How vulnerable and personal should I be on social media? How much of my story should I share?

The impact you make on social media is probably directly proportional to how real, unpolished, and vulnerable you’re willing to be—though there is definitely a line before it crosses into cringe. Here’s the truth: we’re all broken human beings with struggles and challenges. When you open up about real aspects of your life, people who’ve experienced similar things will connect deeply with you and become bonded to your story. Your story and who you are as a person is almost more important than the quality of your work—people fall in love with stories. They reach the know-like-trust threshold through stories, then they settle on the merit of the work. The more real and vulnerable you are (within reason), the more engagement you’ll get—more views, replies, comments, and messages. Everyone thinks they need to present a polished, perfect image, but that’s actually less effective. People connect with authenticity and relatability. Even when your story has nothing to do with your subject matter, it still matters enormously for building those human connections that lead to sales.

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Asked by an artist unsure about sharing personal stories · Answered by Patrick · Art Business Webinar · 2026-06-22