You already discovered how vital is to market yourself these days, right? There´s so much competition online that it´s difficult to make your next move. But, before saying anything else, I have some basic questions for you. Ready?
Are you doing your social media marketing effectively?
Is your digital strategy crystal clear and powerful enough for this 2019?
Does your brand message successfully convey that feature which makes you unique?—and thus, positively different from your competitors!
Are your followers simply "liking" your posts?
Or sharing and commenting on your content because of its VALUE?
(Cause that´s what real engagement is, folks!)
Answering these questions with complete honesty can sometimes hurt an entrepreneur´s ego. Especially if you´re biting more than you can chew.
You shouldn´t forget that pushing your own advertising campaigns forward is somewhat challenging in the fast-moving scenario of digital branding. You may be missing some basics. And this can damage your business, leading to problems that cost a lot of money (and stress!) to fix.
Everchanging technologies to catch up, mysterious algorithms, and endless software updates can leave you (and anyone!) overwhelmed in no time.
The titanic social media struggle of each day is super time-consuming. Moreover, this road can get exhausting when you don´t know exactly what you´re doing. Or where you´re heading at. And social media is not the only extra mile you have to go apart from your main tasks: negotiating with customers, face-to-face selling, etc.
But, wait a second. You love your job. You chose it over a thousand career paths. So, why stress over it so much?
I´m going to ask you one more question. Maybe the most important today:
So, don´t end up parking alone at the cul-de-sac of burnout...
But is there a solution? Of course! Many. We´ve got them covered all together. For you.
And if you need other chores done rather than online marketing, a VA can make them happen too!
I´m also an entrepreneur, so I understand your frustrations. Now, let´s take a deep breath, sip our favorite coffee and share the steering wheel together!
Today, I´ll clear the dark clouds for you.
Let´s focus on three social media apps that are still a hot trend in 2019 and can totally be managed remotely by a virtual assistant.
So let´s begin!
Instagram has boomed recently, especially for business owners. (I know you know...) However, there are just a few marketing tweaks a virtual assistant can help your business grow:
Shoutouts: This resource works pretty well between accounts of a similar niche and number of followers. But, what´s a shoutout? It´s when you show the homepage of another account in your story or feed. That way, you spread the message about the brand. You invite others to follow. Those others could be interested in what you have to offer too.
Why does it work? It aims at building trust in a fresh and natural fashion. And it helps you to run the engines of the Insta algorithm. It will show YOUR account to potential users who follow profiles of the same niche. That is potential clients, my friend.
How to shoutout someone? It´s super easy! Just a tidy screenshot will do. If I were you, I´ll pick a story highlight instead of the regular feed to do my first shoutout. Because stories generate more curiosity in the users than the more "permanent" feed. And as a story disappears fast, nobody will want to miss it.
Niching down: This is KEY to growth hacking. Imagine you´re a realtor. It´s common sense to follow general hashtags of your niche like #property, #listing, and #realestate of course. That´s nice.
But, what works best at organic following level (that means accounts who naturally follow yours, without you paying for followers) is a combination of broad and niched down hashtags.
You work in California as a real estate agent. You want high-priced houses to sell and refine your game. Of course, you know exactly where those houses are, and the name of all the areas by heart. So, you shouldn´t be afraid of using hashtags like #carbonmesaproperties or #yourrealtorinmaliburoad.
Not only it won´t hurt, but you´ll start segmenting your audience for free.
Being that specific will make Instagram show your content to more local people interested in your niche.
Number of hashtags: I´ll share with you some mind-blowing facts about hashtags. As soon as I learned these, I applied them to my business account, and my number of interesting followers increased as a result.
If you include fifty hashtags in each and every publication, please stop! Seriously. It won´t take your company to a better place. Instead, keep it low. Three hashtags in the post description are advisable. And if you want to add more hashtags, do it only in the comments.
Your publications will look more delicate and less desperate. You´ll want that balance, believe me.
And you´ll want some magic hands to put in some hours each day to be on the latest Instagram trends.
Gone are the days when we threw 140 characters and no images. Characters have doubled some time ago in tweetland. And the whole platform looks like an infographic or millennial newspaper now. Don´t get me wrong. I love Twitter, and I´m aware of the traffic it drives to websites.
If you seek to improve your bluebird game, a virtual assistant can make your profile rise and shine with:
Video Content: Images are good. But videos are much better! It can be a casual behind the scenes, the story of your journey as a businessperson, or something you consider funny and worth watching. But videos engage more than images. Let our VA get creative with suggestions for your content.
News in the industry: This is a good one when you feel you´re about to run out of original content. If you retweet or comment (or both) brand new info about your niche, you´ll project an image of professionalism because you keep content relevant to the field. Apart from that, your audience can know that you´re after the hottest trends because you truly care about your job. A VA can do this easily for you.
A supercharged bio: Make sure to include a couple of hashtags (the most important) and a link to your website. In case you don´t have one, a link to other social media profiles will do the trick.
Analytics: If you pay close attention to those, you´ll know when to tweet what.
This tool helps you understand which tweets were more successful among your followers, and when.
Linkedin is one of the most authoritative social media channels when it comes to B2B. That means doing fruitful business across different companies. Who wouldn´t want that?
The outcomes of partnering with other brands can be amazing if you organize yourself to network with the right people. A little bit of networking every day will certainly bring you stimulating connections.
Your virtual assistant can connect with those people and companies you want to have close to your profile. And your business.
There´s so much to do with LinkedIn, so let´s break it down:
Update your personal profile: Don´t forget to include your latest certifications, skills, and projects. Don´t you know where to study online? In case you missed it, LinkedIn has its own online academy full of courses in every field! Highly recommended!
Set up your company page: This is ideal since you´ll link your personal profile and employees to the business page. Your brand is nothing without a strong online presence on this platform.
Choose the right pics: We´re talking about job connections here. So, you´d like to adjust your photos accordingly. If you´re uploading your personal picture, make sure you look super professional but at the same time friendly. When you showcase your company, check if the logo looks neat. The same applies to the background image. Take advantage of that feature too! You´ll be communicating more about you (and your services or products) if you get creative enough. Need some inspiration?
Extra tip:
Pay special attention to your headline: Be specific and natural in your description. What sounds more appealing: Saying just "entrepreneur in real estate" or "real estate enthusiast"? Your headline should be the greatest eye-catcher, just as your logo or profile pic. It should let prospects easily notice your expertise in your field while how approachable you are to do business with them!
Social media maintenance is just one tiny example of the vast universe of tasks a virtual assistant can take over for you today.
But it doesn´t stop there. Our Virtual Assistants also take very good care of:
Answering phone calls
General administrative assistance
Research
Real estate
Bookkeeping
Translations (for bilingual companies)
Customer service
E-mail management
Calendar and meeting administration
As we´re exclusively dedicated to virtual assistance services, we provide you with plans and solutions that cater to different needs and industries. That is, we bring results for small startups, middle-sized, and big businesses. Luckily, there´s an exact package specially designed for your situation and your budget.
Now that you know the basics, you certainly have more questions.
Virtual assistance services are here to stay.
We´ll be delighted to cut down those extra working hours of your schedule. It´s the reason we get up in the morning.
What´s yours?