Over the years, I’ve come across a number of small business owners that are great at what they specialise in; but can sometimes lack the same passion for doing (shall we say, the more tedious stuff)- such as, the daily administrative duties.
Prior to venturing out on my own, I had extensive experience working in administration, quality assurance and business management. It was this solid foundation that provided me with the understanding, of the necessary bits and pieces involved, in running a well-rounded and successful business.
So, let’s look at some ways a Virtual Assistant (VA) can support and be of assistance to your organisation:
1. General Administration Support
I often work with entrepreneurs, that don’t really enjoy (or lack the time), to do the nitty gritty of what I do – particularly because of it’s highly detailed nature. Getting these little things done effectively, takes time and effort. If you find yourself in a similar situation like this, calling on a Virtual Assistant could be the right answer. In fact, it’s one of the smart ways of whipping your business into tip-top-shape again.
As you might already know, a big part of the job involves, fixing, sharing and organising things. For example, we use a super cool Dropbox folder, which is used to share and collaborate on various documents.
This includes but not limited to:
- Compiling proposals or correspondence, supplied by the client.
- Sharing checklists to ensure all tasks are addressed for a particular process.
- The flexibility of clients sharing large audio files for transcribing, which can often be too large to email.
- The option of sharing photos, which are then used in newsletters, blog posts or shared on social media.
2. Social Media Support
We all know the fantastic exposure Social Media can bring these days. Not only is it an effective way to build your brand, extend your reach and network with like-minded people; it’s also a valuable component of your link-building strategy. As a specialist in this area, I know the huge benefits it can bring to a business. You can read about my success with Twitter in particular in this recent blog post ‘200 Twitter Inquiries’.
A Virtual Assistant can maintain your social media output through:
- Writing tweets/posts found in your blogs, articles and ‘guest blog posts.’ Once approved, this gets added to a ‘bank’ (Excel file shared via Dropbox) where they can be re-purposed and recycled, for later down the track.
- Scheduling your tweets via Hootsuite – which then get posted to your preferred social media accounts. Although, I’m not an advocate of spamming your audience, this is a great way to leverage your material; and remind your connections about what you do and what you have to offer.
- Helping you attract new connections that don’t know what you’re about.
- Summarising your blog posts (via Powerpoint templates) and uploading them to Slideshare – for further social sharing of your content.
Remember: Repurposing your content wherever possible is smart but does take time. Is there somewhere in your business where you could do with an extra pair of hands? Free up more time with a Virtual Assistant today.