Branding your business on social media sites

I have a client (a most excellent electrician) for whom I handle bookkeeping and other assorted tasks. He's been thinking about “dipping his toes” into social media - mostly on his own. I suggested to him that if he does not feel comfortable with a photo to ID himself, then a picture would work too. Lots of people use logos if they have them and if not then a picture which could relate to his identify and that people would recognize as they continue to see posts from him on various platforms.

Of course my ultimate goal is to give him a real presence but for now I wait in the wings while cheering him on in his efforts.

What are your thoughts on this subject? Those of you who specialize in this niche what have you done or not as the case may be, while you watch some of your contacts in this same situation. They have budget challenges of course and some of them just want to know how to do it themselves… they see it as a new challenge.

I feel that as the pressure of their every day business grows, they will slack off or hopefully go the other way – seeing the value of using a VA to assist with social media and things like branding and continued posts of information relative to their business. We all know that social media will keep them on the top of the minds of their contacts whenever an opportunity presents itself for a referral.

Can and should you outsource your social media tasks?

I read with interest a recent blog post on the subject of what a marketing virtual assistant can do to assist clients to maximize their online presence.  Here are some excerpts and suggestions:

• Edit and upload Facebook, LinkedIn, blog posts or other network updates;
• complete profiles and account information on relevant sites;
• edit and distribute articles;
• monitor alerts for your key words and participate appropriately;
• manage social media groups and comments;
• build pages on Facebook, Plaxo, etc.

I have the following additional suggestions:

• Write and/or write and distribute e-newsletters;
• go "mining" for contacts in your target market, i.e. LinkedIn;
• create a database of contacts to assist with all of the above functions.

You would not want your VA to try to fake your personal relationships and respond to friend's posts... only create content relative to your business.

As the blog pointed out - social media is so much about being consistently there.  Sort of like the brick and mortar imperative:  the store has got to be open 7 to 11.  In social media, the time requirement is not so strict, but it's there.  Sporadic updates, long unexplained absences and extended vacations deflate your efforts like an old balloon.

Your social media marketing assistant assures your presence is solid online. For more info visit my website or email me.

I have taken some of the key points in the blog that relate to my services.  For the entire post, please visit Sydni Craig-Hart's guest blog on My Miss Assist blog.  http://mymissassist.com/tag/sydni-craig-hart/

Looking for new ways to increase referrals?

This year many of us are looking for new ways to:

- Acknowledge your clients on special events like birthdays and milestones

- Increase referrals

- Have a regular follow up plan for prospects and thank you cards

- Create a passive stream of income

If this is you, then read on! I've been using SendOutCards (SOC) for about 8 months. I have so much fun and it increases my business too. This is an ingenious greeting card referral system. When I was first introduced to SendOutCards, I did not think it was my cup of tea. BOY, was I wrong!!! I received several phone calls and return cards from friends and business contacts after sending my Christmas cards this year. They all loved the personalization of the card (it even had my own handwriting inside it and photos I took myself). One of my clients has now become a distributor herself using SOC to promote her e-commerce website. What does that mean for me? It means money in my bank account just for sending her a Christmas card. My client ended up signing up under me as a distributor plus I handle some clients campaigns as a VA which is more hours for me on monthly retainer. You can't beat that! Everyone loves receiving a personalized card in the mail.

Test it out for yourself...I would like to offer each and every one of you a FREE GIFT ACCOUNT which will allow you to send greeting cards at my expense using an incredible referral system called SendOutCards.

Try it today: http://SendOutCards.com/apvirtual

While there, please watch the two videos to learn more about how Send Out Cards can help your business make more money

No budget for marketing your small business?

Small businesses often have no budget for a marketing department. In fact both owners and staff are stretched to the max just keeping up with the day to day business and doing what directly affects their bottom line. Therefore as a small business owner, you can choose to hire a virtual assistant to help you with your marketing tasks, especially if you intend to use social media for marketing.

Online marketing can be very cost-effective although it requires creativity and time. Once you get the hang of it and really put in the effort, online marketing can bring your business great referrals and increase your profits. There are many techniques and tools available.

