Whether you're a solo business owner or you have employees, virtual assistant (VA) services are crucial to your success and sanity. Most business owners wear many different hats - from accountant to salesperson to chief bottle washer. It's important to realise you can't (and shouldn't) do it all. A VA can help you let go of some tasks that you really don't need to do.
One question asked regularly by business owners new to outsourcing is: "What can I get a VA to do?"
If you're asking the same question, here are 14 ideas to get you started:
- Client/Customer Service and Support
Having the best relationship is the key to happy clients or customers, and happy clients/customers are the key to repeat and increased business. This means you need someone to handle their questions, comments, and requests in a timely and professional manner. Of course, this is something at which Sohovian excels. Our virtual receptionists are well-trained and locally based. Book a call with us to discuss your needs. - Content Creation
Doing business online means creating a lot of content. Not only that, you need to create quality content that your current and potential customers will see and engage with. This is a daunting and time-consuming task for most business owners, so delegate this to your virtual assistant. Together, you decide on the best type of content that fits your brand. It's then their job to create that content for your business. - Website/Blog Management
Many sites today are hosted or managed by an easy-to-use system like WordPress or Squarespace, reducing the need for a specialised web developers. You can hand over the tasks of updating and managing your website - including updating content, changing the design, adding new blog posts/pages, and more. - Social Media Management
Social media is a vital part of your online presence. It not only puts you and your business in front of potential customers, it also connects you with your current customers and potential partners. Putting your best face forward is key. You also need to provide consistent content to keep your brand relevant and sales steady. This is a perfect task for your virtual assistant. Much like content creation, you and your VA will create a social media plan, including content and schedules. Your VA can then take over the day-to-day work. - Email Management
Email is undoubtedly a huge part of your day. You're likely spending more time than you realise staring at your inbox. Adding to this: the fact that many of these emails are spam, unimportant, or simple requests/comments. A VA can handle almost all incoming messages and forward only the most important to you. - Email Marketing
Email marketing is a cost-effective tool for most small businesses - yet many are woefully neglecting their list. Whether you just need help getting started or need someone to take over/revamp your established email marketing routine, a VA can help. Most VAs are well-versed in today's top email marketing platforms, as well as best practices when it comes to steadily increasing and connecting with your list. - Minor Audio/Video Editing
While major editing (like creating a promotional video from scratch) may require a specialist, many virtual assistants can complete simple video and editing tasks for you. This includes podcast and webinar audio as well as speaking or even webinar footage. Many VAs are proficient in the most common editing software of today. They can edit out unwanted clips, as well as add intro and outro screens to create a polished product that's ready for the masses. - Data Entry/Management
There's a lot of data that's needed to keep your business running smoothly as it grows. Even if most of the data entry is automated, reviews and quality assurance can take a big bite out of your time. I can assure you that no matter how well you design your online forms, someone will always input data in a way that causes something to fail. Assign data reviews to your VA. They'll keep your database 'tidy' and head off any problems before they happen. - Research
Got a product or service you've been thinking of creating, but don't have time to do the research for it? Wondering what others in your industry are doing, or how you might be able to partner with businesses in a complementary industry? It's interesting to go searching the internet to do a little 'recognisance' on the competition, but do you really have the time? Delegate this task to your virtual assistant and you could have the information you need much sooner. A good VA will also present their research in a structured document, improving the readability and efficacy of the information. - Calendar Management/Scheduling
If you're running to a schedule, then calendar management is crucial. Poor calendar management leads to double bookings, forgetting meetings, or large gaps of inactivity in your week. A VA will manage your calendar to ensure your productive time is maximised. Again, Sohovian's virtual receptionists are masters of diary management. We specialise in assisting Allied Health providers by managing their calendars and assisting their clients with their appointments. Click here to book in a chat with one of the team. - Backend Support for Webinars
Webinars are a powerful tool that can build your brand, grow your industry authority, generate tons of leads, and even lead to some direct sales or lucrative collaborations. The trouble is, they aren't as easy as they seem. At the heart of of every slick webinar is someone who knows what they are doing on the backend. Loading presentations, checking sound, and moderating questions or comments are examples of the tasks necessary for a smooth webinar. - Creating Reports/Presentations
Brand presentation is vitally important for presentations, report and proposals. Many of us lack the design skills needed to produce schmick-looking documents. It can be a tedious task too, particularly if you're not familiar with the design software. The right virtual assistant can create a professional report or presentation for you - and probably in half the time it would take you to do it. - Travel Arrangements
Sooner or later, you will probably need to travel for work, or you may already do a fair amount of travelling for your business. Whatever the case, a VA can help with the details. They will manage flight bookings, accommodation, transportation, meeting rooms, and can even suggest places to eat or sights to see . All you have to do is show up! - Transcription
Audio or video content can be a fantastic source of written content, to be repurposed as a blog post, e-book, or even social media content. The trouble is, getting the audio into written form takes time. Most of the auto-generating transcription programs or apps will sometimes produce little more than a jumbled mess as "transcription." Many VAs have the ability to do minor/simple transcription tasks. And the text can be presented in any format you require. For example, if you're producing regular videos for your business, get your VA transcribe them and add the captions to the video. This will avoid the auto captioning, that doesn't cope particularly well with Australian accents!
These are just a few of the tasks that can be delegated to a virtual assistant to help your business grow.
Note that most VAs cannot (or will not) do all of the above. Some of the tasks above require specialised skills, software and equipment. For example, you should not expect your social media VA to be answering your phones. Many VAs collaborate with each other, combining their talents to provide a full end-to-end service. If your VA can't help with a particular task, they may be able to source another person who can.
A key component to successful delegation is communication. Talk to your VA (or potential VA) to brainstorm the many ways they can help you. You will be amazed at the options once you get started!
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