Virtual assistants, or VA’s, are what I like to call the gateway to outsourcing. Why? It’s because most people start out with one before they end up hiring an entire remote team.
And for a good reason too. Virtual assistants are remote workers, often self-employed (though some are subcontractors for specialized agencies), that offer various services. Basically, they take on crucial but tedious tasks to free up their client’s time so that s/he can focus on growing their business. Pretty cool, eh?
What a lot of people don’t realize, however, is that virtual assistants can have different niches too.
So, today, as a public service, we present the different kinds of virtual assistants, all so you can figure out which one to ask for when you partner with Remote Staff. *nudge*nudge*
1. Administrative Virtual Assistant.
What they do: These are the general virtual assistants, and they function like any executive assistant or secretary (except they can’t make you coffee). Common duties include managing your diary, scheduling appointments, maintaining a database, and handling your emails.
Some administrative virtual assistants even book plane tickets or hotel rooms – even from halfway around the world.
Great for: Business owners who need someone else to stay on top of things so they can focus on running their companies.
3. Virtual Bookkeepers.
What they do: Doing the books can be so tedious and time consuming, but alas, it’s necessary. A virtual bookkeeper takes this task out of your hands.
These types of virtual assistants usually have a background in accounting, as well as proficiency in bookkeeping software. If you manage to hire a qualified and experienced one, they can handle your payroll processing and other financial areas of your business for you.
Great for: Entrepreneurs who would rather spend time getting more customers or improving their product line than balancing the books.
4. Research Assistant.
What they do: As the name suggests, these VA’s specialize in doing research for business. Whether it’s searching online for relevant statistics, connecting the dots, or laying out the resulting data in an easy-to-read format, they’ve got you covered.
Great for: Anyone who could use some help in identifying potential areas of growth for their business.
5. Customer Service Virtual Assistant.
What they do: Exactly as their title suggests, they manage customer communications. These may involve answering inquiries, troubleshooting concerns, and compiling data from customer responses.
Great for: Business owners who would like to give their customers extra attention without having to exert extra effort.
6. Community Manager.
What they do: Some businesses accumulate followings that are numerous enough to create an online community. The latter would then require someone to hang out there, just to answer questions and point people in the right direction. Some community managers also have the authority to kick unruly members out or to delete inappropriate posts as well.
Great for: Got an online community of loyal customers and/or prospective ones? Let a community manager keep an eye on them for you.
7. Digital Marketing Assistant.
What they do: These are like social media marketing assistants, except for your website. Thus, they’re skilled in SEO and overall digital marketing. Their updates can usually drive greater traffic to your website.
Great for: People who would like to rank higher on the search engine results list but don’t know how.
8. Real Estate Virtual Assistant.
What they do: Real estate VA’s handle both administrative and prospecting duties for their clients. Apart from managing schedules and appointments, they can also assist with prospecting, database management, and lead generation, among other things.
Great for: Real estate company owners who would like their businesses to run smoothly even as they devote more time to their clients.
In need of a remote worker to fill any of the positions mentioned above? Remote Staff has a wide pool of Filipino talents that can all rise to the challenge. Our years and years of experience and expertise in the remote working industry and our painless onboarding process don’t hurt too.
Hit us up today and help us help you.
Serena has been working remotely and writing content for the better part of the last decade. To date, she's written for Pepper.ph and Mabuhay Magazine, among others, and has churned out more than a thousand articles on everything from The Basics of Stock Market Investing to How to Make Milk Tea-Flavored Taho at home.
2. Social Media Marketing Virtual Assistant.
What they do: A social media marketing virtual assistant creates content for your social media channels, or at least, draws up ideas for them. They’re also in charge of scheduling social media posts and monitoring your stats.
The best ones can boost your brand’s overall presence by keeping with the times and reflecting trends in real-time while saving you from costly promotional mistakes.
Great for: Someone whose business or brand needs a leg up on social media, or has plenty of ideas for campaigns but no time or skill to execute them.