Here are some of the things a virtual assistant can do to help you with online marketing:

• Manage website or blog- the company’s website or blog can be one of the most important sources of information about the company and its products online. Whenever someone needs information about your business or your products online, the person can simply visit your blog or website to get information. The virtual assistant can help you with all of the tasks related to managing a website or blog. The VA can create content related to your website or update products in your shopping cart.

• Do article marketing- the virtual assistant can write and submit articles so that more people can find your website through the articles. Publishing 2-5 articles per week can have a major effect on your website traffic and can also help you build a good reputation in your niche market.

• Your virtual assistant can be your representative posting information and engaging other people through online forums.

• Create interesting videos: You can hire the VA to create scripts and gather materials for your video.

• Email marketing - can be effective in business if done properly.

• Create and maintain social media presence on networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

A competent virtual assistant becomes fully immersed in your business and can quickly become familiar with topics of interest to your target audience. Also we know the tricks and tips to finding good material online to add value for your clients and engage them in your subject matter.

DO NOT RISK LOSING YOUR DOMAIN NAME

1. Do you know when your domain name expires?

2. Do you know who gets notified?

3. Who has control over your domain registration?

You might not give this enough thought, but it can happen to you. Please read the tips below which should help you avoid the loss of your domain name. The loss of domain can be difficult or impossible to regain which can have devastating effects on your business and your branding efforts. I have seen it happen to those who were unaware.

• If you have another party register the domain on your behalf, make sure the contract specifies that you own the domain and will be listed as the registrant.

• If you're not sure how this was handled for an existing domain, check. Look up the registrant using a service like whois.domaintools.com.

• If you want the registration to be anonymous, work with a reputable firm that will ensure your control over the domain even while listing itself as the registrant.

• The best solution is to take direct control over the domain account. If you didn't do so to start with, have it transferred into your name now.

Consider having the main e-mail address associated with the record forwarded to multiple people. You don't want your organization's domain to lapse because expiration notices were going to the personal e-mail of the former employee who set up the account.

As a virtual assistant, when I assist a client in setting up their domain name, I make sure to calendar reminders and to have myself listed as one of the persons to be notified. Clients will sometimes change email accounts and over the course of time emails may not get forwarded to their current address.

For additional information and assistance, please visit our website: http://www.apvirtual.com/

Email marketing can give you an edge in a tough market

The key to turning your first-time customers into repeat customers is by building relationships. Through scheduled eblasts the customer expects to receive updated information on your company's products and services. What  better way to build a relationship than to provide useful information right to their email inbox?


Providing helpful hints or coupons in email form with photos and other graphics is a great way for recipients to want to continue receiving your email, and coupons will motivate action on the part of the consumer, providing you a way to instantly obtain feedback on your campaign. A+ Virtual will create some of the most effective and entertaining announcements or e-newsletters for your marketing information. These anouncements are easy to read and remember.  Links to your website and "join our mailing list" are easily included.  You can keep your customer informed and also make them likely to remember and recommend your products or services to their friends.


Email marketing gives your brand an edge in a tough market. Daily, weekly, or even monthly eblasts will keep your brand in your target consumers mind. As more and more of the population begins to use email, email marketing will become a standard in the marketing industry. Finding another marketing method that comes close to all the benefits that email marketing offers is nearly impossible.

10 Ways a Facebook Fan Page helps your business

Here is a link to an excellent article at Entreprneur.com on how you can promote your business using Facebook Fan Page.  Some Highlights: 

A Facebook Fan Page:

1. Establishes another outpost for your business on the web. 
2. Drives Traffic to Your Website (You can also create cross traffic by adding a Facebook widget linking your site to your Fan Page.)
3. Allows you to engage with your community easily and for free.
4. Strengthens customer relations
5. Allows you to keep pace with the competition free of charge.

For complete text, see the article link below. The article is by Mikail Belicove (who co-authored The Complete Idiot's Guide to Facebook). 

http://tinyurl.com/yf7jsu6