!

I’m soooo thrilled to bring you today’s UPDATE! Back in August of 2021, I laid down Instagram for 30 days. I had already been deleting the social apps on weekends for a few years, but I felt the tug from Abba to create even more space. After the 30 days was over, YES my business had still grown, but more importantly… my life had truly changed.

My heart was renewed. I felt free, light, and present. Couldn’t go back.

I kept my IG detox going for another 6 weeks and prayed until felt absolute peace about not returning.

It’s now been 6 months and the only thing my team now posts is my podcast episodes. We’ve discovered a lot of data around showing up 24/7, the algorithm and the truth about having an IG presence at all.

There will most likely soon be a day that I leave Instagram altogether, even my business presence – as I’ve more than proven we don’t need it – AT ALL.

So. Much. Freedom.

I hope this gives you permission and perspective over anything the Lord is asking you to lay down, and that you will be obedient. There’s so much fruit on the other side of Yes and AMEN.

I pray this blesses you!

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION:

(00:00):
What’s up, friends! I’m super excited to be prerecording this episode for you, which is why I love podcasting so much because I am actually, at the time of you listening to this episode, on an airplane to Arizona, about to host my very first live retreat with one of my biz besties, Chelsi Jo Moore.

(00:20):
We have 17 incredible women coming to hang out with us over the next four days. We’re gonna be digging deep. And I’m just so excited. This is gonna be so fun, so refreshing, so spirit-led and we’re gonna get a ton of transformation to go down up in her.

(00:38):
Plus Arizona, I’m ready for some sunshine, some sandals. So that is the beauty of podcasting, my friends, you don’t have to show up anywhere, but behind a mic on your own terms, on your own schedule.

And live your best life, which is exactly why I’m recording today’s episode for you, which is my six-month Instagram free update.

(01:04):
I’ve, personally, on a personal level, been Instagram-free, not using it at all in any other capacity, except to post my podcast episodes, which I am not doing. It is my team. And I spend less than five minutes roughly every two weeks on Instagram. And I just wanna talk to you guys about that today.

(01:25):
I wanna tell you why I decided to do that. I wanna tell you what it’s meant for my Instagram account, what it’s meant for how I feel the time and space that’s been created in my life. And I also wanna let you know all the numbers.

(01:38):
Did it hurt my business to get off of social media at such a crazy, quite crazy level? You’re gonna find out. So stay tuned. Now, before I spill all the beans for you guys today, I did wanna remind you that Podcast to Profit still has room for you.

(02:01):
We are kicking off in just a little over 30 days. Podcast to Profit starts April 14th, and this is my 90-day immersion mastermind. Basically, the craziest most incredible podcasting bootcamp you’ve ever been in, that you haven’t ever been in your whole life.

(02:17):
And I’m gonna teach you how to make your profit rank, how to make your profit profitable, how to make it successful.

And how to build an income stream that you get to market right from behind that microphone without crazy strategies and big fancy marketing funnels and stressful strategies, we are gonna simplify things.

(02:38):
We are gonna get rid of all the overwhelm, all the hustle. We’re gonna build a podcast plan that’s really sustainable.

One that will surpass the test of time and builds you something out that you can make money from without any stress that you know will bless people, that you know you’ve been called to create.

(02:58):
And we’re gonna do all of this together with a group of other faith-led incredible kingdom entrepreneurs, just like you who have the same heart and mindset, and they want to grow for the glory of God.

(03:10):
So if that sounds like you’re a cup of tea, like the family that you wanna be part of and the growth that you’ve been praying for head to podcastprofitmastermind.com.

Get your application in. We do only have 30 spots. It definitely will sell out and it is first come first serve. So podcasttoprofitmastermind.com. I’ll meet you there.

(04:34):
Let’s dig into this juicy topic. Here’s the deal, back in August of 2021, God spoke me a word and he said, get off of Instagram for 30 days.

I had already been getting off of the social apps every single weekend for about two to three years prior, I don’t remember exactly.

(04:58):
But I knew the importance of laying down on the idolatry of social media because I had experienced it firsthand. I knew the freedom when I got out of the apps, out of my phone and I was truly present and I was truly here and I felt that whisper.

