Are you ready to ramp up your Internet marketing efforts? Perhaps you want to increase your social media exposure or produce a series of webinars? Getting these projects started can be a lot of work — something a small, one- or two-person business doesn’t always have time for. That’s where an Internet marketing virtual assistant (IMVA) can help. These virtual workers can take your marketing “to-do” list and turn it into a profitable reality.
What is an Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant?
An Internet marketing virtual assistant is a skilled marketing professional who can provide a variety of services, such as social media updates and administration, managing and setting up ecommerce functions, setting up Webinars and email marketing, just to name a few. Though she can be a vital part of your team, she works off-site, connecting with you via the Internet. The beauty of this arrangement is that you only have to pay for the time that you use her skills. You don’t have to set up an office, pay overhead and contribute Social Security taxes and benefits.
Five Best Activities to Delegate to Your Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant
When you start working with a virtual assistant, it can be a little confusing. After all, you can’t just shout over to the next cubicle when you need a task completed. However, once you settle into a working routine, you’ll find that using an Internet marketing virtual assistant helps you to be organized as well as helps you with your marketing efforts.
Of course, you want to make the most of your virtual assistant’s time and use her for tasks that will earn you the largest return on the money you pay for her time and efforts.
Below are the five activities that offer the best return on your investment in an Internet marketing virtual assistant:
1. Content Syndication. Content syndication is the controlled placement of the same article (or a variation of the same article) on multiple web sites to maximize your company’s marketing exposure. Such articles offer tips, advice or news of interest to your potential customers and conclude with a blurb about your company. The content syndication process continuously markets your business, even while you’re sleeping. Your VA can write these articles and handle the placement of them around the Web.
2. Video Creation and Marketing. Video marketing is another function you can delegate to your IMVA. Images and videos help to make your Web site more engaging and break up the sea of text you find on many sites. You can also place videos about your company on sites like YouTube. It’s pretty easy to get a short video optimized so that it appears on the first page of a Google search for your primary keyword terms within just a few days.
3. Product Launches. Getting the word out about a new product launch is another task well-suited to a VA. As product launches can be time-intensive, she can write and submit press releases, post on social media sites and forums and be a media contact. A good IMVA will have a product launch time table that she uses, which makes the launch easier to execute.
4. Email Marketing. Communicating with your mailing list can also be handled by your IMVA. The marketing gold is in the relationship you have with the people on your mailing list, and an IMVA can ensure that you communicate regularly with the people who care most about your company.
5. Webinars. Setting up webinars, video tutorials or classes about topics in your field can help to promote you and your company as industry experts. However, the work and technology involved in setting up such classes can be overwhelming. Having an IMVA set those up for you so that you only have to deliver the program is essential. Plus, a good IMVA will help you strategize how to turn the webinar content into content that can be syndicated.
If you use her time wisely, you’ll be able to more than re-coup the money you pay your IMVA and grow your business without expensive overhead and benefit costs. Using an Internet marketing virtual assistant can transform even the smallest company into a marketing powerhouse.