It’s nearly impossible to run a successful business without digital marketing these days.
But keeping up with marketing tasks like email outreach and data analysis can get overwhelming — especially if you’re a small team (or one-person show) learning everything from scratch.
Lucky for you, a digital marketing virtual assistant (VA) can save the day.
Digital marketing virtual assistants are experts who can manage your social media profiles, optimize your website for SEO, run targeted campaigns, and more.
That said, not all VAs are created equally.
One might be a star at running Google ads, but suck at creating eye-catching Instagram content. Another might be a whiz at making sales videos, but they don’t know how to get actual eyeballs on those videos.
It’s your job to figure out which tasks you need help with so you can find a VA with matching skill sets.
To help you out, here are 10 ways a digital marketing virtual assistant can help boost your business online.
Table of Contents
How a Digital Marketing VA Can Help Your Business
1. PPC Advertising
PPC (or pay-per-click) ads are a powerful way to get your stuff seen by more people. In fact, 33% of users click on a paid search ad when it solves the problem they’re searching Google for.
With PPC ads, you pay only when someone clicks on your ad, which means you’re only paying when that ad works and gets someone on your site.
A talented digital marketing virtual assistant can set up your ad campaigns on platforms like Google Ads or Facebook Ads. They know how to choose the right keywords, craft ad copy, and manage bids.
These experts can also keep track of ad performance. They’ll tweak campaigns so you can stretch your marketing budget and get better results.
2. Email Marketing
There’s nothing worse than sending out an entire email campaign with your business name spelled wrong or links not working.
A virtual assistant for digital marketing can help avoid this by creating error-free email templates.
They can also customize the templates to fit your brand aesthetic and make sure they look good on both mobile and desktop.
Your VA can also group your contacts based on their needs and preferences. They’ll make sure your messages reach the right people at the right time.
Keep in mind that email campaigns need constant attention. With a digital marketing VA, you’ll get regular reports on metrics like click-through rates and bounce rates.
Armed with this data, you can have your VA constantly tweak your strategy for the best results.
If you want hire a VA specifically for managing your emails, I recommend you look for an email management virtual assistant.
3. Social Media Management
Social media virtual assistants can manage your social media accounts, create content, and schedule posts.
They can help keep you organized and consistent online, which means you have one less thing to juggle.
Having a strong social media presence can increase your brand awareness and help you reach the right people.
For example, let’s say you run an online shop selling baking supplies. Your virtual assistant can post mouth-watering cupcake photos, share recipes, and engage with your customers.
This keeps your followers excited about your brand. And it helps your business become the talk of the town.
People will want to try your cupcake recipes (using your products, of course), share your content, and tell their friends.
For a more in-depth guide on how they can help grow your business, check out my full guide on virtual assistants for social media.
4. Copywriting
Strong copy grabs your attention. It’s like a magnet that pulls in potential customers.
Your VA can write copy that persuades viewers to follow you or buy your products.
To hire the best fit, look out for these important virtual assistant qualities:
- Creativity: Look for an assistant who thinks outside the box. They should spin words that paint a vivid picture for your customers.
- Clarity: Skilled writers know that brevity is king. They communicate your message as simply as possible. Less is more.
- Audience awareness: Pick an assistant who knows your target audience. They should be able to write to the reader’s needs — as if they could read their thoughts.
5. SEO
An SEO virtual assistant is a master at boosting your search rankings on Google.
Their job is to make sure your website shows up on the first page on Google, that it’s easy to use, and it’s easy to find.
Here are some tasks your SEO assistant can handle:
- On-page optimization (signals to Google on your website, like keywords)
- Off-page optimization (signals to Google off your website, like building backlinks)
- Researching your competitors
- Creating SEO-friendly content
A more advanced VA can even build an entire SEO strategy from scratch. Although there is a gray area between “assistant” and “consultant” in this case.
6. Marketing Analytics and Reporting
Analytics tell you how effective your marketing efforts are. They track how many people have interacted with your blog posts, emails, or social media posts.
Your virtual assistant will analyze this data for you. Then, they’ll send you weekly reports with important numbers like:
- Website visits
- Social media engagement
- Email open rates
These are all important stats that every business owner needs to know. After all, business is all about knowing your numbers.
Using this data, your virtual assistant can spot trends, what’s working, and what isn’t to help improve your marketing strategy.
For example, your audience might be engaging more with happy-go-lucky content. You know this because you get more likes and shares on these types of posts.
By reviewing your numbers you can increase the lighthearted user-generated content and give your audience what they want.
Without a VA, you may not have time to do this yourself, which means you’d end up wasting time posting things that don’t move the needle.
7. Content Creation
In the world of TikTok and Instagram Reels, visual stories are the way to go.
A virtual assistant for digital marketing can create eye-catching videos that make your business shine. They can also design graphics that represent your brand and attract the right customers.
Editing skills are also a must for your VA. They should have a keen eye for detail so your content is always up-to-date and flawless.
This is important as users now spend up to 7 hours consuming content. Your posts should be what captures their attention most.
Remember, not every VA is going to be able to edit videos, write copy, AND create an online strategy (that would be like hiring an accountant who is also a doctor who also fixes your car). This is where understanding what you need is really important so you can hire the right person for the job.
If you hire someone smart, you can eventually train them to do all of these things. But don’t expect them to be an expert in everything from the start.
8. Affiliate Marketing
According to a report by Forrester, 53% of brands use affiliate marketing to get leads and sales.