(05:16):
And when I heard God’s whisper, one thing about me is I am obedient to it and I don’t always understand it, but every time there’s fruit at the end of it.

So I laid my phone down. I did an Instagram detox for 30 days, and I took you, guys, along with me for the ride.

(05:34):
And if you recall back in August, it was August 16th, 2021, episode 320, I talked about why I was deleting Instagram for 30 days. I did a social experiment to see if it would hurt my business. Well, it ended up not hurting my business.

(05:49):
My business ended up growing, but what was more important than that is that I felt so free. I loved it so much. There was no pressure on me to show up and this weird pressure I had put on myself to show up in stories all day long.

(06:06):
And show what it was really like to be me and work here and do this and do that and promote the podcast over here.

And do it this way and post this thing and get in the DMs which no one was telling me to do. It was just something I felt compelled to do because I was there.

(06:21):
And what I noticed about myself is I had stopped touching my phone so much. I stopped clicking, pressing, needing to get that false whatever it is, endorphin or serotonin or dopamine, whichever one that would come from clicking on the app.

(06:39):
And I loved how I felt, I was clearheaded and sober mind and I never wanted to go back. So I kept extending it. I went five weeks and then I went six weeks.

And then I decided that I was actually not going to come back to Instagram at more than a business level.

(07:00):
So I decided that we would have one of the interns on the team totally take over and just post the podcast. Nothing personal was going up anymore.

No more stories, unless it was something God asked me to share, or there was a promotion or something going on.

(07:16):
So we went to a purely business promotion focus. Now, this takes my team about five minutes three times a week to post my stuff.

And then somebody does get in there and comment back to everyone, which the funny thing is, it’s totally died.

(07:36):
So this goes to prove guys at, if you’re not showing up on this app 24/7, it does nothing for you. It’s not sustainable.

It’s not foundational and it’s not evergreen because as soon as I stopped showing up, my likes went from roughly 750 likes per post, we get like 20 to 40 now comments.

(07:57):
I had comments between 60 and 200 comments sometimes down to, we get two or three. Now, my stories used to get 250-450, depending on what I was posting about maybe 600 views.

Now we’re lucky to get, I don’t even know 30-60. I haven’t looked, it’s nothing. It’s literally nothing. I’ve also lost 4,000 followers.

(08:20):
And the truth is, it’s freeing to know. You shouldn’t have to fight and battle for the feel goods and that’s exactly what it was.

And what I set out to prove when I did the social experiment was that I didn’t actually need it to have success, that the conversions weren’t actually happening because of Instagram.

(08:44):
And that Instagram was actually just a prison that I had created and put myself in. And I was a prisoner in this prison of my own making and I wanted to get out.

But I was afraid to get out because I thought that everything was gonna fall apart.

(09:02):
Well, here’s what happened. So, even though the numbers sound awful, as far as Instagram is concerned, here’s what’s happened in my heart.

And then I’m gonna talk to you a bit about if it’s actually hurt my business because I’ve been gone now for six months.

(09:16):
The only time I actually get into the app is to if someone on my team alerts me that I have a message that I personally need to reply to.

Guys, it wouldn’t even matter if I deleted Instagram completely at this point, which is what I’ve proven to myself.

(09:28):
And maybe I will, we’ll see, because nothing’s happening over there. It’s truly dead because I am not showing up 24/7 like I was.

So, here’s what’s different. I have so much freedom in my day that was totally taken up by this.

(09:51):
It’s almost like a tug that I had constantly pulling at my mind or my heart of capture this moment, postable moment, take a picture, make a reel, not a reel, I never did reels, do a story, post a thing, like there was always this like tug.

(10:07):
And so instead of me enjoying my life, I felt I was the director of my life. Instead of me sitting in a moment like really watching my son’s soccer game or playing a board game with them or having a funny, cute, or emotional moment with them.

(10:23):
I felt like the director of this movie, pause, stop, act three, take the shot again, click record, grab the thing, grab the prop. Everything felt so much pressure all the time.

(10:36):
And, one day I was watching this girl’s stories and she always posted stories. She has lots and lots of stories.

