When you think about the things virtual assistants can do, what comes to mind?
Some of you may think of a person answering and sorting emails, setting appointments, and copying and pasting data – that’s it.
But a virtual assistant’s role goes way beyond the usual back office and administrative stuff. You might be surprised to know that virtual assistants can cover even the most complicated of tasks – tasks that can help grow your business in many different ways.
Why Delegate Your Tasks to a Virtual Assistant?
“No thanks, I can do all that on my own,” said the business owner who refuses to delegate tasks to a VA.
If you’re one of the many business owners whose mindset is like that, then we’re telling you as early as now – you’re not maximizing the potential growth that your business can have.
Here are a few reasons why you need to delegate tasks to a virtual assistant:
There are critical tasks that you’re not good at.
Let’s face it – you may be a jack of all spades, but you can’t possibly be a master of everything. There are tasks that you may know how to do but only know the basics.
This is your business we’re talking about, and if you’re serious about growth, you also have to be serious about going for the best.
In hiring a virtual assistant, you can get someone who specializes in the specific tasks that you’re not really good at. This way, you can make sure that you steer clear of mediocre output and go for excellence every single time.
There are essential tasks you hate doing.
No matter how much you love your business, there will definitely be tasks that you hate doing.
Of course, when you’re a small business owner, it may sometimes seem that you have no other choice but to do it all.
Guess what. Repeatedly doing things that you hate doing will push you to procrastinate. You may also end up taking one of two paths – rush the task or take forever to finish it. Either way, you waste time, energy, and money because of inefficiency. Then, this can ultimately lead to burnout.
It’s time to let those tasks go.
When you hire a virtual assistant, you can finally remove the things you’ve always hated to do from your to-do list and just take care of the tasks you love doing.
You need to focus on what you do best.
It’s your business, so it’s expected that you’re skilled in a few of the areas involved in running it. You may be the brains behind the production of the products you’re selling, or you could be a sales and marketing guru who can sell anything to anyone.
But regardless of what skills you bring to the table, there will always be other tasks involved that go beyond what you do best. And the biggest mistake that a lot of small business owners make is thinking that they can take care of these other tasks as well.
When you wear all the hats in the business, you’re taking away time and effort that could be used in whatever you are most skilled at. This means that your overall progress could also be impeded.
Pass these other tasks onto a virtual assistant so that you can put your 100% into the things that you actually love doing and are most skilled at.
101 Things Virtual Assistants Can Do For You
Now, you already know that you can’t take care of every single task in your business. But can a virtual assistant really take care of all of those other tasks that you can’t take care of?
To convince you that a virtual assistant does more than you can imagine, we’ve listed down 101 things virtual assistants can do for you, depending on what kind of VA they are.
General Virtual Assistant
A general virtual assistant takes care of a business’s administrative tasks. A general VA may also be called an administrative assistant.
General virtual assistants usually keep the back-office part of the business going. They take care of the tasks that may seem trivial at times but are essential to business growth.
Here are some of the tasks that general virtual assistants can do for you:
- Manage emails
- Set appointments
- Transcribe audio or video
- Manage your calendar
- Manage your contacts
- Do research
- Data entry
- Build databases
- Booking hotels and flights
- Manage your documents
- Create and prepare presentations
- Create reports
- Prepare minutes of meetings
- Coordinate with vendors, partners, etc.
- Plan and manage events
- Create autoresponders
- Shop online
- Perform other personal errands
- Send out invitations, notes, greeting cards, and newsletters
Social Media VA
Social media has become one of the primary means to market any business. It doesn’t matter if you’re using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or any other social media platform. The goal is still the same – maximize the opportunities that come with connecting with the millions of people using these platforms.
But using social media for your business isn’t just about posting random content. There are strategies that reap far better rewards. And only a social media expert can deliver those rewards.
Here are the tasks that a social media virtual assistant usually covers:
- Create social media accounts
- Create social media strategies for the brand
- Post relevant content
- Track and interpret analytics
- Run social media ad campaigns
- Join relevant groups
- Connect with prospects
- Monitor competitor strategies and performance
Click this post for Your Guide To Hiring a Social Media Virtual Assistant
Content Writer
Your content, whether on your own site or outside, can greatly influence the way people see your brand. It carries the same tone that your business has. And, in a way, what people read in your content reflects your culture as a brand.
Here’s the problem – not everybody has a way with words. That’s why it’s a good thing there are virtual assistants who specialize in creating content and taking care of everything else that comes with it.
