10 Tips for a Virtual Marketing Assistant During COVID-19
“Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon”, read the subject line of the email from Adidas to the Boston marathon runners. Under ordinary circumstances, this greeting sounds harmless and even good-natured. But because the brand sent out the email in 2013 in the wake of the Boston bombing that killed and hurt a number of people, Adidas received terrible backlash for its lack of sensitivity.
Marketing is more than just captivating words and beautiful graphics — it’s also about impeccable timing. In fact, timing can make or break a campaign as evidenced in the Adidas fiasco. In the midst of COVID-19, companies are in a trickier situation when it comes to marketing and communications. An otherwise innocent slogan or campaign can quickly be construed as malicious or opportunistic when done incorrectly.
If you’re a marketing assistant, it’s time to step up your game and learn what marketing means in the face of a global economic downturn. If you’re an entrepreneur, it’s time to hire a virtual assistant for marketing to promote your business effectively and economically.
What is a virtual marketing assistant? Is it really a good idea to hire one now?
A virtual marketing assistant is a remote worker who is trained and experienced in marketing. Although it seems counter-intuitive to hire people when the unemployment rate is on the rise, the benefits of expert virtual help far outweighs its cost. Check out these 5 business expenses you can reduce by hiring a virtual assistant.
Marketing in The Time of Corona: 10 Tips to Remember
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Review scheduled content and edit accordingly.
Thanks to tools like Hootsuite, you can now upload content in advance and schedule its date of publication. But as the coronavirus plunged the world in a health and economic scare, you need to quickly review the posts that you have had lined up. Make sure you publish your response about the crisis and remove content that sounds out of touch with what people are experiencing now.
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Fine-tune your language and visual content.
Proofread your published and upcoming content. Are there posts that sound inappropriate and can be construed as harmful? For example, remove visuals that show or depict touching or staying outdoors. As for language, avoid figurative statements like “working hand in hand” or colloquial statements such as “going viral”.
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Do not take advantage of the crisis.
There is nothing more off-putting than companies that capitalize on crises. Consumers today have easy access to information and communication. They can see right through businesses that try to make money out of people’s worry, and will not be afraid to call you out for it. Instead, stick to your mission of helping your target customers with your services.
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Find your unique way to help.
An online marketing virtual assistant has a strong suit of virtual tools that make the remote business work. This is the time to leverage this knowledge and use it to help others. Perhaps you can set up a webinar that teaches people how to adjust to working from home. Maybe you can create visuals that tell the audience what they can do to stay healthy during the quarantine. Check out how other businesses are coping with COVID-19 for inspiration.
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Stay positive but informed.
Staying positive amidst the pandemic doesn’t mean disregarding the gravity of the situation. You can post motivational campaigns and still encourage people to take proper safety precautions when going outdoors. Encourage people to find good things out of the ordinary. For example, a sit-down restaurant or a local cafe can make a social media poll and ask which dish or beverage their customers miss the most. Then, they can share the recipe of the most voted item through a video tutorial. That way, people can whip up their own versions at home while looking forward to enjoying it on-site after lockdowns are lifted.
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Re-evaluate your SEO efforts.
SEO is a branch of marketing that when done right, allows consumers to know a brand in their own terms. As the pandemic is going on, this may mean putting your current KPIs on hold and replacing them with more relevant ones. This may mean letting go of the list of keywords you’ve put together and instead of creating content that will help, educate, and inspire people.
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Be more personable than business-like.
It’s as good a time as any to close the gap between brand and consumers. Work with your customer service team to avoid sending generic spiels to customers. The same should be true to your social media and blog posts. Put the “rules” of SEO aside and remember that ultimately, Google prioritizes content that offers the best answer to people’s problems. So, prioritize creating content for search intent over individual keywords.
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Invest in experienced-based content.
People’s fear of missing out has been capitalized by many businesses and for good reason. A report shows that 60% of millennials reactively buy something within a day because of FOMO. However, the fear of missing out goes beyond getting the latest gadgets. More than half of the millennial market also fear to miss the latest news, events, or status update. This is the time to invest in content that not just informs or entertains, but also creates the best experience, albeit virtually. This is a chance to integrate your marketing virtual assistant services with brand influencers and content writers.
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Work on your future messaging.
During the 2008 recession, many brands rallied people together by spreading messages of hope and optimism. American journalist Bob Garfield notes, “There is always a bull market for optimism when there is a bear market for everything else”. The same philosophy can be applied to your messaging. What solutions and operations have you pivoted online? How do you ensure the safety and health of your partners? Using your company vision, mission, and values, let your partners, employees, and customers know your stance during the pandemic.
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Highlight your solutions.
Take this time as an opportunity to develop your customer retention efforts. For B2B companies, this may mean learning the struggles of your clients and helping them stay afloat. For B2C brands, this may mean offering delivery discounts or contactless transactions.
The pandemic calls for advanced and responsible virtual marketing assistant services. Use these 10 tips to promote your brand, inspire your customers, and help your community cope with the pandemic.
READ MORERecommended Reading: 12 Things to Know Before You Hire a Telemarketer
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.
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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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
[activecampaign form=68]Recommended Reading: 12 Things to Know Before You Hire a Telemarketer
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