Affiliate marketing means partnering with people (AKA “affiliates”) who promote your products or services in exchange for a commission.
These are usually people with some sort of audience in your industry — like bloggers, content creators, or YouTubers.
Going back to the online bakery store example — collaborating with food bloggers would be a no brainer. They could recommend your baking products in all their recipes.
When their audience orders one of your products, the blogger earns a small fee.
A digital marketing virtual assistant can help manage this process. They’ll identify potential affiliates, reach out to them, track their performance, and brainstorm ways to improve it.
9. Networking and Outreach
Hiring a digital marketing virtual assistant can boost your networking and outreach game, saving you time by connecting you to the right people online.
Continuing with the bakery example:
Your VA can send Facebook invites to baking influencers. They can also build relationships on social media by interacting with their profiles — commenting and sharing their stuff.
Your virtual assistant can handle LinkedIn outreach to look for potential partnerships.
By sending personalized connection requests and engaging with others in your industry, you can tap into your network’s audience, and even collaborate with them.
Soon enough you’ll have new customers flowing in from all over the web.
10. Market Research
Market research involves snooping on what people want and what’s happening in the market. This helps you make better business decisions.
There are a few ways your digital marketing VA can help you with market research.
First, your virtual assistant can scope out the competition. They’ll find key info on your competitors like how they are targeting customers or what pricing strategies they’re using.
Are they offering sales or discounts? Do they have a loyalty program? How does that help them, and could it help you?
Next, they can identify your target audience and what makes them tick. This means finding out their needs and pain points.
They may even uncover an entirely new audience subset that you hadn’t thought of.
For example, they might discover that people on the keto diet need a certain baking tool for their special recipes. Armed with this knowledge, you know exactly where to promote your product.
These insight may even inspire you to create a whole new product to sell to an underserved niche.
How to Hire a Digital Marketing Virtual Assistant
List Your Digital Marketing Needs
Before you look for candidates, figure out your marketing needs.
You might be looking for more website traffic, better social media engagement, or a way to resell to previous customers.
Remember, when you hire a digital marketing virtual assistant, you’re not just delegating tasks.
You’re bringing in somebody who can help you save time and resources — someone who likely has more experience than you do in these areas. So be specific and think about the results you want to see.
Create a Detailed Job Description
In your job description, list your VA’s daily tasks and goals. My advice is to use bullet points to outline what they’ll do. For example:
- Create video content for TikTok and Instagram
- Run advertising campaigns on Google Ads
- Analyze cart abandonment and sales on website
If you have no idea, you may need to first work with a digital marketing consultant to draw up a gameplan.
Next, identify skills your virtual assistant should have. Keep in mind most virtual assistants aren’t experts in every digital marketing process.
I suggest you pick the top 1 or 2 marketing tasks you need help with the most. This will probably be easier than trying to find a unicorn VA who’s a master at everything.
Remember, there’s not much sense hiring a Facebook ads expert if you want to improve your SEO. In this case, focus on candidates with experience in tools like Ahrefs and SEMRush.
Choose a Hiring Platform
Freelance marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr give you access to hundreds of digital marketing VA profiles. You can post your job description and review experienced candidates.
If you’re short on time, another option is teaming up with a virtual assistant company like Time Etc. They’ll hook you up with skilled VAs for your digital marketing needs and save you the hassle of sorting through piles of applications.
Agencies generally cost more than hiring freelancers directly, but they save you time. So if you’re putting off hiring due to a lack of time, then this is your option.
For the best bang for your buck, I recommend hiring on this platform. That’s where I found my virtual assistant, and she is crushing it.
The platform lets you link up with VAs from the Philippines who have the digital marketing skills you want.
You can even check their IQ scores, English proficiency, and personality scores to find the perfect match.
According to a recent virtual assistant survey, Filipino VAs are 3x more affordable than VAs from the US, so hiring abroad can have a big impact on your bottom line.
Review and Interview Candidates
When running interviews, ask candidates about their favorite digital marketing tools and the latest industry trends.
Their answers will show you if they’re staying up-to-date with the current strategies.
It also helps to check if they have a problem-solving mindset. You can do this by providing a hypothetical scenario.
A few ideas are:
- “How would you fix a falling engagement rate on my social media pages?”
- “There’s a new competitor in my niche who’s quickly gaining market share. What steps will you take to help my business stand out?”
- “I’m planning to cut down on my marketing budget. How will you prioritize spending across my digital channels?”
A great virtual assistant should be able to think critically and come up with effective solutions.
Test and hire the best fit
A trial test helps you measure candidates’ skills and work process. I find it easy to give a project that mimics the real tasks they’ll handle.
Keep an eye out for superstas who go the extra mile and point out areas where you can improve.
In my experience, giving the same test to my top three candidates makes it easier to choose who to hire since you can compare apples to apples.
Once you finally find the right digital marketing VA, you’re work doesn’t end there.
There are TONS of tasks VAs can do for you. And after you get digital marketing off your plate, you’ll wonder what else you can save time on.
Here are the top virtual assistant tasks to outsource immediately.
Mitch is your typical nomadic backpacker. Or at least, he was. But after stopping in Colombia to take “one week” of salsa lessons, his life took a sharp left turn. He met a cute Colombian girl in dance class, fell in love, and got married. Over half a decade has passed since he left his career to travel the world as a digital nomad, and he’s never looked back.
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