Probably 20 stories a day, which let me tell you the amount of time that I was on my phone to post between 20 and 30 stories a day, quite frankly, disgusting. It was disgusting.

(11:00):
It was an absolute idol. And I was lying to myself about the reason in which I was doing it because God did not ask me to do that. It was not helping anyone, just perpetuating problems in my own life, distraction.(11:15):
It was creating a barricade between what was really happening in my life and what I was actually experiencing in my life.

I was experiencing my own life through a director’s screen instead of living it, instead of feeling it, realizing it, knowing that it was really happening.

(11:37):
And I’m watching her stories and her son is crying in the story and he’s really visibly upset about something and she’s recording it in her stories.

And I was so repulsed by that. I thought to myself, and I’m no better, I’m sure I’ve done something like this in my past.

(11:57):
But, and I would’ve back in when I thought that this was so critically important to connect with my person, but instead of her putting her phone down and being with her son, she recorded it and used it in her movie of her life.

And my heart broke and it felt shattered. I prayed for that little boy in that moment. And I still pray for her.

(12:20):
And I know how hard it is to break the idolatry of your phone.

And at that moment, it was like this veil was lifted off my eyes about how far we’ve gone down the lie of sharing every vulnerable moment at the expense of everyone and everything around us.

(12:43):
And it just tore me up and it still tears me up. And I’m still so like hurt for that little boy, but more than him I’m hurt for my own kids when I did that to them.

I’m hurt for my husband when I had to capture a moment instead of living a moment. And why?

(13:01):
And there was this other moment in my life where I was sitting there in my morning routine, my time with God and my favorite comfy couch and the weather was beautiful and it was snowy outside and I had already deleted Instagram.

(13:14):
And I was like, gosh, this is a beautiful moment. I’ve got my Bible here. I’ve got my beautiful snow outside or whatever it was. It was so beautiful.

It was a beautiful moment. And I got my phone out and I was gonna take a picture to post on Instagram.

(13:26):
And then I realized I don’t have Instagram anymore. I deleted it. And then I sat there and was like, do I really want this picture?

No, I didn’t even want the picture. I just wanted the moment, I wanted this meaningful moment. And I almost ruined the moment to share the moment. Anyway, it was like a mind trip you, guys.

(13:48):
I went through it and I just decided that nothing was worth me giving way, to living my actual life anymore. I was done recording my life for other people to live instead of me living my life.

That is why I got rid of it. I feel free, so much time and space. I still struggle.

(14:14):
I struggle a lot with my phone, in general. Don’t really use the apps that much anymore. I do have Facebook, but I don’t care about Facebook.

It’s not really a tug for me. I have a team that manages the Facebook group and things of that nature.

(14:28):
And even if I didn’t have a team that managed the Facebook group, it’s never been a big pull for me. We have to be aware and discerning of the things that are a poll for us. So, that was fine. For me now, it’s Voxer.

(14:41):
I have my friends in there and I chat with my friends. It’s my email, it’s my text. It’s the internet, the news.

And so I’m actually feeling, I’ve actually heard a very specific call and direction from the Lord that I’m gonna be starting, I’m really excited about this next phase of even more space from tech and from all the stuff that just steals.

(15:06):
It steals from what God created us to be and to do and it can all be used for good, don’t get me wrong. I need my phone, the internet, my Facebook group.

I get it, but I don’t need it all the time. And so it’s just creating those boundaries and that intention around it.

(15:22):
And, actually, I’m gonna be sharing with you, guys, let’s see, on the 10th, my lose my phone March challenge. I’m gonna actually be losing my phone for two hours a day, which I’m so excited about. I can’t wait.

And so I’m gonna be bringing you, guys, on that journey with me and praying that you will join me as well. And I’m just excited.

(15:43):
I’m excited to keep finding more ways to stop being so available, keep finding more boundaries for myself to be more present in my family, in my life, with my kids, with my husband, and to operate this business more efficiently and effectively.

(16:02):
And only do the things that create income impact or change for the kingdom of God period. End of story. And anything that does not fit those criteria, it’s gone. It is gone or there’s a new boundary around it.

