Having a virtual assistant can get you out of a lot of trouble. After all, most of these are contractors or people working at agencies that are selling you their services directly, which means that it’s a great, flexible, and non-burdening way for you to expand your workforce. It’s also an amazing way to alleviate your permanent staff and boost productivity. Still, not all virtual assistants are the same. Here are the top five types of assistants you should get familiar with before you start hiring.
Administrative virtual assistant
One of the things that you’ll need help with the most is definitely administrative tasks. These are the tasks that take minimal onboarding for one to learn how to do, but they will still take so much of your time.
You see, scheduling, checking emails, and data entry are really not that hard. These are the tasks that you could easily outsource to someone for $11 to $15 per hour. Even when it comes to paperwork, these are usually standard formats that look scary at first, but as soon as you explain them, they become as simple as they get.
An administrative virtual assistant will take on all of these tasks, allowing you to focus on the more creative part of the job.
It’s not just about wasting time on these tasks that can be delegated to someone else, it’s also about breaking your focus. Were you ever in the flow and then you just had to respond to a few emails and check your schedule, only to learn that you completely lost focus when you returned?
A virtual assistant should help prevent this.
Bookkeeping virtual assistant
Hiring an accountant is the best course of action, but there are a lot of companies that do business on a day-to-day basis and just need someone to handle the ledger. This is already a simple task to do, provided that they use the right accounting software.
Some of these assistants are not just virtual assistants with some experience with accounting software. Some of them are assistants at larger accounting firms. They’re not licensed and don’t have courses finished, but they’ve undergone onboarding and basic accounting training. More importantly, they know how to do the job.
Bookkeeping virtual assistants also help you run more flexible and scalable teams. Maybe you need more than one person, but hiring several licensed accountants is incredibly expensive. So, hire one accountant and several virtual assistants to help them out. This way, and with the help of the right software, you’ll be able to achieve the performance of an entire accounting department at a mere fraction of the price.
Social media virtual assistant
It goes without saying that social media marketing has the potential to make or break a business. However, the biggest problem with social media management is that it’s hit hardest by the Dunning-Kruger effect. People use personal social media accounts, and they immediately assume that this means that they can handle business profiles just as effectively.
First of all, this “just as effectively” part is often quite delusional. Come on, be honest. What’s the engagement rate in your previous few posts?
Second, you need to understand that the organic reach and sponsored content on social media cannot be compared. You need someone to manage these ads and handle cost control on your social media marketing spending.
Lastly, you need someone to help you create and curate social media content. In order to keep your audience engaged, you need to post frequently and ensure that the content is of a decently high quality. A social media virtual assistant with a bit of experience and with the help of modern generative AI tools can do wonders in this respect.
Industry-specific virtual assistant
No matter what field you’re in, you’ll always need administrative, bookkeeping, and social media marketing; however, there is one type of virtual assistant that you’ll only need depending on your respective industry.
For instance, a virtual assistant for real estate will be uniquely equipped to address tasks related to the real estate industry.
We’re talking about tasks like handling property listings, managing relationships between landlords and tenants, researching properties, and preparing paperwork for the exchange of ownership.
The thing is that each industry has its own unique set of tasks, and when looking for virtual assistants, it’s crucial that you find people with this specific experience and expertise. Even if, in other companies, things are done differently, people who have industry-specific experience will adjust really quickly.
This means that you’ll have a shorter onboarding process and a shorter time until they’re working up to full speed.
Just keep in mind that everyone has to start somewhere and that you don’t want to discard a person just because they haven’t worked in the same industry before.
E-commerce virtual assistant
E-commerce virtual assistants are something between sales representatives and customer support reps. Just think about it: shopping cart reminders and analytics are, nowadays, mostly handled by chatbots and solved through automation. However, there are some tasks that you still need a human to handle.
For instance, an e-commerce VA can help you manage lists and sort out your e-store content. A good product description and photo can do wonders for your prospects of actually making a sale. Now, while it makes sense that you would create these yourself, there are two things that you’re forgetting. First, the volume of these products is incredible. Second, there are always new products, so you have to make it systemic.
Handling product listings can be quite overwhelming, making it worth hiring an e-commerce virtual assistant. In order to grow your e-commerce business and scale-up your services, you need the right workforce in your corner.
Wrap up
In the end, hiring a virtual assistant is a scalable and cost-effective solution to your workforce problem. Still, while virtual assistants are a bit more flexible and versatile, the truth is that finding a specialist helps you solve your problem far more effectively. Keep in mind that there are a lot of people with experience as virtual assistants in these respective fields and that finding them is definitely worth your while.
Virtual assistant stock image by insta_photos/Shutterstock
