Any small business or entrepreneur anywhere near an Internet connection these days, will have heard about the importance of using social media as a marketing tool. Many will not know the ins and outs of how to go about getting started or keeping up with their social media efforts. What’s more is that small business owners and entrepreneurs are VERY BUSY and they just do not have time to  learn and maintain everything that goes with social media. This is where I come in as a Social Media Virtual Assistant.

I help small business owners figure out the what and the how for using social media for their business. We identify what their goals are and how to work towards achieving those goals and some measurable outcomes in using social media for business. I can take care of the initial set up, including all the technical aspects along with my recommendations or shortcuts for how to fully optimize a their presence on different social media platforms. I will give suggestions for how to help syndicate their content throughout their networks and I can help set up systems for helping to manage or automate where it seems feasible.

My efforts work best and get the best results with clients when there is good, open communication and when the client clearly understands and participates where needed with the different social media platforms and networks. The biggest mistake I encounter in working as a Social Media Virtual Assistant, is that some clients come to the table with a “set it and forget it” mentality despite my best efforts to advise them otherwise. Hiring a Virtual Assistant to help you with your social media and online visibility but thinking that it will not require any participation from you is a mistake.

I am happy to be a partner in my client’s social media and online efforts. I love the rush of seeing how making connections, networking and creating relationships can really help small business owners and entrepreneurs thrive. What I’ve decided I won’t do, is run a client’s social media on auto pilot. It’s not right for social media and it’s not right for me.

The “social” part of “social networking” means BEING ENGAGED. Hiring a Virtual Assistant to help out with tasks related to social media doesn’t make you social and I guarantee that you will be disappointed with the outcome if you choose not to also participate.

I can help streamline your social media efforts and I can keep on top of what needs a response from you. But, in the end the words and voice need to be yours.

Would love to hear your thoughts or comments on this!

Image by Joriel “Joz” Jimenez via Flickr

After seeing this update, I went over the Army’s Facebook page to see just what was going on and it seems as though the Army’s fans were posting their opinions on the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy. Obviously, this is a highly charged and highly emotional issue for many people on both sides of the issue.  The parts that particularly caught my interest was:

1. The response from the Army’s admins for page who were actively engaging with their fans and letting them know they were being heard. It also appears Admins are actively watching the page to delete any completely derogatory and profane messages. But the ones that are on there seem to be posted by people on there who are willing to post their opinions without resorting to name calling or hurtful words.

2. That this issue was being so openly discussed at all on their fan page.

While fan opinions on Facebook may not change whether the policy continues, it does seem entirely feasible that at the very least, these comments will be forwarded to those in the higher ranks and quite possibly to congressmen and women and other policy/decision makers.

I believe this speaks to power of social media today. Not only is the US Army using Facebook to connect with people but those people are using the platform as a way to make themselves heard and they’re doing it without a second thought. Just a few short years ago, (heck, even just a year ago), the ability of the public to get their opinions directly to an agency like the Army would have been limited to poll or survey agencies or to sending a letter directly to your congress person…something that only small percentage of people would actually do. Additionally, it also shows how much more comfortable people have gotten with discussing such highly charged issues in a very public forms.

Is it a good thing? I think so. You need to remain objective though about whether the majority of opinions on the Army’s Facebook page are in support of the policy or if they oppose it. They currently have over 148,000 fans and one would venture to guess that a significant portion of those fans support the Army and it’s principles so opinions may be skewed in one direction or another. You also have to consider that the Admins may be removing the most inflammatory posts.  However, a good portion of the comments that I read seemed to mostly support not discriminating against any of our service men or women based on race, gender or sexual orientation.

I think its an example of a good use of social media.

• Set up your social media profiles. Setting up a new Twitter account or Facebook Fan page is easy, but optimizing them for the greatest marketing value is quite challenging. An SMVA has the expertise and specialized knowledge to efficiently get your account off to a running head start. Already have an established Twitter or Facebook page? Your SMVA can provide you with recommendations on how to use your accounts to build your online visibility and increase your brand awareness. And how many times have you wondered what exactly you’re supposed to do with your LinkedIn account? An SMVA can advise you on how to optimize your profile and how to be seen as an expert in your industry. Save time by having your SMVA research groups for you to join and find questions for you to answer.

