You’re tired of being swamped at work and have decided to partner with a virtual assistant. However, you’re a little nervous. Perhaps this is the first time or there’s been a bad experience. Apprehension is absolutely understandable. This article covers some commonly outsourced tasks and tips for working with your VA.
Maintaining Your Website
You can’t put it up and forget about it. But taking care of the site can be time consuming. Some delegated tasks can include changing copy, checking/adding links, embedding video, creating an opt-in box as well as submitting and scheduling your blog posts.
Tips
- Have a scheduled maintenance day. Can be weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly. It doesn’t matter but having a schedule is much easier than throwing changes hit-or-miss.
- Keep a list of the changes you want made leading up to your scheduled date. This makes sure you don’t miss anything and allows you time to consider the best way to make those changes.
- Think about the changes you want made. What is the goal or purpose behind the change? This helps you determine what exactly needs to be done before sending your list.
- The more detailed you can make your instructions the better. A chart set up like the one below can work nicely.
|
URL |
Current |
Change to |
| www.yourdomain.com/welcome | No opt-in box for newsletter | Insert opt-in box for newsletter in sidebar. Title – Your Domain News |
Email Inquiries
Customer emails range from questions and concerns to problems, etc. Reading and responding to them is very time consuming. You want them to know that they’re important while still being able to do your job.
Tips
- Set up your email to forward into an account like Gmail. This way, your Virtual Assistant can respond and you can see what is being answered and how.
- Think of the most common issues customers have and develop a guide with template responses. Your VA may be able to help you develop these as well. As new issues arise, stock responses can be added to the guide.
- In the event that your VA does not handle customer emails, there are other services that you can use. Kayako Support Center and Parature are two such services.
Social Media
Setting up the accounts and updating them can turn into a daunting task. Your VA can help you stay up to date and streamline the process of updating your networks.
Tips
- Have your VA make sure your social media accounts are set up properly. While there area lot of platforms, focusing on the big 3 (Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn) should be plenty.
- Have your VA set up a Social Media Dashboard using HootSuite, Tweetdeck or MarketMe Suite. With these services you can manage multiple accounts all in one place. You can schedule updates however often you would like.
- Your VA can assist you with the analytics of your social media sites to determine what days and time of day brings the most traffic back to your website.
Graphics
First impressions are important. In visually establishing your brand, graphics are key. Having your company logo and colors not only on your website but ads, Facebook, Twitter/YouTube backgrounds, business cards, newsletters, etc all work to brand your company. Animate your logo to be at the beginning and end of your videos.
Tips
- You want a consistent look across all of your areas. From your business cards to your website to your Facebook page. Keep the colors and logo the same. If you’re using a headshot, use the same one each time.
- If you’re starting with your professional graphics, start with ones that are going to bring in the most return on your investment.
- If you’re having a logo created, think about the smallest thing you’ll want it to appear on as wells as the largest. Whatever your design, you want it to look nice and be recognizable no matter what the size.
Research
You have an upcoming presentation or a project that requires research. Ugh! Your VA can compile your data in a format that is easiest for you to use.
Tips
- Tell them the topic with keywords to use and which keywords or subtopics to ignore.
- List which websites you’ve come across.
- What information do you want (quotes, screenshots, urls)?
- What format do you want the information in (Word, PDF, spreadsheet)?
These are but just a few of the tasks you can outsource to your Virtual Assistant. Don’t be afraid to have a conversation with them if you’re not certain how to handle handing off a task. Your VA is much more than an assistant. They are your partner in business. Your success is their success.
Guest Post by Christina Riley Meade of Zoom Moving Pictures
Thanks, Christina!
