Social media marketing continues to take center stage when it comes to creating connections between brands and consumers.

However, as social media platforms evolve and more online tools and high-quality WordPress plugins are developed, more work needs to be done. Social media marketing is no longer an additional advertising arm. It is a key component today when it comes to brand awareness. It also requires commitment, so performing it requires a helping hand.

Enter the virtual social media assistant.

Typically, VAs are assigned administrative tasks, but they can also help you increase your social media impact. Here are some possibilities:

Setting the strategy

A social media strategy is necessary when implementing your brand identity on different platforms. Your Social Media VA can help you build and develop your strategy as they are on board with your brand practically from the start. Here’s how they can help you:

1. trend spotting: Check the latest trends on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok, and LinkedIn to see which trends align with your brand voice and desired online presence. A social media VA who is familiar with social media monitoring tools such as SocialPilot or Hootsuite is an advantage.
2. Scouting for community and competition: In addition to looking for trends, your social media VA can also look for brands and communities that you may compete with or partner with. This research can give you better insight into which social media strategies are working and which aren’t, what type of content resonates with your target audience, and what metrics you should pay more attention to in order to be more present in the online algorithm.
3. Identify ads worth boosting: Once your social media VA has compiled the content research results, it will be easier to figure out what type of content can be promoted online. Your social media VA can also classify what content falls under short-term or long-term boosting. This helps a lot since ad boosting costs money. Having your VA sort posts by potential advertising will help manage your budget.

Set up your social media accounts

With the branding and initial stages of your social media strategy pretty much set, it’s time to set up your social media accounts with the help of your VA. At this point, your VA has plenty of information and research to support your social media strategy. So it makes sense to let him continue the work.

1. Opening your accounts: Since your social media VA will ultimately be responsible for engagement, let them set up your online marketing accounts. At that point, they would know which accounts to follow and what content to engage with. That’s how early you can start laying the foundation for your online network.
2. Planning your content calendar: This may sound like a very simple task, but there is a lot more work involved in creating a content calendar. Based on the social media strategy, your VA can properly and effectively schedule posts on different platforms based not only on the variety and nature of your content but also on peak periods for online engagement.

Creating Actual Content

Many people who apply for the VA position already include social media management as a skill on their resume. So it’s not surprising that many VAs get this job, especially for startup companies that don’t have a social media team.

1. Advertising texts: Your social media VA can help you write captions for your posts because they have a clear idea of ​​your online strategy and content calendar. When they write your posts, your brand voice stays consistent online.
2. Provision of secondary content: If you already have a social media manager creating your main feed posts, your social media VA can be responsible for secondary content like Instagram and Facebook stories. They may also be responsible for re-sharing old posts that may be relevant to a particular campaign or season.
3. Curating shareable posts: Cross-posting is one way to keep your online presence relevant. Your social media VA can look for posts from like-minded brands and even influencers worth re-sharing on your feed. Cross-posting isn’t just limited to platforms like Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram. Re-sharing valuable content from relevant blogs is also a way to increase social media exposure. The great thing is that when these online brands see what you’ve shared, they’ll explore your page and potentially share your posts that are relevant to their followers.
4. Updating Existing Content: Speaking of re-sharing old posts, at some point you may have old posts that need editing and updating. Your social media VA can make your old posts timely yet relevant. However, updating existing content is essential, especially if you have new terms and conditions for your product or service.
5. Carrying out quality controls: Hiring a social media VA who loves to write will reduce the time you spend editing text. You can do the quality control yourself, so all you have to do is do one last pass and approve the content for posting.
6. Publishing blog posts: Since your social media VA is very familiar with the online community you are creating, she will find it easy to write blog posts that resonate with your customers.
7. Introduction of email campaigns: Email marketing tools like MailChimp, Hubspot, and MailerLite are relatively easy to navigate and use. In addition, your social media VA can modify your content and turn it into an email marketing campaign since they are already familiar with everything that is happening in your online community.

Get involved with your community

Social media goes beyond sharing content. Your social media VA pretty much acts as your online information, observing the behavior of your online audience and keeping in mind what they are searching for. Content creation companies like Trust My Paper say that having your social media VA monitoring your community will help you create content that is relevant to the interests and likes of your current audience.

1. Replies to comments: Building loyalty to your brand takes a lot of dedication. Your social media VA can act as that link by replying to comments and direct messages sent by your audience. Regular correspondence with your audience makes them feel seen and heard, and can eventually encourage them to spread the word about your brand and commendable customer service.
2. Manage and monitor comments and messages: Many spam accounts leave irrelevant comments and possibly even offensive posts and messages. Your social media VA can help filter out these posts and block or report these unwanted accounts, keeping your feed safe and friendly to your community.
3. Connection to influencers: With the help of social media monitoring tools, it becomes easy for your social media VA to build business partnerships with relevant accounts and influential influencers. However, since they are already tasked with cross-posting relevant content from these accounts and influencers, it would help if they could develop and maintain a good relationship with them as well. One way to do this is by replying to comments and replying to posts with high engagement. This could eventually lead to possible collaborations that will definitely increase your social media presence and brand awareness.
4. Holding freebies and special promotions: Holding giveaways is one of the easiest ways to grow your social media followers. It’s also a great way to generate hype for your brand. Your social media VA can come up with a variety of tactics and mechanics as each online platform has specific types of giveaways that work.

Compilation of results and analysis

Gathering data based on online performance is a tedious task that your social media VA can easily handle. Your social media VA is already equipped with the knowledge and tools for efficient data interpretation. However, the social media space can be tricky to navigate, so regular reports reflecting the analysis results provide room for improvement in the execution of your social media strategy.

1. Conducting surveys: Aside from monitoring comments online, your social media VA can engage with your online community by sending them more comprehensive surveys. These can range from feedback forms to product or service suggestions. You can easily create and send these surveys using tools like Google Forms or Typeform. These tools automatically collect data that your social media VA can compile and present. Finally, the survey results can be integrated into your social media strategy and product development.
2. Analysis of platform behavior: Social media metrics vary by platform and industry. We also have to consider the constant changes in online behavior and algorithm. With your social media VA as their eyes and ears, they can conduct an audit to see if your posts are meeting the key performance indicators (KPIs) of your current social media strategy.
3. Present campaign achievements: Social Media VAs can assess whether an ongoing email marketing campaign is appropriate for your brand. They can provide you with data such as follower trends, conversion and open rates, page clicks, website visits, and sales.

Conclusion

Running a business is already a handful, especially when you’re just starting out. By hiring a VA who can focus solely on social media, you can free up more space on your business owner’s plate for tasks that require more time and attention without the worry and pressure of moving with the digital world to have to hold.