In the last couple of years, new professions have arisen along with the changes that Social Media and Social Media Marketing have brought to our lives.
(Community Manager, Social Media Manager, etc..
) As more and more companies go "virtual" or 2.
0, their need for assistance and support increases.
As a consequence, Virtual Assistants get more and more specialized.
This does not mean that a specialized VA will only be able to work on some tasks, on the contrary: this means that VAs will be able to add further knowledge and specialization to their background.
These are some of the most required services that a VA should be able to provide to her clients.
Blogging.
WordPress is undoubtedly the most widely used platform, but I suggest to go ahead and start familiarizing with other platforms such as Joomla.
This service involves installing a blog, creating and adapting the design from a predesigned theme, installing all kinds of plugins (for backup, security, antispam, to socialize the blog, etc.
) and writing/editing articles.
It requires a minimal knowledge of HTML, for instance in order to change the CSS sheet or any other editable file (header, footer, etc.
) and of course writing/editing skills.
Social Media.
When we talk about social networks we usually think of Facebook and Twitter, sometimes we neglect other networks that have excellent professional potential such as LinkedIn and Ning.
This service involves the creation of profiles with a highly professional content, appearance, and impact.
In terms of management it involves the interaction with users, and any activity related to promotion of the product or service.
A VA should be familiar with the most important applications created for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn that will give the profiles an added value.
Facebook pages.
This service deserves to be mentioned separately.
Facebook company pages are like mini-websites, and having a page on this social network is definitely a "must".
Even if a well-designed page requires a designer to create it, many customers are not willing to hire a designer, and do not want or need a "wow" page, and are content with a nice, attractive page.
To create a nice Facebook company page, a VA should know how to use Adobe Photoshop and/or other design software, and of course be familiar with HTML and FBML.
Article Marketing.
It is a powerful Internet marketing tool, which allows content to spread virally and helps creating awareness on a product or service, as well as imposing the writers as experts in a particular area.
In this case a VA could either write articles and publish them on the most important directories, or just edit articles and publish them.
It requires knowledge of the main article directories, such Ezine Articles, their rules of publication, and of course excellent writing/editing skills.
Email marketing.
It is a very important tool for anyone who has a blog or a webiste, basically because if we are selling a product or service on the Internet, we need traffic, and having a newsletter, or just having an opt-in box (giving aways a video series, or an ebook) helps generating traffic.
Among other things, a VA must know how to use autoresponders (Aweber, Mailchimp, Getresponse), know how to create and broadcast a highly quality content newsletter and how to create or manage a landing page or squeeze page.
Affiliate Programs.
Many online companies already have a successful product and are seeking further promotion.
Through affiliates, who are paid a commission for each product sold, a company can actually see its sales increased.
This service requires a basic knowledge of affiliate marketing and being familiar with some tools such as: affiliate networks (Clickbank, etc.
) and software (1ShoppingCart, etc.
).
Virtual Events.
Companies need to connect with their audience in a more personalized way: webinars and teleseminars are excellent tools.
A Virtual Assistant can help with the organization prior to the event, can assist clients during their event and with all the activities involved in the promotion and web syndication after the event.
Many different skills and some experience are required to be an efficient and successful Virtual Events VA.
Among them, knowledge of the most popular virtual events platforms such as DimDim (although we not know what will happen to DimDim after its recent acquisition by Salesforce.
com), GoToWebinar, etc.
What do you think? What are the trends for 2011 in the Virtual Assistance Market?