• Research. An SMVA can help research where your target audience is hanging out online, find and follow industry websites and blogs, and track what your competitors are doing with their social media outlets. An SMVA can also set up tracking systems that will track let you know what people are saying about you and alert you when something needs your attention.

• Online maintenance and management. Provide your SMVA with content and they can distribute it through all of your social media channels. Blogging can go from fun to frustrating because of the additional time it takes to proofread, upload and publicize posts. You can save time by writing the post and handing it off to your SMVA. They enter it into your blogging platform, format it, find images, add links, categorize and tag it. Once the post is published, the SMVA can distribute your posts so that it goes out on your Twitter account, Facebook fan page and LinkedIn profile. Want to work on establishing yourself as an expert in your field? Provide your SMVA with content or a list of tips that they can schedule to go out on your different social profiles. Have your SMVA set up a schedule for checking industry blogs and keyword alerts that may need your attention.

• Track your goals. An SMVA can set up a system for tracking how well your social media efforts doing. Facebook fan pages have insights data, which can help you understand who your fans are and what types of content they like to receive from you. An SMVA can track your tweeting habits, your Twitter account growth and how often the links in your posts are clicked on. Tracking and analyzing these types of data help you to see what you’re doing right, while also allowing you to tweak and adjust areas that need improvement.

You too, can reach a social media zen and balance…

To find out how more about how I can help you as a Social Media Virtual Assistant, click HERE.

Click here for an idea of which specific social media tasks and services I provide.

If you’d like to schedule a time for a free consultation, contact us.

This is a great way to share not only the personal aspects of your life but also your daily business happenings. I really like the way Marlynn incorporated the photos with some narrative so that you truly felt as though you had followed her during the day.

Whrrl seems to be a nice alternative to some of the other social networks out there where you can show photos as you also tell a story.

You check out Marlynn’s Whrrly Thursday story below.

Should You Outsource Your Online Presence?

You can save time and money by leaving social media marketing to the pros.

July 7, 2009

Between blogging, tweeting, Facebooking and updating a LinkedIn profile, it’s a wonder how a business owner has any time to answer e-mails and phone calls, much less run a company. But the time invested in social networking is well spent in this age where maintaining a social media presence can be a necessary piece of a successful marketing strategy.

Trouble is, as the number of platforms grows, so does the time it takes to feed and groom each account. Not to mention the front-end investment of setting everything up.

For those caught up in a social media blitz–and those contemplating taking the plunge–why not consider outsourcing? A virtual assistant can tackle those time-consuming tasks.

What Can a Social Media Virtual Assistant Do?
Many administrative professionals who provided support services such as correspondence, search engine optimization and event planning via the internet are now expanding to include social media. Now they can help with everything from recommending the right SM platforms and setting up profiles, to finding potential clients and networking groups and maintaining communication with them.

Conduct a Cost/Benefit Analysis
Busy business owners may be tempted to add those social media duties to an existing employee’s responsibilities. But Kimberly LeRiche of JK Virtual Office Resources cautions that keeping a personal profile on Facebook is very different than understanding how it can be used for branding.

“Unless they already have an employee who is well-versed in social media for marketing and increasing online visibility, the only advantage would be that they already know the business,” she says
Another advantage is cost savings. The business owner can save hours trying to add widgets to blogs or searching for relevant industry links and put them back into running the show.

LeRiche points out Social Media virtual assistants usually charge by the hour, only for the time spent working. Though average hourly rates vary, a 2007 survey from the Virtual Assistant Networking Organization lists median fees between $30 and $40 and information from AssistU indicates rates can go up to $70 per hour depending on specializations and certifications.

The hidden costs of full-time staff disappear also. Business owners won’t have to pay for employment taxes, benefits, office space or equipment. If the relationship with the SM virtual assistant doesn’t work out, their contract can be terminated without the expense of unemployment insurance.

