What taking a break from social media did to my business

Website for Social Media to attract more engagement with your business website automations allow you take a break from social media
Writer: MariannaKane
Date: 02/12/2022

Too lazy to read?

Kick back, relax and listen instead.

I’ve been on social media for over 10 years now. And while I love it, there have been times where I felt like I was missing out on something important. So I took a break from social media for a month and then for a year. Read on to see what happened!

How did a 1 month break from Social Media affect my business?
>>

How did a 1 year break from Social Media affect my business?
>>

What to do if you are considering taking a break from social media
>>

The first time I took a break from social media was in February 2018

I get 100% of my clients online. My online presence is vital to my business success! In early 2018 I signed up for Quest Adventure Race to raise money for a local dog rescue. I realised 4 weeks before the race that I hadn’t done enough training as I “didn’t have time”. When I reflected, I realised that I wasted a lot of time scrolling on my phone! I needed a break from social media.

I didn’t quit social media on every device

I only removed social media apps from my phone but left them on my laptop. I committed time every 2 hours to engaging with social media on my laptop while working. I took a complete break from social media every evening and all day Sunday. This gave me a chance to train for race day.

Quest Adventure Race 2018 Marianna Kane Bike

On my bike for the first section of Quest Glendalough 2018

What this one month break from social media did for me

I managed to gain enough time each day to train, sleep and eat right for the four weeks. My mental health also improved and I enjoyed my social media sessions on my laptop. After race day I reinstalled the social media apps on my phone and felt refreshed after my break.

How did this 1 month break from social media affect my business?

To be completely honest it improved my business. By restricting my time scrolling I was more focussed on my business plans. Over the four weeks I managed to rethink my business. I decided to diversify my business the next financial year. I focused on local business needs rather than design for international clients. I decided to niche my offerings to offer website design services alone.

I completely rebranded my business with a new colourful logo. I styled it to attract website design clients. I started to work on my business plan to offer local businesses my website design services. The break from social media allowed me to focus on what I wanted. It also helped reduce my imposter syndrome and improved my confidence.

DesignBurst Website Design Logo with brand under icon

In my time off social media I designed the new DesignBurst Logo

In my break I managed to set up sales targets for 2019 and I wrote up a quick marketing plan. I also committed time every day to run or cycle for at least one hour. I felt more alert, confident and energised after exercise. I brought this energy to my social media channels when I reinstalled the apps. I was building the business of my dreams and honing my skills so that I could launch my new services the next year.

In 2021 I took a long break from Social Media

2020 was a crazy year in everyone’s life. The world shut down but I stayed very active online to help local businesses stay afloat. I helped many businesses get website grants and vouchers for their business. I also built a massive amount of websites for local businesses. I was working through the night many times a week. Running and cycling stopped and I was 100% focussed on my business and family.

In 2021 things got very hard for me and I wanted to commit more time to my family. I decided that I couldn’t be on Social Media anymore and I needed a short break. This short break started in January but every time I reinstalled the apps I felt overwhelmed. So I did not reinstall the apps until January 2022!

How much did this 1 year break from using social media affect my business?

I cannot begin to describe the negative effect this break had on my business. The only solace that I have is that I took essential time to spend with my family. That precious time was worth more than anything I could ever achieve in my business.

I lost many followers and I stopped getting enquiries though social media. Businesses forgot to tag me in their good news. I didn’t wish good friends Happy Birthdays. I missed many events and opportunities to network. Organisations stopped asking me to mentor and do talks. Businesses found it harder and harder to stumble upon my business online.

I devoted 2021 to spending more time with my beloved mother who sadly passed away later that year.

Sales reduced but my business survived

The break from social media meant that new people found it hard to discover my business. At least I had my website. It was there through what was the toughest year of my life. It continued to rank in Google as I had taken time to optimise my website for local SEO. People continued getting in touch with me via my website and via Google. My visitors went down because my social media feeds were stagnant but I was still ranking online via search engines. Sales reduced because enquiries reduced.

So, do I recommend a break from Social Media?

No. I recommend you ensure you have a website for social media audiences. This will allow you engage with social media in a healthy way and avoid burnout! You will have time to exercise, nerd out and play Witcher and spend precious time with the people you love.

Website Automations would have helped me during my break

I don’t regret taking the time for my family in 2021 but I do wish I had more automations in place. My website depended on me to respond to general enquiries and quote requests. My messages on social media fell into hidden folders because I was so inactive and slow to respond.

How does thaking a break from social media affect business sales - Automations to encourage more sales online in website design

Taking a break from social media can affect your business sales if you dont have a good website in place

In 2021 and 2022 I focussed on adding automations to my own website to improve my business

I committed time in 2022 to add more automations to my business and my website.

  • I designed my Instant Quote Calculator tool to allow people get an automatic website quote.
  • I made hidden and public pages in my website to share with leads to answer their queries.
  • I wrote content to help customers understand the Trading Online Voucher
  • I created Tech Support documents and videos and automated signup forms for clients.

These website automations save me time and improve how I engage with businesses. Automations like these could save you money and time and are worth the time taken to build them. If you dont know where to start with adding automations to your website I am happy to chat to you.

