What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?
I am constantly meeting new people and one of the questions we ask when getting to know someone is “What do you do for a living?” or some variation of the question.
When I respond with, “Oh, I’m a virtual assistant,” I am always met with looks of confusion and often the follow up question, “so what do you do…?” The answer is not very straight forward, so I want to use this post to share SOME of the tasks VAs do on a daily basis.
It’s Just an Umbrella Term
The truth is, ‘virtual assistant’ (or VA for short) is such an umbrella term, we’re not really saying anything when we use this as our title. It isn’t clear enough to describe what we do and so many are left confused or get into working relationships with unclear expectations. See, VA’s do a wide variety of tasks that are as unique as the VA themselves. This can include social media management, admin services, customer service, media editing and content creation, bookkeeping, ad creation and management, event planning, travel planning, and so on. If the job is working for another person’s business remotely, it is a VA job.
But what titles are virtual assistants using to help clarify their offer?
Social Media Manager
Social Media Managers run the social media accounts for other businesses. This falls under digital marketing specialists (another term VAs use to specify their marketing skills). Social media managers are typically responsible for creating, editing, and scheduling social media content. This can include creating graphics, editing reels & YouTube videos, writing copy (the words you see that describe the post/video), scheduling content to go out at a specific time, and tracking analytics.
Not all social media managers provide all the above services, but for those that do, you can be sure to charge a premium rate and expect to stay fully booked!
Admin Assistant
An admin assistant can see tasks that vary as widely as the industries they work in. Admin VAs who work with retail shop owners can expect to assist with managing inventory, updating the website, writing copy, and uploading new products/designs.
On the other hand, coaches looking to hire an admin assistant may ask for help creating slides, writing newsletters or sales emails, creating notes for classes, managing a calendar, assisting with onboarding, and customer service related tasks.
Be sure to ask specific questions during the interview to make sure you are clear about the services the VA will provide and what help the business owner is actually looking for.
Tasks like bookkeeping, travel agents, and personal assistants tend to fall under the admin assistant category. It is basically a catch-all term for “assistance that isn’t social media related”.
Program Manager
A more advanced title for a VA is ‘Program Manager’. Program managers take on a little more responsibility than a typical Admin Assistant and usually (but not always) work with coaches and course creators.
Program Managers take responsibility for overseeing a program or department. For instance, a program manager may oversee the client’s social media, onboarding, document creation, launches, and customer service. However, the program manager may not be responsible for completing these tasks.
Program managers tend to have a team under them helping to complete tasks such as a social media manager and a customer support manager. It is the program manager’s responsibility to make sure all tasks are completed on time and the client (the business owner) is happy. However, program managers only oversee one section of a business. The top tier of virtual assisting:
Online Business Manager (OBM)
Similar to program managers, OBMs are overseers who focus more on strategy, flows, and deadlines than working on a specific project or task. The key difference is the amount of things the OBM is responsible for.
When a business owner hires an OBM, they are hiring an assistant to manage their business top to bottom. An OBM oversees marketing, customer service, and overall strategy for the business. They work closely with the business owner to understand their vision, but then is responsible for creating the strategy and content to assist the business owner in reaching their goals.
Starting Your VA Journey
Being a VA has been one of the most exciting and challenging jobs I have ever had and has provided so much room for me to grow as a professional and personally. If you’re ready to start your VA journey, click here to grab the FREE VA Start-Up Checklist and get started launching your business today!
Ready to hire a VA to help with your business? Click here to select a time that works best for your schedule to chat about your needs and see if we are a good fit for one another!
