Owning your own Antiques or Vintage Business is no joke, y’all. Regardless of whether you are a one-man-band…or you have a team, if you own your own business, it’s a 24/7 commitment.
So, when I hear Antiques or Vintage Business Owners say they just don’t have time to mess with learning how to market their business on Social Media, I totally understand where they are coming from. It’s not a lack of willingness….it’s a lack of time.
Or at least, a PERCEIVED lack of time.
Hang with me here. I’m not saying I doubt how busy you are. Not one bit. But, I do think that there’s a very incorrect perception among those who are unfamiliar with Social Media, that in order to “be on Facebook or Instagram”, you have to have your nose buried in your phone or your computer all the time. Like so many people do. And that is simply incorrect.
Don’t get me wrong…correctly marketing your Business on Social Media requires consistency, that’s true. And almost no one has trouble being on Social Media consistently. Social Media can be the biggest worm-whole in the world.
The key to successful marketing is FIRST: intentionality, which takes planning. And here’s the biggest tip I can give you….
If you utilize time blocking by BATCHING YOUR WORK, you will increase your efficiency, achieve better intentionality, and ultimately save yourself time when you do make the decision to use Social Media to market your business. Let me break this down for you a little more. And I’ll use myself as the example, because I have absolutely “been there…done that”!
Time Blocking By Batching
When I decided it was time to really get serious about marketing my business on Social Media (and for me it was Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter) I created a daily schedule for myself, which included work on each of those platforms every single day….on top of all my other daily tasks. My logic was, if I do a little every day, I’ll make progress.
The problem was, each time I sat down to work on Social Media Marketing on Facebook, for example, I started totally from scratch. Each time I sat down to post, I had to think through the following:
- What did I want to post that day, and had I covered the topic recently, or should I save the topic for a later date? I wasn’t really sure what my purpose was, because I was trying to make a decision on the fly.
- Once I decided on the topic, should I include an image or a video? Should I find a link to an article related to the topic? I had not taken the time to think about what would be most effective to achieve my goal.
- What about a graphic? If I needed one, I had to design it in another program.
- Then I was ready to post. And tag any appropriate brands.
- And then….I had to start the whole process over for Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Needless to say, there were many days when I did not get all that work done for every platform. And often, I got interrupted (or distracted) by a new email, or a phone call, or something else that simply took my attention away from the task at hand. And then I started feeling behind. And I felt more pressure. And even felt like I was failing.
Time to get OFF that treadmill! But how?
Productivity Techniques: BATCHING
When I started learning to use Social Media to market my business, I read a LOT of articles, took a LOT of digital courses, and listened to Marketing Pod Casts almost daily. The term “batching” came up often, and after hearing that term for the millionth time, I finally started to pay attention to what exactly batching means, and how it could help me with my own business.
Simply put, time blocking by batching is blocking by setting aside an intentional amount of time for intentional, and similar tasks, and making an intentional effort to not allow the distractions or interjections of others break that focus. After that block of time is up, take a planned break, then begin the next block of focused time. Each block of focused time is dedicated to one task or set of similar tasks.
Productive Workflow with Batching
Toward the end of every month, I time block a few hours to plan out my Facebook Editorial Calendar for the following month. I focus on the specific task of deciding exactly WHAT I will be posting each day for the upcoming month, and how I will be posting (image, video, graphic, etc.) Once I’ve made those decisions, I get to work scheduling out a month’s worth of Facebook posts, all in one sitting.
Yes, it takes me some time to do this. And yes, it can feel a little tedious. BUT….my mind is totally focused on my Facebook posts. And while I am “in the zone” of what content is best for Facebook, I am MUCH more efficient with my tasks.
If my Editorial Calendar says I need 6 new graphics for the upcoming month, I knock out those 6 graphics in one sitting…while my brain is focused on and “in the zone” of making graphics.
If my Editorial Calendar says I need 12 images, I locate those 12 images, edit them if needed, and get them scheduled. I am In.The.Zone.
And guess what…at the end of that focused work, accomplished in a batch…I am DONE with Facebook. I don’t have to fool with that platform again to post content. I don’t have to day, after day, after day go through the same steps to keep fresh content on my Facebook Page. I utilized Time Blocking by Batching, and got it done in a concentrated period of time and off my plate.
You Can Do It!
Social Media Marketing for your Antiques or Vintage Business does not have to be overwhelming. Nor does it have to take over your life.
With a little planning, forward thinking, and utilization of productivity techniques of time batching, you can elevate your business’ presence on Social Media. You can attract new Followers. And those Followers can become your next CUSTOMERS and CLIENTS!
Getting Social with The Curious Cowgirl
Small Group Workshops
In my Small Group Workshops, I will show you how to:
- Brainstorm meaningful and engaging content for Facebook and Instagram
- Choose Images, Text, Video or Links for your content
- Plan a monthly Editorial Calendar for your content
- How to Batch your time on Social Media, so you have more time to focus on the day-to-day tasks of running your Antique or Vintage Business. For example, learning to use Facebook Scheduler
- Hashtag Strategies and Research techniques
- The Difference between Instagram Feed and Stories, and how and WHY to post on each one
- And much more!
Imagine what a HUGE impact could be made in raising the awareness of your businesses, which would increase the foot traffic at your venue, and significantly increase the probability of more sales….for EVERYONE!
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