And it’s just gonna be the way that I’m operating from here on out. So just continuing to grow and challenge me in these areas. And it’s been good.

(16:26):
So let’s get to what you’re probably really curious about because maybe you’re thinking of getting rid of Instagram or decreasing it.

Or maybe you’re thinking of getting rid of Facebook, or maybe you are thinking about the lose your phone challenge. And you’re scared.

(16:40):
But isn’t it gonna hurt my business if I don’t show up everywhere? Stef, you’ve already built a big successful business that’s why you don’t need Instagram.

Guys, that is not true. That is absolutely not true. I built this big, very successful, very profitable business through my podcast.

(16:58):
Instagram had zero weight on my revenue numbers because the people that found my Instagram came through my podcast.

Trust me, believe me when I say all those followers you see up there on Instagram, there’s probably a hundred of them that are actually legit.

(17:22):
Because it’s all just a bunch of games and pay to plays and silly algorithms, games that we play to get followers and likes, but none of it converts. It does not convert. The podcast is what did it for me.

(17:34):
And so even if you have no one, even if you have 10 super fans right now, you don’t have to have Instagram. I’m gonna give you the freedom.

You don’t even have to have social media if you don’t want it. So, did it hurt my business? Let’s talk about this.

(17:47):
Over the last six months, so from August 16th through today, the time of recording, this it’s February 25th, 2022. My podcast has actually grown. My podcast has grown 12%, which means Instagram had no weight on my podcast.

(18:07):
My email list has actually grown 222%. That’s a baller. That means Instagram had no weight on my email list.

My Facebook group has grown by 39%. That means that Instagram had no weight on my community and my revenue.

(18:24):
I think the most important metric of all has grown 35%. Instagram has definitely not affected my revenue. So, what I’m here to tell you is, even though my Instagram numbers look dismal, my Instagram account is all but dead, my business is thriving.

(18:41):
I am thriving, my mindset, my heart I’m free. My purpose, my intention is so much more. I’m seeing more and more clearly from the Lord and what’s next.

If I live distracted, if I live with my face in an app and next to my face in the phone, which I’m working on, next, I’m so excited about I can’t be who he’s called me to be.

(19:05):
He calls us to be sober-minded which does not just mean alcohol. That does not just mean substance abuse. It means any distraction, any idolatry, anything that is pulling your attention away from who? Him.

What? His purpose over your life, his calling over your life. And so they have to go.

(19:28):
And we have to trust that when we let something go that is stealing from God’s purpose over our lives, He will replace it with something better and bigger and more incredible.

And I refuse to let my phone or apps or this facade of people’s lives, or me being the director of this movie of my life, steal from my children one more day.

(19:54):
Steal from my marriage one more minute, steal from the purpose that God has asked me to show up for in my business, through this podcast, through the things and the solutions I’ve created for you, guys, through the clients he sends me and the students that he gifts me.

(20:08):
I will not do it. I refuse to be a victim to the games that the enemy plays through apps, through social media, and through my phone for one more minute.

(20:20):
And I pray, friend, that if you find yourself some kind of convicted right now that you take it to the Lord and you ask him if you are to lay down an app, if you are to get off of social media, if you are to stop using your phone for a certain number of hours per day.

(20:36):
And how the Lord can help you to become more present and purposeful in your life, in your work, and to create more meaning in your life, and to actually help you live your life instead of watching your life through a screen.

(20:51):
I pray that this finds you on time. I pray that this helped you. And I just pray friends that wherever you find yourself know that it’s okay. Know that we’ve all been lost to this stuff. Especially when it comes to building a business, we think we need it, we’ve been told that we need it.

(21:06):
And it’s so hard and heartbreaking when we realize that we’ve been let astray and that we’ve been lied to, but it’s okay because tomorrow’s a new day. You have discernment and you have decision-making skills and you have discipline.

(21:22):
You can do hard things, my friend, and it starts now and it starts today. God bless you. I will see you back here tomorrow for another quick tip Tuesday episode.

(21:32):
And I can’t wait to connect with you after Call Her Blessed and share with you the lose my phone challenge, which we’re gonna get going on March 10th. Bless you, friend. I’ll see you soon.