Social media can feel like a messy maze, especially for brands that are just getting started. Also, with over 4 billion people using social media every day, getting your brand’s voice heard and building a strong social presence can be a challenge.

However, the effort is worth it. It is estimated that the average user spends almost 2.5 hours on social media. In addition, a staggering 98% of people access social media, and 90% of them are actively involved or contribute to social platforms. It is clear that not taking advantage of this huge target base can be a missed opportunity of gigantic proportions.

Enter: Virtual assistants for social media.

You can think of virtual social media assistants as remote workers working to build your social media branding from the ground up.

In this blog, we’re going to look at what we mean by a social media assistant, why you should hire one, and the benefits of hiring a virtual social media assistant. Let us begin.

In simple terms, a social media assistant refers to an employee who works remotely. It has the skills, training, and knowledge necessary to advance and guide your brand’s social media endeavors. This includes managing the social media handles and scheduling posts, posting quality content and engaging your user base and virtual social media assistants.

In addition, with the advent of AI-powered chatbots, companies can expand their virtual social media campaigns. How come? First of all, these chatbots can answer customer queries on social media in real time, as Fandango’s chatbot shows below:

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All the user has to do is start a conversation with the brand’s Facebook Messenger bot and buy tickets, find a local theater nearby, watch the latest trailers, etc.

In addition to answering user queries, these “smart” chatbots can drive traffic to other social media channels, the brand’s website, blog section, among others, and increase user engagement from a cross-channel perspective.

Take away: In addition to hiring a virtual social media assistant, brands should invest in the right tools to boost their social media activities and give them a “personal touch on scale”.

So why do you need to hire a social media manager?

Using the basics, let’s quickly understand why remote social media managers are all the rage now:

• Social media is no longer a part-time job: In today’s digital age (work-from-home), brands that are not active on social media risk being branded as outdated and archaic by customers. In fact, according to a study, around 57% of consumers follow a brand to gather information about a new product or service, while 47% follow the brand to keep up with company news and updates. So you need a full-fledged, hyperactive and relevant social media profile that is tailored to the needs of your target group around the clock.
• Social media is constantly evolving: In contrast to other communication channels, the trends in social media are constantly changing. Forbes claims, for example, that Facebook incorporated updates in 2019 that significantly reduced the organic reach of companies and redirected brands to “expensive” social media ad campaigns. Hiring a social media assistant allows your brand to stay ahead of these changes that can negatively affect your bottom line and your company’s earnings.
• Social media does not follow standard “performance” rules: It is not enough to constantly post and promote campaigns on social media. You also need to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns. However, it takes more than counting the number of likes and comments affected to gauge how your social media campaign is doing. There are numerous key performance indicators and metrics that you need to follow – all of which can be expertly handled by your social media assistant.

Long story short, brands that want to build a credible, long-term presence on social media need to leverage the combined benefits of a virtual social media assistant and the right social media monitoring tools.

The final section looks at the top 4 benefits of hiring a social media marketing virtual assistant.

1. They help to reduce costs:

Hiring a virtual social media assistant is an inexpensive alternative to hiring full-time employees. Here are four compelling ways they can help reduce costs:

First, you don’t have to offer them any training as they have specific skills and hands-on experience from having previously worked with a wide variety of brands.

Second, because these assistants work remotely, they usually charge by the hour to ensure that you only end up paying for what is done.

Third, you can outsource virtual assistants from anywhere in the world – depending on your social media budget.

Fourth, you can take advantage of improved business efficiency by delegating everything social media-related to the assistant while you focus on attracting new customers, retaining existing customers, and making profits.

2. You can address your target group organically and sustainably:

According to one study, an overwhelming 91% of customers visit the brand’s website or app after following a brand on social media. Additionally, 89% will buy from the brand and 85% will recommend the brand to a family or friend. In other words, your social media pages need to stay active and have consistent dialogue, as shown by Starbucks’ Twitter page below:

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Promoting narration on social media is not about promoting flashy branding and annoying customers. Instead, it’s about being relevant to the user’s everyday life and having partial conversations that lead the brand to develop an emotional and more intimate connection with the customer (as opposed to a purely transactional one). This is where the role of the dedicated social media assistant begins. You can react to every single post in real time and drive engagement rates up.

This is where a dedicated social media assistant can be helpful as it can act on it every single post in real time and increase engagement rates through the roof.

3. You can address the key challenges customers face today on social media:

According to data, here are the top reasons customers stop following brands on social media:

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If you look carefully, you will find that all of these factors can be effectively managed and monitored when you have a dedicated social media assistant. With business owners and start-up founders already wearing thousands of hats – from entrepreneurs and marketers to sellers and financiers – they have one less thing to worry about with a social media assistant.

4. You can devise a deep social media strategy and keep it up to date month after month:

Posting a bunch of random social media posts will not cause your social media campaigns to go viral. You need to move strategically, taking into account your business goals, social media goals, and user needs and requirements. Take a look at the following successful social media content plan for inspiration:

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Here’s another example to get your creativity flowing:

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A strategically aligned social media strategy can pay off enormously. However, it takes a lot of time, effort, and commitment – all of which you can do by hiring a skilled social media assistant.

However, it takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication – all of which can be taken advantage of by hiring a skilled social media assistant.

Take that away

If you are looking for hire a virtual assistant, be sure to do your homework. First understand why First and foremost, you need a virtual social media assistant. Next, think about your social media goals and how they can be aligned with your business goals. And finally, make it known on the right hiring platforms.

Our last two cents: Hiring a social media assistant will make your social media strategy more organized, goal-oriented, user-centric, and results-oriented. In addition, it will offer a huge ROI in the long run. Try to believe it.

Author biography:
Ashwini Dave

Ashwini is passionate about business, entrepreneurship, e-commerce, new technology and digital marketing. She works with Acquire as a digital marketing expert. She is a free soul and adventurous scholar who spends her free time with herself and her loved ones, music and sports. Addicted to the ocean, she is out and about to be exciting travelers, gaining new experiences while viewing life as our very own works of art.

Find her on Linkedin and Twitter.