19 Tasks You Can Hire a Social Media Virtual Assistant For

Social media plays a huge role in the growth and success of businesses today.  Whether you’re running an online business or a traditional brick-and-mortar, having a social media presence puts your brand in front of more people compared to not having one.

While social media marketing seems as easy as sharing posts on Facebook or Twitter, the fact of the matter is, it isn’t.  A great social media marketing strategy involves careful planning and several tasks that business owners like you don’t have the time to do.

With that being said, hiring a social media virtual assistant makes perfect sense.  What can a social media virtual assistant do to help your business? Check out the list we prepared for you below.

1.  Help develop a social media strategy

While most brands usually have a social media marketing strategy already in place, a social media virtual assistant can pitch more ideas that can help improve it.

It also helps that he or she is in charge of managing your social channels, which gives them a better perspective of what your brand needs and how else you can improve reach and engagement.

Are you addressing the right objectives?  Should having more followers be the priority over engagement?  What are your competitors doing right that you haven’t implemented yet?

Having an idea about where you are in terms of social media puts them in a better position to provide meaningful insights.

2.  Set up and organize your social media presence

Setting up your social media presence can take a lot of work.  From choosing the right cover photos to making your pages attractive enough to grab people’s attention, having someone who knows how these things work and how they come together effectively should come in handy.

Keep in mind that when it comes to social media, a good first impression goes a long way.  Having a clean and professional-looking page helps you stand out and makes your brand deserving of a second look.

3.  Research content

Research is one of the most crucial responsibilities of a social media virtual assistant.  It’s not so much finding the right content to post, but also identifying the right audience to connect with that makes this task count.

To succeed in social media, you need to post the right content for the right people.  It’s what converts regular followers to loyal customers, and when it comes to social media, a huge following makes a ton of difference.

4.  Create a content calendar

Part of a social media virtual assistant’s responsibility is to ensure that you consistently post great content for people to consume, which is why gathering ideas is an absolute must.

A content calendar helps you see what kind of content or posts you have for an entire month (or year in some cases), giving you room for adjustment.  This can also help you decide on the themes or topics you want to get published on any given day.

Knowledge and access to tools like Trello or Later are definitely an advantage.

5.  Create content

Above all, the task of creating content is probably the most important.  It’s what you hired a social media virtual assistant for.

This individual can help you create image quotes and infographics in Canva, link posts on Facebook and LinkedIn, and others which may take time – something you don’t have the luxury of.

Coming up with content ideas is no easy task, but when you have a social media virtual assistant to do it for you, the only thing left for you to do is monitor its performance.

6. Find and edit images for social media posts

Images are extremely important in social media especially because the majority of us are highly visual.  It takes a stunning, high-quality image for people to click on the link to your latest blog post or YouTube video.

A competent social media assistant should have a good eye for images.  He or she should be able to identify which pictures complement the content and know where to get free and high-quality images.

Having basic image-editing skills is also a huge plus especially if your brand blogs, on top of creating image quotes and infographics regularly for sharing on socials.

Knowledge of stock photo sites like Unsplash or Pexels would be great to have, as well as other tools like Canva or Adobe Photoshop for editing images.

7.  Curate posts from other blogs and social media channels

While it is ideal to have posts that are all original, curating and sharing content from a reputable account is essential if you want your social presence to grow at a faster pace.

A good social media virtual assistant should know how to find and share relevant content from influencers, effectively giving your audience content that can help them while also putting you in the middle of their crosshairs.

Why is this important?

Because this opens up the opportunity for influencers to take notice of your brand. And if they find your content worthy of being shared, they will put you in front of thousands (if not millions) of their followers by sharing your posts back.

8. Publish blog posts

Most big brands tend to have a dedicated blog writer for their blog posts, but hiring a social media assistant who can do it for your business is a huge bonus.  This is especially true if you are the owner of a startup and do not have the budget to pay a dedicated writer.

This should not be difficult for the social media assistant you will hire considering they have the skill to introduce content with great copy.  They are also knowledgeable about your products and services so if anyone can do it, it’s definitely them.

It’ll also be a huge help if they know how to use blogging platforms like WordPress or Blogger. Take note, however, that not all copywriters are also good content writers.

9.  Write copy for social media posts

A great photo and a compelling copy are the ingredients for a perfect social media post.  With the image doing the work of getting people’s attention, great copy seals the deal by introducing the content without giving too much away.

Writing great copy builds excitement, making people want to click on that link even more after the image got their attention.

Copywriting is one of the skills you should be looking for in a social media virtual assistant because knowing how to effectively introduce content will help you increase your clickthrough rate.

This helps people discover your content and eventually come back for more.

10.  Proofread and edit content

Proofreading and editing content is also part of a social media assistant’s responsibility especially when it comes to the copy and the blog they post for your brand.