Here are a few tasks that a content writer can take care of for you:
- Write content
- Proofread and edit content
- Format content based on the platform
- Create content strategies
- Do competitor research
- Publish content on different platforms
- Spin articles
- Submit content for guest posting
SEO Specialist
You’ve got great content out there. But why aren’t people seeing it when they perform relevant searches on search engines like Google or Bing?
That’s probably because you don’t have a search engine optimization (SEO) specialist.
Before anything else, let’s debunk one myth about SEO. No, it’s not just about placing keywords in your content. In fact, the keyword aspect is just a small part of SEO.
Once an SEO specialist works their magic, you’ll find more people visiting your pages and engaging with your content. Of course, this is not just because of the efforts of your SEO specialist. You also have to make sure that your content writer delivers top-notch material that your audience will see as informative and relevant to their needs.
- Create SEO strategies
- Do keyword research
- Do competitor research
- Perform site analysis
- Do on-page optimization
- Do off-page optimization
- Take care of sitemap submissions
- Take care of webmaster submissions
- Create backlinks
- Register to directories and business listings
- Social bookmarking
One important thing that you have to take note of is that there are also content writers who have solid backgrounds in SEO. So if you only plan on releasing minimal content, sometimes, you can hire a content writer who does SEO or an SEO specialist who writes.
However, if you really want optimal results, it’s always best to get someone focused on content creation, and another person focused on just SEO, especially if you plan on dropping a lot of content in a small amount of time.
Human Resource VA
Yes, even human resources can be done remotely now.
There are virtual assistants who specialize in everything related to human resources. Recruitment is especially one area that an HR VA can help you with, knowing that screening, hiring, and onboarding people can be a long process.
Here are the tasks that a human resource VA can cover for you:
- Recruit team members
- Post job ads
- Screen and test applicants
- Perform background checks
- Manage work requirements
- Facilitate interviews
- Manage job contracts
- Manage employee files and databases
- Facilitate new hire orientation
- Track employee hours
- Manage employee payroll
- Manage employee benefits
- Ensure adherence to employee rules and guidelines
Graphic Design VA
Humans are visual creatures, so it’s important that you present your brand and business in the most appealing way possible.
Although there are tools like Canva that allow people to create DIY designs, it’s not really good branding if you stick to ready-to-use templates. You just might end up with designs that look like that of others.
Hiring a virtual assistant that specializes in graphic design ensures that all your visual content are relevant and unique to your brand.
Here are a few things that a graphic design VA can help you with:
- Create branding guidelines
- Design pages
- Design logos, icons, and banners
- Create mockups
- Create graphic content for blogs, articles, and social media
Web Development VA
A website is another critical element in growing a business. With everyone glued to their screens most of the time, you need a place online that you can call home.
Aesthetics play a huge role in creating a website, and so does functionality and site performance. A couple of seconds on a website that’s visually unappealing, hard to navigate, and extremely slow. This is why you can’t just DIY your website. You need an expert to take care of everything related to web development.
Here are just some of the things that a web developer can do for you:
- Support and develop websites
- Install themes and plugins
- Integrate CRM
- Perform site maintenance and troubleshooting
- Integrate social media
- Integrate payment gateways
- Install ticketing systems
- Register domains and manage website hosting
- Import databases
- Ensure quick loading times
E-Commerce VA
There’s no better place for you to sell your products than online. People just don’t have the patience (nor the time) to go to physical stores now. They’d rather stay at home and wait for the delivery guy to place their orders on their front porch.
The great news is there are so many eCommerce platforms you can use, like Amazon or eBay. You also have the option to have your web developer build your own eCommerce site.
But either way, you’ll need someone who can take care of the entire process for you. Maintaining an eCommerce site can be very tedious. You’ll have to post your products, make sure they are all appealing to the audience, optimize the posts to make them appear on Google search results, respond to customer inquiries, etc. This is why you need someone who will do nothing else but take care of your eCommerce pages.
Here are the things that an eCommerce virtual assistant can do for you:
- Post products on e-commerce sites
- Create and optimize product descriptions
- Upload product images
- Respond to customer inquiries
- Manage transactions
- Handle customer complaints and feedback
Here’s How You Hire A Virtual Assistant For Amazon FBA
Real Estate VA
Some industries also enjoy the services of virtual assistants who know the ins and outs of the business. One perfect example is real estate.
