When it comes to hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA), there is one common question that keeps cropping up – what can a VA do for me? Most small business owners are swamped with work and dream of hiring in help – but they don’t know WHAT help they can pass over to someone else! Continue reading “Can a VA manage my social media?”
Tag: twitter
Getting the most out of your Twitter account
Twitter has long been one of the favourite social media platforms for savvy entrepreneurs. Founded in 2006, Twitter is now one of the biggest social media platforms around – and is it any wonder? Giving you only 140 characters per ‘tweet’, it means you really do have to get to the point, if you want to attract the right followers. Twitter is a great way to raise your profile and interact with your ideal audience… but are you making the most of what else it has to offer? Continue reading “Getting the most out of your Twitter account”
5 tips to getting started on Twitter
Twitter is now one of the biggest social media platforms around. Founded in 2006, it’s a fast moving, snappy tweeting, interactive hub that is favoured by busy entrepreneurs and celebrities alike… but for those very reasons it can also inundate those who are new to it.
If you’d like to make the most of this great social media platform, here are 5 tips to getting you started on Twitter. Continue reading “5 tips to getting started on Twitter”
Become a VA: Step 7 – Social Media and Your VA Business
For the past 6 weeks, I have shared 6 tips that I hope are helping you to launch, grow and boost your VA business.
Are you putting them into action? Which has been your favourite? Which have you found the easiest or the hardest to apply?
This week I want to talk about ‘How to use social media to boost interest in your VA services’.
Regularly when I ask VAs or Business Owners in general why they are on social media, they tell me its because someone else told them to be on it. A lot of them think Social Media is a waste of time, or they say “I don’t have time to get round to doing it”. But are just doing it for the sake of it.
Well the reality is, if you think about how many people you could get exposed to, online, it’s actually far greater than what you would be able to achieve in terms of the number of people you would meet if you were going to your local networking meeting. As an example, when I look at my 576 LinkedIn connections, I could be connected to over 11,411,482 business connections world wide and that doesn’t take into consideration Twitter or Facebook. The potential is far reaching.
Although I say, you rule social media and social media doesn’t rule you. It is imperative that you are consistent in your approach and have a strategy of what you are trying to achieve with your interaction. I always recommend having a social media strategy and a social media plan, so that you know what you are writing about every week.
There are literally hundreds of social media platforms available but you don’t need a presence on all of them. Think about where your ideal client is and the platforms they are using and then use those platforms.
Facebook
Facebook is an ideal platform for Business to Consumer type businesses – it’s a great way to showcase your expertise, link to helpful articles and build relationships with potential clients. Your posts have great longitivtiy and visual content works well on Facebook. However, it can be a slow process to build your likes and gain traction, so remember this is part of the long game and not a short term social media platform.
Twitter
Twitter is great for Business to Business interactions and Business to Consumer. It can be fast, fun and addictive and a great tool for signposting individuals to your other platforms. You can ask advice, give advice and share articles. Business colleagues of mine, recently described Twitter as “going to the pub and being able to ask the silly questions”.
LinkedIn
Someone new joins LinkedIn every second. It is seen as the number one social media tool for Business. Often regarded as the more formal social media networks, it is used by professionals in all fields. It encompasses the ability to give and receive recommendations. LinkedIn works really well for relationship building. I recently wrote a guest blog for the Virtual Assistant Coaching and Training Company on the subject of 15 steps to creating a professional LinkedIn profile. I also posted a post about why you need a company LinkedIn page which I thoroughly recommend.
So feel free to connect with me on the Social Media Platforms mentioned by clicking on the name of the platform below (it turns into a hyperlink) and if you connect after reading this blog please do tell me:
Have you enjoyed the Blog series? Has it left you thinking that you need more information about setting up as a Virtual Assistant before you make the transition?
Learn the Key Strategies of What You Need to Know When Becoming a VA &
Learn if this industry is for you..
…in our half-day taster sessions priced at only £37!
Nothing ventured nothing gained!
Is this you?…
- Are you a PA who’s a mother, soon to retire or being made redundant and now interested in becoming a Virtual Assistant and yet you are not quite ready to go ahead?
- Have you conducted lots of research yet still not sure if becoming a VA is for you, perhaps you are a little scared of setting up your own VA business or are nervous about taking a leap of faith?
- Is this a venture you are looking to start in a few months’ time yet want to get a full understanding before you are ready to get going?
- Do you need to know the basics first before you fully commit to any full training or business building?
- Do you want someone who is an experienced expert to guide you towards what is essential for you to know, prior to getting started, so that you start on the right footing avoiding the costly mistakes many makes? Hindsight is a wonderful thing!
Join us in London for a Taster Session on Thu 4 Dec at 1330, Premier Inn Meeting Rooms, Euston. To learn more or to book click here.
The proof is in the reading … Guest Post by Helen Baggott for Your Executive Secretary
Even a Virtual Assistant needs the services of a Proof Reader and so Your Executive Secretary are really excited to have a Guest Blog Post from Helen Baggott, a Professional Writer and Proofreader. Keep reading to see Why “The Proof is in the Reading…..”.
To paraphrase Franklin, ‘nothing is certain but death, taxes and typos’. Where there are words, there will be woeful errors – and that’s why we need proofreaders.
New innovations of self-publishing may short-cut the route to a Kindle or bookshelf, but proofreading’s one stage that shouldn’t be missed.
Budding Browns will find their careers cut short by poor reviews and many learn the hard way that it’s almost easier to crack the Da Vinci Code than to proofread their own work.
Website and business content is no different. We become so familiar with our work that the eyes and brain deceive us into reciting, not reading.
No-one knows your product better than you do, so it’s your voice that will sell your service. But if you’re trying to sell an eye for detail, what message will that typo send out?
Often it’s the most familiar of phrases that will let you down – simply because your brain will barely acknowledge what the eye sees.
In the world of fiction, Tim can become Tom, a cashmere sweater will be stoked and pretty curtains are made from lice. A spellchecker will never find those errors – they’re all correctly spelt. The same applies with your business content – how can you polish your prose and project the perfect image?
If you’re trying to proofread your own work, set it aside – for as long as possible. Re-read it after a long break and read it aloud. Doing that will inject a new stage into the process and you’ll be surprised what the tongue trips over.
Some writers will openly break the grammar rules – they have a voice for their characters and that’s what’s important to them. The same can be true of business content – your product, your voice – but mangle syntax at your peril. And do keep it simple – don’t try and impress by using a thesaurus – you’ll either turn customers off or make them laugh (titter, guffaw, chuckle, giggle).
Squeezing too much content into a few sentences will back fire. Bullet points are far better than too long sections of text and will have more impact. Using different spellings (T-shirt, t-shirt, tee shirt, tee-shirt), hoping one will stick, is never a good idea. It smacks of indecision and incompetence. Using capitals to enforce Your Message is fine, but if you’re breaking the rules you must be consistent.
If you intend producing a series of content for your marketing strategy, create your own Style Guide – that way everyone in your team will know you sell T-shirts and not tee-shirts. Include preferred punctuation, perhaps where you might use italics or bold for impact etc. Just the process of creating that Guide will focus your mind and begin training your brain to check for more than just spelling mistakes.
And if all else fails? Hire a proofreader!
As well as working as a proofreader, Helen Baggott also writes for local magazines. She is currently working on a collection of biographies for publication in 2014. Helen accepts proofreading commissions from authors, publishers and businesses that need their website and business material polished. www.helenbaggott.co.uk
