So you’ve set up your Virtual Assisting business and are now ready to start selling. Or maybe you’ve been in business for a while and are looking to diversify your marketing. Let’s talk about the best places to market your virtual assisting services.
After 4+ years as a business support expert, it’s important for me to say that each of these recommendations below is amazing in their own right, and I’ve had clients all over the world see varying results with all of them. What works for you may be different to what works for me or the next person. The key is to be open minded, explore your options and stay consistent.
It’s worth noting that the following strategies for where to market your business will also apply for any other service based virtual business (eg, social media managers, copywriters, podcasters, virtual bookkeepers, and others).
With that, let’s dive in!
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Where to Market your Virtual Assisting Business
Instagram is a huge hub for virtual service providers with amazing potentional for exposure, marketing and sales.
The most obvious place to create a beautiful profile that speaks to small businesses and CEOs alike, is Instagram.
I think of it as your business’s shop front, where you have the chance to impress potential clients with your value, education and expertise while also having the chance to create a personal connection with relatable reels, behind the scenes stories and inspirational and aspirational content.
Most recently (as of 2021), the power of reels has skyrocketed the visibility of business owners and has put Instagram and short form video content at the front of the race as one of the most powerful forms of virtual marketing right now.
Visibility is key on instagram. With the ever changing algorithm and updates, it’s important to stay on top of the trends, to be using as many of the platforms features as possible and to really stay tuned into what your audience wants to see and how they want to be sold to.
LinkedIn was always intended to be a business networking platform (according to the Founders) and here lies its biggest asset for service providers.
LinkedIn is a space that encourages business conversation. It’s a platform where people understand the give and take nature of business networking.
(Most of the time that is… On any platform or in any space, there are always going to be people with differing opinions but the above tends to be the general consensus.)
>> Check this out to learn more about the difference between Cold Messaging and Cold Pitching <<
If you’re looking to increase your visibility by getting yourself right in front of your ideal clients without the facade of a pretty feed and vanity metrics, LinkedIn is your place to be.
Your LinkedIn profile acts as a portfolio or CV in the way we understand it in the offline or traditional space. Meaning that you have the chance to make a good impression, talk about yourself, your expertise, services, and display social proof, referrals and experience, all in one digestible page.
LinkedIn is also a platform where people know they can find help (ie people to hire). On the corporate side of LinkedIn, people often put job listings on the platform, and people use LinkedIn’s amazing search filters to find people they’re looking to work with.
You can harness that exact same energy to find people (whoever your ideal clients are) as a virtual service provider who are aware of what you do and are ready and looking to invest.
Creating a powerful profile and using the platform’s extensive search features and networking opportunities is going to help unleash your business in a way that I would argue is more effective that any other platform.
Facebook Groups
Who doesn’t love a good Facebook group? Apart from being an awesome place to nurture community and learn from other people, a lot of dedicated Facebook groups have been set up to support networking between virtual assistants and potential clients.
It’s definitely worth searching both the bigger international groups as well as smaller more niche communities in your country or local area.
It’s also a good idea to join entrepreneur and women in business communities or groups that your ideal clients (if you’ve picked one) will be a part of. Seek to be where your ideal clients are so you can learn from them, connect with them and be there if and when the time comes when they need something you have to offer.
Not only do people often put job posting on group newsfeeds but there’s also a huge potential for referrals purely because of the community energy that prevails on the platform.
I recommend Facebook groups more so for people who are just starting out and who are willing to work for a little bit cheaper or to get experience (while staying in alignment) because, in the spirit of full transparency, the job postings tend to be for smaller work at lower rates.
In Person Networking
Never underestimate the power of in person networking and creating a solid referral network.
Tell people you know in person about your business. In fact, make sure absolutely everyone knows because the more people who know, the more chances you have of creating opportunities through word of mouth.
Start with your close friends and family and then begin to slide it into conversations where appropriate. When you’re out meeting new people and they ask what you do for work, don’t be afraid to tell them and even explain it to them if they don’t quite get it.
You never know when a friend of a friend with a business will be in need of a virtual service provider, and they’ll just happen to know a gal!
If you’re still in that stage of business where you’re wary of telling people in your offline life about what you do, I encourage you to explore why that’s coming up for you. You’ll never find a lawyer or doctor being afraid to talk about what they do. Your job is a real job too!
So what's next?
The key to creating an efficient and successful social marketing plan for your business is to picking your platforms or strategies and committing to them.
Of course, you don’t have to be everywhere at once! I know I couldn’t, because that was sure to lead to burnout. I recommend picking 3 strategies and learning to master them like the back of your hand so that you have a plan and really find what works for you.
Now go off and sell!
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