Digital Minimalism: Build an ‘always on’ personal brand without being always on

5 ways to detox from social media in the New Year, while still leveraging digital platforms for your personal brand

According to research from the University of Michigan, an estimated 210 million people worldwide are addicted to social media and the internet.

While social media sparked wonders for the world, like with most things, it has its toxic trends if not used carefully. Studies suggest a link between social media usage and anxiety and depression. A hyperactive realm of people’s highlight reels can naturally lead to feelings of comparison and inadequacy. So, make sure you design a detox strategy for your personal brand’s online plans.

For personal brands, social media has been heaven-sent. It’s given the everyday person the opportunity to become the media or create a profitable personal brand for themselves, often all from their phones. But, as many content creators will tell you, creating can create exhaustion.  And, an always-on system on social media can lead to burnout.

So, how do you make the most of what makes social media so special for your personal brand and relationships, while also taking care of your mental and physical health? Enter Digital Minimalism. It’s the way to both optimise the opportunities of the digital world and detox from it.

Cal Newport, in his book Digital Minimalism, describes the mindset as:

“A philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimised activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.”

This is a philosophy that underpins my own personal brand social media strategy. It allows me to publish a weekly blog, YouTube videos, podcasts and LinkedIn articles while feeling like a digital minimalist. Here are my top personal favourite ways to build your personal brand online while having a healthy relationship with social media:

1. Feng Shui your following list

In their book Joy at Work, cleaning sensation Marie Kondo, best-selling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy, teams up with organisational psychologist Scott Sonenshein. The duo apply Kondo’s famous ‘Spark Joy’ mentality to the workplace.

The book highlights that when you clean the clutter, you clear the way for receiving more of what you need. As Kondo points out, even Feng Shui experts agree. For example, when you clear space in your inbox, you attract more of what you need to complete your work. So, why not apply the same Feng Shui mindset to your following lists across social media?

Perhaps your personal brand priorities have pivoted? Unfollow the businesses that no longer align with your personal brand and are cluttering your attention.

I make a point to Feng Shui my following list at least once a year to help my brain (and social media algorithm) focus on my priorities and the relationships that most spark joy.   

2. Declutter your phone

Back when paper and other physical things dominated our lives, we’d more often make a point to declutter. Usually, things got unsightly, embarrassing or we simply needed the space. Our digital devices make clutter less obvious and, therefore, less urgent to address.

Last year, I spent time spring-cleaning the apps on my phone like never before, aiming for the most minimal aesthetic I could manage. It forced me to make conscious choices about the apps that best served my goals -  per the digital minimalism philosophy, to optimise my usage for what offered the highest return on investment.

I strategically added widgets to my screens that better served my priorities, such as links to specific sub-boards on my Pinterest account. With this method, my phone transformed into an effortless visualisation tool for my personal brand and personal goals. My phone went from cluttered chaos to a breath of inspiring fresh air.

In Digital Minimalism, Newport says:

“Cultivate a digital life in which new technologies serve your deeply held values as opposed to subverting them without your permission.”

3. Be omnipresent with the least amount of effort

Most mega personal brands and marketing gurus will tell you to be everywhere on social media. Most also have teams of people behind their personal brand. For small creators, being on all the optimal social media platforms you identify for your personal brand’s online strategy can be overwhelming. Instead of extending yourself beyond your means, extend yourself across social media as smartly as possible. Make your mantra to repurpose everything.

This doesn’t need to mean copying all your content across platforms. Social media usually works best when you create custom content for each platform. It does, however, mean ensuring every last bit of your efforts are extracted for its true value.

Spending just a couple of hours planning how you can relentlessly repurpose your content can save you immeasurable amounts of time in the future.

Here are just some ideas to build your personal brand on a repurposing strategy:

• Clip long-form videos, i.e. from YouTube videos into short-form clips for YouTube shorts, TikTok, Instagram reels or LinkedIn videos.

• Convert your video content into a blog post or articles across multiple platforms.

• Start with a blog and use this as the script for your video or podcast.

• Extract the audio from your talking head video for a podcast.

• Use the b-roll footage you capture for your long-form video for reels or Instagram stories.

• Use the photos you take for your video thumbnails for your carousels.

• Convert your blog post into a short form social media carousel on LinkedIn or Instagram.

• Convert the top tips from your blog post into a text-only listicle for X or Linkedin.

These are simple ways you can build an omnipresent personal brand with just a few extra minutes across high-value activities.

Newport says:

“If your personal brand of digital minimalism requires engagement with services like social media or breaking news sites, it’s important to approach these activities with a sense of zero-sum antagonism. You want something valuable from their network, and they want to undermine your autonomy - to come out on the other side of this battle requires both preparation and a ruthless commitment to avoid exploitation.”

4. Schedule everything

The more you expose yourself to any potentially addictive element, the more you’ll likely be tempted by it. Limit the number of times you come into contact with your social media.

For example, despite publishing on LinkedIn every week, I’m rarely on the platform. From YouTube to my podcast, I schedule everything I can. Even when I’m not publishing on social media and simply want to connect with others, I keep a scheduling mindset in mind. I generally don’t touch social media personally after 9 pm or before 9 am. It’s like intermittent fasting but for social media. Plus, I’m conscious of keeping my scrolling to a few minutes, which is usually only done out of hours.

5. Post and ghost

Andy Warhol famously said:

“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”

Social media companies will generally tell you to respond to comments straight away. Social media companies also want you to stay on their platform as long as possible.

While I agree with responding to every comment, consider scheduling the time to do this too. Don’t worry about the performance of your posts - it’s like watching a kettle boil. Your post is already in the past. Focus on the future. Come back to comments in the interest of data collection, good manners and keeping social media social. But, otherwise, move on. You are not the success, the failure, the praise, or the criticism of your last social media post. So, post and progress to new, healthier things.