30 Tasks You Can Outsource to a Virtual Marketing Assistant

There has never been a better time for marketers. Thanks to the internet and social media, even startups and home-based entrepreneurs can reach their customers directly. On the flip side, there has never been a worse time for marketers either. The same technology that makes consumers more accessible has also made businesses more vulnerable.

Today, every company’s competition is just one click away. Even big and established businesses can suffer flak from regular consumers with just a single bad review.  Now more than ever, business owners need to amp up their marketing game to keep winning the hearts of customers and remain relevant. 

As Kindred CEO and co-founder Ian Schafer says, “Innovation needs to be part of your culture. Consumers are transforming faster than we are, and if we don’t catch up, we’re in trouble”. 

There’s no better place to start and practice this philosophy than digital marketing. As a business aspect where customer relations and innovation overlap, marketing is too crucial to be taken lightly. Thankfully, you can always work with a virtual marketing assistant to help you out. 

What is a Virtual Marketing Assistant and Why Should You Hire One?

A virtual marketing assistant is an independent and remote marketing specialist that works with businesses on an hourly, contractual, or per-project basis. Traditionally, companies work with in-house staff or hire a third-party agency for their marketing needs. As business becomes more mobile and more people become entrepreneurs, however, the need for a more flexible and affordable marketing service becomes more urgent. 

Virtual assistance enables business owners with limited budgets and short-term projects to get professional help. Unlike traditional employment and third-party advertising firms, working with a virtual marketing assistant is easier and more straightforward. For one thing, entrepreneurs would only pay for the specific hours or projects they require. This frees them from other employment responsibilities like health insurance, severance pay, and retirement plans. For another, entrepreneurs can hire as many people as they want whenever they need to. This makes it an ideal employment set up for growing companies or companies with a fluctuating workload.

Of course, it is still tempting to handle your own marketing efforts. After all, social channels, blogs, and eCommerce platforms today already have built-in marketing and analytics tools to help users expand their reach. Why should you go out of your way to pay for virtual marketing assistant services?

Here are a few reasons: 

• Businesses with a blog get 55% more website traffic
• There is an 86% increase in conversion rate for landing pages that use videos
• 60% of millennials make a reactive purchase for fear of missing out
• 70% of online shoppers check product reviews before making a purchase
• 64% of consumers admit they want brands to connect with them in social channels

These facts and figures show the many facets of marketing and how each one affects consumer behavior.

 

30 Marketing Tasks to Outsource

Now that it’s clear why a marketing VA is worth the investment, it’s time to verify the different tasks that you should delegate. Here are 30 examples of marketing virtual assistant services:

1. Market Research
   

   In-depth interviews with focus groups, customer surveys, and general buyer observation help you test a product before its launch, understand what specific consumer needs you can fulfill, and analyze how other brands have approached your situation. A complex process such as market research is best carried out by a specialist. 

2. Keyword Research
   

   It’s not enough to write an engaging blog and social media content. Your posts must also have the right keywords in order to be discoverable. This will ensure that your blog and social pages come up when people search for your services or industry online. A high-impact task such as this should be left in the hands of a virtual marketing specialist. 

3. Building Buyer Personas
   

   A virtual assistant for marketing is skilled in online consumer behavior. They also have a strong suit of online tools for different purposes. These abilities make a marketing VA the perfect person to build the ideal buyer persona for your brand. A semi-fictional embodiment of your ideal customer, a buyer persona would help you fine-tune your campaigns. 

4. Content Creation
   

   Many marketing trends have come and gone, but the content has reigned for years. Your website and social media content educate customers about your brand, generate leads, and make you a cut above the rest. With so much at stake, content creation is a task best outsourced to a content specialist. 

5. Content Formatting and Publishing
   

   According to a report, 73% of people skim through a post while only 27% read it thoroughly. While different factors affect a reader’s interest or engagement, its formatting and time of publication no doubt influence it. A marketing VA would know how to layout content in a way that attracts and encourages people to read. As for publishing, check out this guide on the best times to post on different platforms.

6. Guest Posting
   

   Guest posting helps a brand establish a promising relationship with other brands. It also increases one’s website traffic and brand exposure. As clear as these benefits are, guest posting is an intricate process that demands thorough research, strategic pitching, and creative writing. It’s a job a marketing VA is cut out for. 

7. Social Media Management
   

   People expect businesses to be active on social media — whether it’s to provide customer customers or general business information. However, managing different social platforms can be a challenge, especially since each one has different dominant audiences and algorithms. To optimize social media, it’s best to have a marketing VA manage your accounts. This 4-part social media marketing strategy should help. 

8. Moderating Social Media Reviews and Comments
   

   Word-of-mouth recommendation is still a strong influence on people’s purchase decisions. Only now, word-of-mouth recommendations have gone digital in the form of social media reviews and comments. Have your VA monitor and answer any comments people leave on your social accounts. 

9. Creating and Running Social Media Contests
   

   With thousands of businesses on social media, it’s hard to gain traction. Hosting exciting contests is one way to spur attention and create a name for yourself. As a promotions expert, a marketing VA would have creative ideas for social media contests. 