“A virtual assistant is also a business owner,” LeRiche says. “They often view themselves as a partner in the success of their client’s business.” She adds that this dynamic creates an entirely different working relationship than the one between an employee and an employer.

Have a Plan
If analysis favors hiring an assistant, it is time to think about goals. LeRiche says it is important to determine if help is needed beyond creating and maintaining profiles, such as implementing an overall social media strategy. “Having an idea of what they want the SM assistant to do will help guide them to the person with the right skills, qualifications and knowledge.”

She says business owners should be comfortable delegating and communicating consistently. “It can typically take between 60 and 90 days for an assistant to fully integrate and understand the client and their business so it’s important for them to be prepared to provide information and be responsive during the early days of the working relationship.”

Find the Right SM Virtual Assistant
Dawn Pigoni, owner of Be Social Worldwide, says one of the best ways to investigate a potential SM virtual assistant is by checking that person’s existing social media profiles. “They need to show that they are participating in conversations and providing value,” Pigoni says, adding that they should also have excellent references. Active participation is the way for any business to grow quality content, Pigoni says, and if the virtual assistant is already involved, they are more likely to be able to do the same for the business.

Chris Brogan, president of New Marketing Labs, believes the assistant should understand the operations and online etiquette of the top social media sites, as well as the mechanics of maintaining a blog and other current tools. For novice users, Brogan advises asking for past results. “If the results simply involve using the tools themselves, skip them. Ask them to show business objectives that were met by their efforts,” he says.

Brogan also says the assistant should know when not to use certain tools. “This is worth more than someone who makes a business jump through every hoop like they’re checking boxes,” he says.

Avoid Phony “Experts”
“Unfortunately the rapid rise of social media has seen an equally rapid increase in the number of experts, gurus and evangelists,” Pigoni says. “If someone has to call themselves a guru, there is a good chance they are not.”

LeRiche recommend SM virtual assistants who clearly present themselves as business owners. Ask if they do this full time or in addition to working another job, and find out if they have clear policies and pricing structures.

Pigoni adds that having certification from the International Virtual Assistant Association shows a commitment to the industry standards.

Put Your Best Face Forward
Opinions vary as to who should be creating the social media content. Lon Safko, author of The Social Media Bible, says he had an intern do the administrative set up for a lot of his accounts. However, he says, “Social media is about authenticity, sincerity, and transparency. Having someone write your blogs and tweets can be dangerous unless you are honest about it.”

Safko says it can be done if an SM virtual assistant is open about the relationship, or if a busy executive dictates ideas into a digital recorder and the assistant transcribes them directly into blog posts.

Whether going it alone, or with the help of a virtual assistant, Howard Lindzon, entrepreneur and creator of Wallstrip, says, “We are in ‘Day One’ of social media and your customers are now everywhere. Knowing how to leverage the tools gives you an edge.”

This is awesome new feature which allows you to create yet another way to engage with your target audience and to bring them in to part of your online social network. It’s also a great move on Facebook’s part to push Facebook out even further into the Internet stratosphere.

To get the code for the widget for a fan page, you must first be an Admin for the fan page. This means you can’t just go and add a widget for any fan page that might grab your attention. As with anything that you post on your site, it should be something that you have explicit permission to post. As an Admin to a Fan Page, when you go to the page, you will see the option just below the picture or your logo which says, “Add Fan Box to Your Site.” There you will actually see two options, one for getting the code for adding a fan box and the other option provides you with code to get a Live Stream box which shows all the updates from your friends and where you can also post your status.

Grab the copy and paste it into whichever pages, site or blog that you want to add it to and voila, you just created a great way for people to connect with your business/fan page via your website. And here’s mine below- if you’re not a fan already…Join me!!

For many of us who already use either our name, our business name or another specific username, there was some added pressure to be the first to stake a claim- especially if you have a fairly common name. I chose to go with my proper name instead of my business name. I did this for a couple of reasons. First, as a Virtual Assistant, there is just as much likelihood that someone will search for me by name as they will for my business name. My URL for LinkedIn is also under my proper name. Secondly, Facebook made it very clear that users would not be allowed to change their username and were advised to choose wisely. I figured that if I ever wanted to re-brand myself or decided to change my name or my industry, then I would want to still have a relevant username/URL for my Facebook account regardless of what I was doing or the name of my business. Besides, in a few weeks, I’ll be able to choose a username for my business Fan Page that can specific to my business and thus help me in that way in the search engines.

