Author: Alyssa Griffiths

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How Do I Get Started With a Social Media Manager?

You have read our Social Media Manager Task List and about the differences a Social Media manager and strategist have. You are ready to hire a Social Media VA with Office Mercenary!

Curious to know what that looks like? 

Wait no longer! 

Follow along as we describe our process when we onboard you with one of our heroic social media VA’s! 

  1. You pick 4 words to describe your brand voice.
    Do you want a professional tone with your audience? Or does your brand offer a touch of humor? We are not in-depth content creators, but this is great info if we need to do touchups, comment or add pictures on your behalf.
  2. You tell us about your target audience. Are you a woman-centered brand? Is your product geared towards Millennials?
    This is really top-level, but it’s still helpful for light content touchups or if there are other accounts, keywords or groups we should be targeting for comments towards awareness of your brand. We do what we can to help before you have to hire an expensive strategist!
  3. Office Mercenary will help you set up standard practices and expectations.
    Google Drive is preferred, but we can also work with other platforms if needed. We can help set up timelines of when content will be shared, etc. In addition, we use our project management software to collect content and feedback from you!
  4. We collect Login info for accounts.
     Office Mercenary will collect your usernames and passwords, so have that handy for us to expedite onboarding your new VA.
  5. We ask you for the ideas you already have. Themed content ideas such as Motivational Monday, Tip Tuesday, etc. or even monthly themes!
    We will want a list of ideas you already have brewed up or themed content days you have planned out for your social content.
  6. We share a Clickup Dashboard with you to keep track of tasks, as well as content ideas.

After we get everything in our hands you and your new dedicated VA will have a project management dashboard through Click-Up ( A very user-friendly and accessible platform that comes at no additional cost ) so you and your VA can keep track of tasks, content ideas, feedback, and hours spent!

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Is a Social Media VA Worth It?

As small business owners, we understand that letting go of the tasks you have been doing yourself can be hard and daunting. Or maybe you are just overwhelmed by the thought of even starting. (You can read this to help!) Office Mercenary is no stranger to helping both new and old businesses get their feet wet in delegating and prioritizing tasks. Maybe you recognize that some of the social media tasks are “emptying your cup” too fast and should really be handed off to someone else, but your budget is tight and you aren’t sure if they can really nail your brand like you do. 

If you have wondered if a social media VA really worth it, well, we really think it is! Here’s a list of why:

  1. Don’t waste precious money-making time any longer. Even when it’s not part of a large marketing strategy, scheduling, confirming, and interacting on social media can be a time-consuming process. A dedicated virtual assistant can help with that!
  2. Have you ever forgotten to post weekly? Consistency is a major part of how social media platforms allow you to be seen! Your VA will spend their time prioritizing posting and staying true to your brand!
  3. Tools and tech experience for the win! A Social Media Virtual Assistant has tools and experience that allows them to be faster than someone not involved in the social space. Office Mercenary also works with a variety of tech literacy levels. Sometimes the time it takes our less tech-inclined clients to schedule a post is enough of a reason for them to understand the benefit of a social media VA. Other times, our clients may not have the budget or resources to purchase a posting tool so it makes sense to hire a team who has that access. Whatever the reason, rest assured your VA can and will be faster than you and that’s worth hiring someone for! Save yourself time and money!
  4. Don’t get lost in the sea of search rankings- Have we mentioned that consistency is key to your social strategy?! Search rankings like to see a company in multiple places. Even if a social media account doesn’t have a lot of likes/interaction, if they’re posting regularly it allows customers (and possibly even Google’s algorithm) to see you’re a business that’s currently operating and building/growing.
  5. You will only have to learn one name! Your dedicated VA can start in social media and move into other parts of your company. This is what separates Office Mercenary from a lot of other Virtual Assistant Agencies. Our VA’s aren’t just trained in social media management, but all admin-related tasks. So, when you are ready to hand off more tasks, we are here to support you and your process. In addition, you won’t have to retrain a new virtual assistant, which saves loads of energy, time, and money!

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7 Tasks A Social Media Manager VA Can Help You With Today

There is no question that social media is becoming the marketplace for services and products. In fact, a whopping 90% of brands use social media in their marketing campaigns and 77% of those brands expect to increase their usage of social media in the near future! 

So when our clients come to us struggling to keep up with all their social media accounts, as well as their daily tasks of being a business owner, it’s no surprise that’s one of the first things they want a VA to start helping with. 

But you might be wondering what exactly are the tasks your new VA can help you with, or maybe you read our article “Social Media Manager vs Social Media Strategist” and you’re still on the fence about if a social media manager VA is the right fit for you. If there is any question at all about what one of our talented VA’s can get started with for you today then read on to discover the 7 tasks an Office Mercenary Social Media Manager VA can help you with today! 

  1. Create graphics for quotes or 1 liner content

Your VA can help make your punchy quotes and CTA’s come to life on social media with a quick graphic! You just supply the content and logo and we get to work, making it look on-brand and beautiful!