Here are some of the tasks that a virtual assistant specializing in real estate can do for you:
- List properties
- Work on property research
- Build lists and manage prospects
- Market properties online
- Create virtual tours
- Prepare and file paperwork
- Coordinate transactions
Other Virtual Assistant Tasks
Aside from the different areas mentioned above, there are a number of other tasks that could fall under the virtual assistant’s umbrella. These tasks include:
- Answer support tickets
- Comment on blogs and forums
- Perform customer support duties
- Perform technical support duties
- Respond to comments on your blogs and social media platforms
- Manage CRM
- Bookkeeping
- Send client invoices
- Prepare training modules
- Launch and manage pay-per-click campaigns
- Translate written, audio, or video content
- Create marketing campaigns
- Fill out forms
- Manage finances
Other Important Facts You Should Know About Virtual Assistants
It’s amazing to know how much virtual assistants can do for you. The awesome thing is, hiring a virtual assistant comes with even more perks and benefits aside from the fact that they can take a load of work off your shoulders.
Here are a few more things you need to know about virtual assistants.
They’re the cheaper choice.
Hiring a virtual assistant is cheaper in so many ways.
First, a virtual assistant requires no equipment or space from you. Especially the more experienced ones, they most probably already have a desk set up at home. This means that you won’t even have to worry about buying them a laptop or clearing some desk space for them.
Utilities and other overhead expenses will not be a problem, either. You pay your virtual assistants based on the rate you both agreed to, regardless of whether that covers their bills or not. Once a VA agrees to a specific price, it’s expected that they won’t be asking you for more money to cover their costs.
Speaking of salaries, that’s another area where you actually get to save up on money.
Virtual assistants usually come from countries where the base pay is lower. This means that your offer may be lower than the minimum wage in the US, Canada, or the UK, but it will still be a good deal for a virtual assistant in the Philippines.
If you want to find out more about paying virtual assistants, read this post.
They can be motivated by a number of added benefits.
Here’s another important thing to take note of.
Virtual assistants are not mere temps who will be out of your hair once they’re done with a few tasks. They also want long-term opportunities.
Remember that most of them play the role of breadwinner for their families. This means that they like it when they don’t have to worry about how to feed their families over a long period of time.
How do you make this a long-term relationship? Add a few benefits on top of their salary to sweeten the deal.
Additional benefits you can offer
Here are just a few perks you can offer to your virtual assistant:
- Paid vacation and sick leaves
- Birthday leave
- Performance bonuses
- Annual salary increase
- 13th-month pay (usually given to virtual assistants located in the Philippines)
You can also be creative and add things like a coffee budget, team meetups (if you have a number of VAs around the same location), and more.
They’re flexible.
This is one of the biggest things that sets a remote virtual assistant apart from an in-office worker.
Because virtual assistants normally work from their own homes, they are more likely to accept varying terms and conditions that go with the job.
For example, it usually doesn’t matter to them if you’re in a different time zone. As long as it’s clear on the job description, virtual assistants are often okay with whatever time zone you want them to work.
When you hire a virtual assistant, you are most likely going to require them to work a total number of hours each week. This would be something that virtual assistants are usually amenable to as well.
If you need them to work part-time at maybe 20 hours per week, you’ll have a VA willing to take on these limited number of hours. But if you want someone working full-time at 40 hours a week, you’ll have people lining up to be your VA, too.
Basically, the main point here is that it doesn’t matter what terms you place with the opportunity you’re offering. Because virtual assistants are generally flexible, there will always be someone willing to take on those terms.
Virtual assistants may be flexible, but they have limitations, too! Click here to find out what mistakes you should avoid in hiring a virtual assistant.
Where you find them matters.
When you’re looking for a virtual assistant, you don’t just hire the next person who sends you a random email. You shouldn’t randomly post job ads everywhere, either.
Virtual assistants (especially the best ones) normally hang out in specific marketplaces and virtual assistant sites. Therefore, if you want to land an efficient and highly skilled virtual assistant, you need to look for them in all the right places.
When you hire a virtual assistant from places like eVirtualAssistants, you are guaranteed some additional protection from the site. These virtual assistants normally go through some preliminary checks to make sure they are who they say they are. This means that the possibility of you falling prey to a virtual assistant scam becomes almost impossible.
Virtual assistant sites like this also allow you to find someone who really specializes in the tasks you need them to cover. It’s easy enough to find a virtual assistant. The question is – are you hiring the right one? When you look in the right place, you can at least have a wide variety of experts to choose from.
Are you ready to hire your first virtual assistant? Click here to get started.