10. Graphic Design
    

    Graphic design and creation is a basic skill in marketing VAs. Marketing virtual assistants know how to convert text into visual campaigns that attract, educate, and leave an impression on consumers. They also know the best tools for creating both print and digital graphics. 

11. Paid Ads Management
    

    Pay-per-click, pay-per-impression, and social media paid ads to go hand in hand with your organic campaigns. Of course, you need to factor in your budget, returns, and market demographics to make the most out of paid ads. Work with your marketing assistant to thoroughly research the logistics, carefully create the content, and correctly evaluate your paid campaigns. 

12. Updating Web Content
    

    Ongoing promotions, change in business information, product and pricing modifications — these are just a few reasons why you need to update your web content from time to time. Make sure your website and social media content are always correct and up-to-date by outsourcing this responsibility to your VA. 

13. Collecting and Moderating Customer Reviews
    

    Reading product reviews help shoppers make quicker purchase decisions. A prominent display of customer reviews in one’s website or social channels also establishes authority and transparency. With huge benefits such as these, it’s only fitting to have your VA solicit or answer customer reviews. 

14. Customer Correspondence
    

    Reliable customer service is in itself a great marketing strategy. Make sure that each customer contact is promptly answered and each problem resolved. As product and customer relations experts, marketing VAs will be great at handling customer correspondence. 

15. Competitor Research
    

    Your competitor is just a few clicks or taps away. Don’t let customers be nabbed by your rivals! Be ahead of the game by having your marketing VA monitor the strategy, pricing, and campaigns of your top competitors. 

16. Content Monitoring
    

    Which blog topics gained the longest time spent on a page? What type of social media posts garnered the most engagement? Monitoring content reveals valuable marketing insight that you can optimize in the future. It’s a task best suited for your marketing VA. 

17. Monitor Google Search and Trends
    

    As customer behavior fluctuates, Google search and trends also change. Your marketing VA needs to keep an eye out on these changes to ensure that your campaigns are relevant. 

18. Backlink Generation
    

    When more websites link to yours, your online visibility expands, and your niche authority becomes stronger. As a result, search engines will promote your website and more users will find your brand. Backlink generation is an essential digital marketing strategy and is, therefore, best left in the hands of experts.  

19. Analyze Website Stats
    

    Accessing website statistics is one thing, analyzing and using them to your advantage is another. Have your VA read and interpret the analytics of your website to make the most of this information. 

20. Create Marketing Reports
    

    When you work with a marketing VA, you can expect to get a detailed report of your campaigns before, during, and after its launch. This ensures you stay on top of things and visually see the performance of your campaigns. 

21. Monitor ROI
    

    Marketing isn’t cheap. Even with several free and inexpensive tools, marketing still demands time and effort. Your marketing VA should monitor the returns of these investments, so you know what campaigns to pursue, leverage, or discontinue. 

22. Search or Organize Events
    

    Promoting one’s business also entails networking and participating in industry conferences. Have your marketing organize or search for events where you can meet possible investors, partners, or clients. 

23. Webinar Assistance
    

    By hosting webinars, you can help people make the most of your products or understand your services. It also gives you a chance to engage with your customers and establish your niche authority. Your marketing assistant can help you research on topics, write a script, and prepare the tools needed so you can host a successful webinar. 

24. Podcast Assistance
    

    Podcasting is a unique and sustainable way to promote one’s brand. It also opens your business to more audiences. Look for a marketing VA who is also adept in podcasting to leverage this promising branding platform. Here’s how a podcast VA can boost your content. 

25. Manage Product Listing
    

    Listing and updating your products on different platforms is tedious, but necessary. Luckily, managing product listings on different eCommerce channels is a task that marketing VAs train for. 

26. Create Email Campaigns
    

    Issue monthly newsletters to existing customers or send out promotions to prospects. Whichever you use email for marketing, your VA can create emails that recipients will open, read, or respond to. Here are 6 email marketing tips to start you off. 

27. Build Email Lists
    

    Want to create meaningful connections with prospects? Building an email list is a solid way to start. As a marketing expert, your VA should know legitimate and effective ways to build an email list. 

28. Create Customer Retention Campaigns
    

    Every day, you compete with dozens of similar companies that may have better pricing or trendier campaigns. Don’t let them capture your customers by creating campaigns targeted to long-time and high-paying customers. Work with your marketing VA to design campaigns that reward and encourage loyalty. 

29. Lead Generation
    

    Lead generation is an intricate process of rousing prospect interest in sales or brand exposure. It entails technical tools and marketing ideas and should, therefore, be outsourced to your VA. 

30. Create a Strategy
    

    Marketing is dynamic. Your campaigns must be monitored and assessed properly so you can build better campaigns in the future, fine-tune your products, and improve your processes. It is your marketing VA’s job to create and regularly tweak your strategy to achieve optimal results. 

An online marketing virtual assistant knows the balance between innovation and customer relations. Let an expert handle your business marketing today, starting with these 30 tasks you can outsource to a virtual marketing assistant. 

Recommended Reading: 12 Things to Know Before You Hire a Telemarketer