As your company grows, so does the list of tasks involved in keeping it afloat. You cannot expect to beat your competitors and stay on top of everything by yourself.
Wearing too many hats all at once—being your own marketer, writer, sales rep, and customer service person is a total disservice to your company and yourself. Running things smoothly in a growing company will eventually require having more people in your employ to meet your daily targets.
Outsourcing is continuously on the rise because it gives business owners the freedom to focus on big-picture details that will allow their company to flourish. In the same vein as outsourcing is virtual assistants (VAs), professionals who can take on the detailed tasks that will enable you to steer your ship in the right direction.
10 Tasks to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant
Hiring VAs with specific areas of expertise will help you optimize your company's growth in ways you could never have imagined. Here are some of the tasks you can outsource to a VA.
1. Administrative Tasks
Routine administrative work like organizing files, replying to general email inquiries, checking forms, simple research tasks, or transcribing video or audio files can be outsourced to a VA who knows how to work with the productivity tools you choose to use.
2. Project Management
Perhaps you already have an outsourced support team overseas, but as you hire more remote employees, the daily task of managing them can become overwhelming. VAs with experience and a proven track record of efficiency in project management can watch over your outsourced workers while providing you with essential updates so that you can focus on optimizing your business growth.
3. Data Entry
Data entry may be one of the simplest tasks that have to be accomplished in the process of running your company daily, but it's probably among the most time-consuming, albeit highly essential.
Low skill levels are needed to accomplish data entry tasks in most cases. All you truly need is a VA who is quick and accurate. During the interview stage, ensure that your chosen candidate also has good attention to detail to avoid mistypes in the information you entrust them with.
4. Research Tasks
Research is another time-consuming task. Your hired VA should be able to research on virtually anything, including but not limited to the following:
- Market demographics data
- Competitor research
- Substantial statistics to support your content
- Pricing information
When you outsource research tasks, you can focus on how to best use the data gathered instead of being stressed out by how long it took to collect the information.
5. Basic Photo Editing Tasks
Many VAs know how to work with photo editing tools like Photoshop. If the photo manipulation tasks you require are simple, these can be done by a VA who has basic photo editing skills.
6. Blogging
In relation to photo editing, successful content marketing also involves creating high-quality blog articles. This is a labor-intensive task that requires accuracy and skill. Researching on any topic is time-consuming, and so is the job of writing an engaging blog that will grab your target audience's attention.
Virtual assistants who specialize in web content writing can help you churn out content regularly. Having a VA who can write a blog for you weekly can shave off a significant number of your work hours every week.
7. Video Editing
Video content is one of the most relevant types of content today. Posting videos regularly will help you connect with potential customers better, but the challenge lies in creating on-brand audio-visual content that looks and feels professional. It is not a task you can just pick up and do exceptionally well on a whim, especially if you do not have prior experience with video editing.
A VA who knows his/her way around video editing software like Final Cut Pro or even Instasize can help you produce quality videos that you can add to your arsenal of shareable digital assets.
8. Social Media Management
Keeping all your social media pages updated is a huge undertaking. The task of posting regular updates is vital in promoting your business in a connected world and keeping in touch with your target demographic. This is especially true if you have accounts on multiple platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube.
VAs who know their way around social media can help you answer messages, comments, and inquiries that go to these platforms. They can also share updates about your business on socials as part of your marketing outsourcing solutions after being provided with pre-approved social media posts through a content plan.
9. Employee training
Perhaps you are using new software or productivity tools for your business, and your current team may need a bit more guidance with navigating these new tools. One of the best ways you can adapt in this situation is to hire a VA who has the expertise required to provide training in those areas.
10. Calendar Management
The things included in your schedule can get a bit cluttered when you are in the process of growing your business. Meetings, interviews, and specific tasks that you need to address may start piling one on top of the other, and organizing them may become confusing while you are trying to stay on top of things.
Hiring a VA who can establish, update, and manage your calendar will help you stay organized. They can remind you of important events coming up in your schedule so you can dedicate your full attention to taking on the tasks at hand.
Boost Your Business Growth with a Dedicated VA
Fast-track your way to success in the most cost-efficient way by hiring a full-time VA.
Ensuring that your applicants have all the experience, skills, and dedication needed to accomplish tasks will require initial research on your part. When it comes to a guide to hiring a virtual assistant to your business, consume content that resonates with your industry to make the search easier.
It is recommended that you already have your SOPs in place before hiring a VA so you can save resources and be on your way to growing your business as soon as possible.
Author Bio:
Amanda Poe is the Vice President and Head of Marketing for Outsource Access in Atlanta, Georgia. She has a passion for technology and streamlining processes while utilizing the most affordable resources. With several years of experience, she aims to grow clients big and small, while helping them keep their life in balance. Running a business and having fun can be challenging, but employing the most efficient strategies and team makes a huge difference. In her free time, she likes to travel and visit families in the Philippines, doing in-person goal-setting and give-back programs.