  1. Search for articles based on topics provided

Don’t have enough time in your week to get to reading relatable articles that you could fill your social network publishing calendar? Let one of our VA’s take the tasks off your plate. You provide topics and our VA’s start reading and researching to make sure it fits your narrative on the topic!

  1. Research external content

Do you need to know who your competitors are? Maybe you need to know better keywords for your hashtags? Our VA’s can help you and set you apart from the crowd through researching external content. You just provide the topics and we do the rest!

  1. Make sure content is posted on all your social media platforms

Did you know that more consistent postings on social media mean better audience engagement? Or maybe you just can’t keep track of which platform you posted what to? We help keep all your social media accounts active, aligned to your brand, and consistent! 

  1. Schedule posts out ahead of time

Know your social media cadence before you post! Set yourself and your business up for success by batch scheduling your posts. That way your brand is consistent amongst all your platforms and you can plan out your other marketing campaigns more effectively. 

  1. Add your logo and/or brand colors to a photo

Sometimes all it takes to take your social media to the next level is branding! Let our VA’s help your audience know your brand and get your logo on images! 

  1. Respond small talk in comments or direct messages on platforms

Don’t miss another brand partnership again! Rack up the great reviews and say thank you to your customers! Keep your consumers happy and hire a VA to keep up with comments and messages for your business. There is no need to worry you won’t be in the loop either, we reach out with questions and keep our clients up to date throughout the process! 

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Three Types of Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant can take a lot of weight off a business owner’s shoulders. All those little to-dos pile up and can hold you back from business growth. Most of the time, there are very thin lines between what a VA can do and what a VA may not be the right fit for. There are also Specialty VA’s or OBM’s which may seem identical, but they are roles that bring different responsibilities to a business.

General Virtual Assistant / Virtual Admin 

This is someone who can take the small to-dos and admin work off your hands. They can answer basic questions from your clients, keep you organized, and do many of the “behind the scenes” tasks. If it’s a repeatable process with some variation, personalization, or problem solving, you’re probably fine. If you can’t easily write down or explain the task/project or if the process varies wildly, it’s probably going to fall into a specialty.

Specialty Virtual Assistant

This is an individual who has the advanced skill and/or knowledge of one aspect of Virtual Assistance. On top of all the tasks a VA can do, they may also be able to handle more complex tasks and/or projects in their specialty. For example, a General VA can post on social media for you, lightly clean up content, and respond to basic questions. A Social Media Specialist VA would be able to strategically create a Social Media plan for you, create content around that strategy, and change major practices based on data they get in.

OBM – Online Business Manager

This is someone who is only one step down from being a business partner. They help you juggle all the moving pieces in your business and probably have some power to make the hard decisions and changes you need to grow your business. OBM’s can also help manage other teammates as well. If you are looking for a leader and right-hand person you may be seeking an online business manager and not a virtual assistant. A VA can grow into being an OBM for you, but it’s important to understand what to expect when you’re bringing someone on.

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What a Virtual Assistant Is Not

If you’ve hired a General VA, here’s a few examples of where the line is between General VA duties, and specialty or OBM responsibilities:

Sales Person

A general VA is not a salesperson. It takes relationship-building skills and advanced communication skills to meet a brand new person, build trust, and convince them your product or service is the cat’s pajamas. It also takes quite a bit of research and hands-on experience to know your brand inside and out to speak to it the way you intended it to be perceived. 

Marketing Strategist

This goes hand in hand with the salesperson. Your general VA probably does not have years of experience in marketing and understand the complex strategies to take you from 150 followers to 2.5K in 30 days. They do not have the ability to analyze the data and adjust your marketing plan to output better results in big ways. A general VA’s number one goal is to create consistency in marketing by making sure your content is posted regularly and looks generally cohesive. Their experience can lead them to ask if you wanted to try something they’ve seen work for your market, but the background isn’t there to make the decisions and guarantees you’d get with a specialist. If you are looking for more in-depth marketing responsibilities, you will need a Marketing Speciality VA. The good news is Marketing/Social Media is the #1 specialty most VA’s dive into.

Content Creator / Copywriter

Any general admin is expected to have some proficiency in written communication. Taking care of emails, meeting minutes, or any other general admin task requires some writing. Writing blogs, email marketing campaigns, higher-end social media posts, etc. are more complex and need a combination of technical and artistic skill. Just like sales, your VA has to embody your brand voice and ensure the message is interpreted by your target audience the way you expect it to. A VA who has taken the deep dive into content/copywriting has the advanced skill to accomplish this and has a specialized skill.

Leaders and/or Decision Makers

A General VA is the best support character you could ever have on your team. If you are leading the way, they’ve got your back the entire journey. A General VA should never own the responsibility of leading other team members or making big decisions without your knowledge. Addressing team conflicts, making financial decisions, or any other management level task is not a good fit for a general VA. If you need this leadership type of support, an OBM has the skill and practice with this and will be a better fit.

Hopefully this provides some guidance as to what you can expect from a virtual assistant, but if you’re still not sure, we’re happy to talk through your needs and point you in the right direction!

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