It was reported on Mashable that 200,000 users claimed their name within the first 3 minutes after Facebook opened the gate. Today, they reported that over three million names were claimed by 2 p.m. EST. And along with that, Twitter was all a-buzz with everyone pronouncing their claims and with reports of other names being snatched up before people could claim the one they wanted. Mashable also followed up with a post today about some of the funnier, wackier and nonsensical names that were chosen.

Now, as a Social Media Virtual Assistant, I made sure to inform all of my clients who are Facebook users of the need to make sure they claim their username as soon as possible and why this was important. I also made sure to give them heads up about the Fan Page username limitations (a 1,000 fan requirement as of May 31) but that we would be able to go in and get a Fan Page username as of June 28th regardless of the number of fans. A few of my clients asked me to take care of claiming their username for them since I was already going to be claiming mine at the same time. This is yet another example of how a small business owner or solo entrepreneur can benefit from partnering with a Social Media Virtual Assistant. I stay aware of what’s going on daily in social media and am sure to alert my clients to whatever news or opportunities that I feel they will benefit from in their social media efforts.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York is also on Twitter with almost 12,000 people following them. They are tweeting about events such as an Art Hunt, the announcing of their website redesign, to answer questions from people and to tweet about Art in the news. Both museum twitter sites indicate the name of the staff who are doing the tweeting. This is important because even though the accounts represent an entity, people prefer to interact on Twitter with a person.

A quick search on Twitter for other arts organizations include the Atlanta Symphony, The Chicago Symphony, the New World Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Houston Ballet, the Pennsylvania Ballet, and the San Francisco ballet, while not actively tweeting, has gone in and “reserved” their twitter name for future use. The Smithsonian has also joined the Twitter world.

A blog post of an interview with Marc van Bree, the PR coordinator with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra about their social media and online efforts. In referring to their Facebook fan page, they offered people the chance to win a new CD of one of their recent recordings and within a week they had over a thousand fans.  He notes they have primarily used the page for distributing information about the organization but they would like to see it become more interactive with their fan posting content and interacting with each other. Over half of their fans are under the age of 24 and 85% of them are under the age of 34 compared with the average age of classical music patrons which is usually between 50 and 60. Facebook is an additional avenue by which they are able to reach out and connect with a younger fan base.

YouTube is another increasingly popular platform being utilized by arts organizations and non-profits. The Anaheim Ballet’s YouTube channel has over 500,000 channel views.  The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust also has a YouTube channel which they use to provide information and insight about the city’s fine arts community. The Pennsylvania Ballet is using their YouTube channel to post video of performances, interviews with choreographers and chronicling the building of stage sets.

A recent article on how Philadelphia arts organizations are utilizing social media as a way to connect and engage a younger demographic. Almost every arts organization in the city has a Facebook page and others are using Flickr and YouTube as ways to reach their audiences and patrons. The Arden Theatre which has a Twitter, MySpace and a Facebook account, recently promoted reduced ticket rates on their Facebook page and increased the number of fans to their page by over a hundred. They are quoted as saying that they believe these efforts have resulted in a more loyal audience who better understands their overall mission.
Shawn Stone, the Philadelphia Ballet’s marketing director hits the nail on the head about why arts organizations or non-profits can benefit from using social media, “Using social media and e-mail marketing is a much-less-expensive way of marketing. It’s more targeted and can save your organization money. It’s also creating a direct line of communication with potential audiences of the future.”

Social media is creating new marketing avenues that arts organizations and non-profits are taking advantage of even as budgets continue to shrink. Not only does it seem to be helping them to connect with younger and target audiences, it’s also about having a strategy for getting the results and outcomes they want.

What non-profits or arts organizations have you seen using Social Media?