Virtual assistants (VA) are tremendous assets to business owners and executives everywhere. Their increasing demand has resulted from the current work-from-home trend. Plus, companies are also realizing how essential VAs are for outsourcing time-consuming work.
In this article, we’ll go over the types of virtual assistants and include the tasks each type handles.
Administrative virtual assistant
Administrative work can take up huge chunks of time for a business owner. On average, an executive spends 3 hours a day on email and over 7 hours a day on other admin paperwork. This is where an admin virtual assistant service comes in handy.
Admin VAs take care of calendar management, task organization, meeting prep, and email management. They help you keep track of your time so you can conduct your work with the highest efficiency.
Another task that may sometimes overlap with an admin VA is data entry.
Data entry virtual assistant
These types of virtual assistants have supported corporations for decades– although it wasn’t virtual then! In the digital world we live in today, outsourcing data entry work has gotten even easier.
Data entry has a reputation for being one of the most tedious and repetitive tasks. This being said, it requires paying attention to details that a business owner might miss while rushing through a busy day. But, a VA will have the time to spend their day inputting information and reviewing it for accuracy.
Bookkeeping virtual assistant
Executives can spend up to 7 hours every month on bookkeeping. Entering data into bookkeeping programs takes up valuable time and resources that business owners can’t afford to lose.
So, even if you don’t hire a financial type of virtual assistant, they can still help with bookkeeping tasks. These tasks include updating salaries, sending payment reminders, and creating invoices.
Important note: Bookkeeping involves intimate work with your company’s sensitive data. Thus, find a VA who comes with a list of reliable references. You can also draft an NDA for peace of mind.
Customer service virtual assistant
Customer service is the backbone of any company. Your customers hold the power of keeping you in business. So, ensuring time to address their concerns with care is essential.
This type of virtual assistant connects with customers via emails, online chat, and phone calls. They can help manage customer accounts, process refunds, and conflict resolution.
IT virtual assistant
An IT virtual assistant provides help with computer-related tasks. Typically, these types of personal assistants are responsible for ensuring the company’s computer network functions properly and remains up-to-date. They can also be a huge asset for website management.
Website management
Maintaining your business’ website may feel like a full-time job on its own. This is where types of virtual assistants with experience in web development give you back time to do top-priority tasks.
Here are a few examples of web-related services your VA could provide you:
Updating WP plugins
In addition to these services, your VA can also boost your search engine rankings. Although, that may fall more in line with a marketing VA.
Marketing virtual assistant
This type of virtual assistant will make sure all your efforts are seen by your target audience. A marketing VA can conduct market research, boost web traffic, and increase brand awareness. If they have writing experience, they may also be able to improve your content marketing.
Content marketing
Content marketing encompasses all the content your business produces to promote its brand. Types of content used for marketing purposes include copy, landing pages, blogs, infographics, video tutorials, etc.
Content marketing typically includes a lot of writing. So, here are writing examples your marketing VA can take off your hands.
Creating sales copy
Drafting email marketing campaigns
Blogging
Blogging is a unique skill. So, many business owners like to outsource their blogs to a VA who has that specific skill.
Blog virtual assistant
Blog writing is an art. It requires creativity, extensive research, clever copy skills, and SEO knowledge. As a result, it’s something most executives don’t have the time to learn.
But, a blog VA can be a huge help with blog creation and blog management. Blogs are generally released during the ‘attract’ stage of a business’s marketing plan. Thus, blog VAs help create initial brand awareness. They’ll also ensure your content plan stays on track by giving you a consistent stream of posts.
Producing high-quality written content consistently is critical to any business. It keeps your brand relevant and targeted to the right consumers. Your blog VA will research, write, and optimize blogs that bring you sales and an engaged audience.
Besides writing blogs, a VA can also repurpose written content for social media.
Social media virtual assistant
Of all the different types of virtual assistants, social media VAs are arguably the most vital. Our business connections are becoming increasingly digital. Gone are the days when putting up a billboard could get you thousands of conversions.
Instagram pictures are the new postcards, Tweets are the new billboard headlines, and Facebook pages are the new brochures.
A strong social media VA will be highly skilled in different social media channels. They’ll have knowledge of what key demographic each channel attracts. Likewise, they’ll have experience with what type of content performs best on each channel.
Here are a few responsibilities your social media VA can take care of.
Content creation framework
Post scheduling
Customer engagement
Post writing and editing
Comment moderator
Social media SEO audit
Social media accounts must include eye-catching visuals. So, a VA who specializes in graphic design is critical to capturing your audience’s attention.
Graphic design virtual assistant
A VA can create quality graphics at a fraction of the cost of a professional graphic designer. They’ll also collaborate with your marketing team to ensure the graphics reflect your brand’s identity.
Here is a list of virtual assistant services related to graphic design.
Logo creation
Infographics
Create a purposeful, visual strategy
Repurpose images for other uses such as pens, stickers, t-shirts, and so forth
Real estate virtual assistant
Real estate businesses involve a lot of tedious paperwork that a VA can help with. These types of virtual assistants aid in completing paperwork, giving you time to focus on client relationships
Some common real estate VA tasks include:
Posting ads on real estate marketplaces like Zillow, RentLinx, and Zumper
Scheduling tours
Negotiating contracts
Conducting industry and property research
Reaching out to leads
Cold-calling/Cold Texting (outbound marketing)
Researching financing options and competitive mortgage rates
E-commerce virtual assistant
The e-commerce industry is booming due to many businesses adopting eStores. As a result, the demand for these types of virtual assistants is on the rise.
There are many E-commerce tasks you can outsource to a VA. Here are some examples that will take a great deal of stress off your plate.
Managing inventory
Handling transactions
Product listings
Apps integration
Promotional discount management
Writing SEO product descriptions
Taxonomy strategy
Product classification
Pro-tip: To hire an effective E-commerce VA, make sure they’re experienced in the major E-commerce platforms. These include WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix, and Squarespace.
The bottom line
Time is one of the most important commodities in every business. Thus, VAs are essential time-savers who’ve become integral parts of organizations. All types of virtual assistants can help scale your business and let you focus on core tasks.
