Whether you’ve never worked with a virtual assistant (VA) or you’re looking to become one, this blog is for you. We detail what you should consider outsourcing to a VA from a business perspective and what VAs should expect to be tasked with from clients. You’ll find that VAs will offer different services, and we narrowed down what most clients are looking to outsource to a VA. The first step as a business owner is clarifying what exactly you can outsource to a VA and how they can assist your business.
Administrative or Receptionist Tasks
Unfortunately for many businesses, the age-old position of a receptionist is becoming less and less needed. Other than the personal greeting customers receive, most work that a receptionist would have traditionally done is outsourced.
Administrative and receptionist tasks generally include data entry, email management and scheduling. The benefit of hiring a VA to do jobs like these is that businesses don’t have to pay someone a standing wage, benefits, overtime, and training to complete them. Most VAs offer experience or knowledge in specific fields and lessen the need for training a new employee, but can still understand industry jargon and complete the tasks successfully.
Research
Research is sometimes tedious, and not many business owners want to spend their time analyzing documents or scanning the internet. They could be using the time to interact with their clientele or offer services. Outsourcing research work to a VA can be helpful, especially if that VA has experience in the field and can provide beneficial insight into the research.
Research can come in various forms, so both the VA and the business must be upfront about their expectations ahead of time. Suppose you’re a VA specializing in content creation and writing. In that case, you might not want to take on a contract that stipulates you need to research the current audience being reached and different analytics. Whereas if your specialty as a VA is marketing, you might thrive in a contract analyzing other market trends and audiences.
Content Creation and Repurposing
As a business, you must constantly and consistently put out new content for your consumers. This ensures that your brand stays relevant and is always on the minds of your target audience. A VA that offers content creation and repurposing services helps manage your social media, website and marketing content. At the same time, you focus on developing your business further.
When it comes to repurposing content, this can be an excellent way for businesses to continue sharing the same message without it being the same post as the original. For example, suppose you’re sharing five tips on how to protect your skin from the sun. In that case, you can create the initial social media post, a blog post, a TikTok video and re-create the social media post later on using different graphics.
Travel and Scheduling
Suppose you’re in a position where you find yourself travelling consistently. In that case, it might be worth your while to hire a VA to assist with your travel itinerary. You’ll find many VAs that offer services such as booking flights and hotel accommodations, researching tourist attractions and need-to-know information before you depart.
Some VAs offer more administrative assistant services such as appointment booking and registries. This is especially popular with people who find their personal lives mesh with their professional lives. Having someone handle all the meetings, dental appointments and ensuring that someone can pick up the kids after school can be very helpful.
Copywriting and Blogging
Blogs are no longer a thing of the early 2000s that stay-at-home moms and soon-to-be chefs would use to spread their knowledge. Now, businesses of all kinds use blogs to boost their website’s SEO (search engine optimization) and share information about their business and employees.
Web Development
On the same path as blogging and copywriting, if you want to revamp your current website (or create a new one), VAs are helpful for the initial start-up. They typically possess the skills required to understand SEO, marketing tactics and building a website in general.
Social Media Management
Now that people spend more time on their phones than they do reading a newspaper, it’s helpful to have a professional take care of your digital marketing. VAs can analyze your target audience, schedule content to be released at optimal times, and meet targets based on engagement and following.
If you're still curious about the many things VAs can work on, check out our free download list of 111 things a VA can do!
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