Website for Social Media to attract more engagement with your business website automations allow you take a break from social media

I recommend website automations to avoid you losing sales if you take a break from social media.

Time is precious – make it work while you live

I learned some valuable lessons in the past two years of running a business. One of the most important lessons I learned is that time is too precious to waste on monotonous tasks! My best business is one that compliments me living my happiest life. If automating some menial business tasks or taking a break from social media gets me closer to that goal then happy days. 

I dedicate this blog to the memory of my beloved mother Anne who shaped me to be the person I am today. I always hid behind my business, afraid to be myself online. I felt it would be unprofessional to bring too much of my personality into my business.  Spending time with her taught me that there is more to life than giving a sh!t about what I am meant to do in business.

I really enjoy working with all my clients and I want every single one of them to succeed. I have worked with each one of them to improve how they do business. Many of my clients now have a healthier balance of work and life thanks to the work I have done. This brings me an incredible amount of joy!

What are your thoughts on taking a break from social media?

Have you ever taken a break from social? Did it affect you the way it affected me? I would love to hear from you; comment below or let me know via social by tagging me in your post. I hope you enjoyed this post – feel free to share it if you wish.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Reviews of our web design services

Facebook Reviews

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
3 years ago
Marie-Clare Byard

Marianna is an expert in what she does, she is not just a web developer but has a background in design which she brings to the table when designing your website.

She really takes the pain out of the whole process of planning and designing a site, she listen and comes up with the concepts to match your brand and show case what you do in a well designed and layout out site.
Plus she is a pleasure to deal with and had a great sense of humour, I would highly recommend her and her business Design Burst.
... See MoreSee Less

View all Reviews
3 years ago
Eimer Duffy

Having a fully optimised and well-designed website is key for all types of businesses. I took my time looking for the right website design company which I would feel comfortable with and one which would provide a 5 Star professional service. I wish to highly recommend DesignBurst Website Design. Marianna Kane is exceptional and went far and beyond to ensure I was happy with my website. She really listened and provided solutions. I am delighted with the new website for FIT Social Media Training. Thank you Marianna for all your help. 😀⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐... See MoreSee Less

View all Reviews
3 years ago
Caroline Kane

I am delighted with my new website! Marianna and her team were wonderful and they made the process so much easier than it might have been. At every stage I felt guided and supported through the process of creating a public image of my business that was reflective of the work I do. I also have an online booking system and a blog built into my website. It has attracted loads of new business enquiries. My clients already have a feel for the work I do before they book which is great.
Highly recommend!
Caroline Kane, Ebb & Flow Massage, Co. Meath 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
... See MoreSee Less

View all Reviews
3 years ago
Jill O'Meara

Design Burst came highly recommend to me by LEO Meath. Marianna became my mentor and I had no idea what we cover in digital marketing but I just knew I need help as I was self taught. OMG is all I can say. She is a listener and tailored each session [all done over zoom] by your needs. She record the sessions so I could go over the material learnt. Marianna is a dream to work and I highly recommend Design Burst. She is just fantastic.... See MoreSee Less

View all Reviews

Very happy with Designburst and the website they created for me, highly recommend... See MoreSee Less

View all Reviews
Load more
Legal E Transcript
Legal E Transcript
14:54 05 Oct 22
I found Marianna to be creative, enthusiastic and a truly dedicated Professional. I learned very quickly that she is extremely knowledgeable in her field and imparts that knowledge and expertise with ease and clarity. When it came to designing my Website, I was completely clueless as to what I wanted and more importantly, what I needed. Marianna really assisted here and thoroughly advised me through the process, thereby putting me totally at ease. I was so happy with the end result. It's such an important job, designing your Website but from the get-go, I just found I could fully put my trust in her. I would highly recommend Marianna.
barry prost
barry prost
12:47 23 Aug 22
Marianna and her team were a pleasure to deal with on this project. They delivered the brief and we were very satisfied with their creative output and overall contribution. Marianna got to know our business and industry and built a site that matched our goals and ambitions.
Marie-Clare Byard
Marie-Clare Byard
17:31 03 Sep 21
Marianna is an expert in what she does, she is not just a web developer but has a background in design which she brings to the table when designing your website.She really takes the pain out of the whole process of planning and designing a site, she listen and comes up with the concepts to match your brand and show case what you do in a well designed and layout out site.Plus she is a pleasure to deal with and had a great sense of humour, I would highly recommend her and her business Design Burst.
John O Neill
John O Neill
17:32 12 Aug 21
We own a thai food truck in Trim called Once Upon A Thai. We are so happy that we chose DesignBurst to create our new website with online order system that suits our truck. Marianna and team are very professional and always available when we have any problems. We would highly recommend DesignBurst to create your dreamed website. Thank you Marianna and team very much. We wish you the very best with your business. From Auan and John
David Macken
David Macken
14:59 08 Aug 21
We are delighted with the website created by DesignBurst Website Design for O'Shaughnessy's Pharmacy. The setup was very user-friendly and the demonstration videos created by Marianna were excellent. David (O'Shaughnessy's pharmacy).
See All Reviews
js_loader