Spelling and grammar errors can hurt your brand reputation if they go unchecked, which can drive people away because you come across as unreliable and ineffective. You wouldn’t see errors like these in posts from reputable brands, so if you want to be considered one, proofreading and editing is something the social media assistant should be capable of.

For you to be able to take your brand to the next level, you need to produce high-quality content by making sure that minor mistakes are addressed before they get posted.

Knowledge and access to tools like Grammarly or Wordrake will definitely come in handy.

11.  Update existing content

As the years go by and your brand continues to grow, some of your content from the past may no longer be in tune with the times.

A social media assistant should have the presence of mind to update existing content either to keep it up-to-date or make it evergreen.

A content update may also be necessary if there were changes made to your pages or the products and services you offer. This should not be difficult for someone who knows the brand well enough to create and manage content for it.

12.  Schedule and manage posts

With a calendar to follow and content already created, much of the hours social media assistants will be spending will revolve around scheduling posts.

Tools like Buffer and Hootsuite are perfect for such tasks because they let you write and schedule content across multiple channels from one dashboard.  Knowledge of such tools as these will definitely go a long way.

Scheduling posts in their respective social channels is, of course, a given for any social media assistant. But it would save you more time and money if you can hire someone who’s proficient in the social scheduling tools mentioned above.

13.  Monitor conversations

Social media management isn’t just about sharing content.  The person you’ll hire should also have an idea about what your followers are saying about you.  They should know what your audience is saying about competitors and the market as a whole.

This will help you know your audience better and identify which type of content they tend to like and share. This matters because it will help you produce better content which can lead to more shares, followers, and site visits.

The social media virtual assistant you hire should have knowledge of some of the top social media monitoring/listening tools like Hootsuite, Buzzsumo, and Mention, among others.

14.  Reply to and manage comments

While social media content is an effective way to keep your audience engaged, replying to comments is equally important.

People love it when they are given special attention by the brand they are following.  Replying to comments they made is a good way of making them feel that way.

Equally important is for a social media assistant to be able to manage the comments on posts.  They should be able to filter out offensive language and block people if need be.

Suffice to say, a social media assistant should not only be diligent in commenting back.  They should also display proper discretion and judgment when it comes to managing comments.

15.  Setup email campaigns

Email campaigns are also an effective way of keeping audiences engaged.  By keeping them posted on your latest offerings, you are effectively keeping them involved with your brand.

This also gives you the opportunity to present your latest offers and promos to them.  Since they are regular subscribers to your emails, presenting them such information increases the probability of more sales.

Email programs like MailChimp and Aweber come with a ton of features.  They let you reach out and even send automated follow-ups so you don’t have to do it manually.

Hiring someone who knows how to use them will definitely help you increase your signups and email open rate. This can then lead to increased sales and brand loyalty as well.

16.  Monitor campaign results

It goes without saying that running campaigns requires monitoring and analysis of results.

This will help you identify if your campaigns are set up correctly and are fed to the right people.  It’s important to understand the results because this can help you save money on PPC campaigns in the future.

One of the tasks of a social media assistant is to perform a careful analysis of the campaign results.  Did it get you the numbers you were hoping to get?  Were you able to get the number of followers you were targeting?  Are your page visits and sales up?

Understanding these stats will help you see the necessary tweaks that a social media assistant needs to make so your brand can generate better results in the future.

17.  Create surveys and promotions

Another way to increase engagement while also getting a pulse on how customers feel is by conducting polls and surveys.  This will help you better understand what your audience is looking for while building relationships with them.

Promotions also help increase interest towards your brand by allowing people to try your products at a lower price.

18.  Compile and analyze marketing statistics

Knowing how effective or ineffective your strategies are can help you improve on your brand weaknesses.  Social media assistants can help compile and analyze marketing stats and use them to come up with new tactics.

A good grasp of how to interpret numbers from social insights will help identify areas for improvement.  It will also help you determine areas where you are doing well and what campaigns need to be continued.

19.  Generate reports

Lastly, generating reports based on the results of campaigns and social insights is something social media assistants can help with.

It’s one of the reasons why you’re paying them — their reports and recommendations will be your basis for improvement.

A weekly report sent straight to your email is always great.  You’ll have time to analyze, and then later on, discuss how you are going to address the results.

Final Thoughts

If you want to see your business grow bigger and faster, hiring a social media virtual assistant is essential.  You’ll be able to concentrate on your CEO duties and get help from an expert at the same time.

Researching, creating, and scheduling content requires a lot of time and attention.  A dedicated expert gives your brand the opportunity to stand out in a crowded world like social media.

Are you a business owner who’s looking to take your company’s social media presence to the next level?  If the answer is yes, we’d like you to take note of your social media needs.

Write them down then sign up as a client on FreeeUp so we can help you hire a social media virtual assistant that fits your needs.