In 2018 Olivia Palermo hired a social media agency to help build her online following. She already had five million followers on Instagram. That agency noticed something it thought was curious about her appeal.

“When we would show stuff of her private life, it wouldn’t perform as well,” said Jeffrey Tousey, the founder of Beekman Social.

This broke most of the understood rules of social media. You’re supposed to flaunt your glamorous life, but also, show your authentic self — here’s me putting on makeup before the gala, here’s me straightening my hair in a random bathroom.

It even extended to the old crowd pleaser: pets. “We’d post a picture of Mr. Butler,” Mr. Tousey said, referring to her dog, “and it wouldn’t perform.”