Website Build:  It is said that 50% of businesses do not have a website at all. This is a remarkable statistic and it’s probably as much to do with the fact that most business owners just don’t know where to start. A virtual assistant can get a website up and running for a business in a remarkably short amount of time given the correct initial guidance and your overall vision of the finished product.  View a few websites we’ve designed here.

Website Re-design:  When people visit a website today they expect to see something that is exciting, enticing and vibrant, otherwise these people click away. It’s almost certainly time for you to redesign your old static website, but you are not the expert in these matters – your virtual assistant is.  So many changes take place on a weekly basis in the world of website design but your VA will be able to keep on top of these changes and integrate the latest and best.

Website Content Creation:  There are many regular “household chores” associated with owning and operating a website. For example, dedicated organizations host the site and will require payment on a regular basis and will sometimes raise questions according to bandwidth allocations. Your valuable domain names will expire from time to time and will need to be renewed. As a small business owner if you overlook or ignore some of these chores it can lead to disaster. This is why a virtual assistant is an essential ally here.

Website / Blog Search Engine Submission:  If you don’t promote the existence of your website nothing will happen. In the Internet world the majority of people look for information by interacting with search engines. Many Realtors don’t realize that you have to go through a concerted procedure to notify the search engines not only of your existence, but what your site is all about. The biggest engine of all – Google (which includes YouTube – hello video!!) – has webmaster solutions and a specific dashboard. Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can make sure that everything is updated correctly and consistently in order to ensure that your website is at the very least seen.

Let’s face it.  As a Real Estate Agent, you are freakin’ BUSY!!!  Stop trying to do it all and partner with a Real Estate Virtual Assistance Company that has the PROVEN track record of helping agents succeed online.

And just to be cool, here is a QR code if you like to scan things:

Blog Design:  For a Realtor, you’ve heard that a blog is a “must have.” You can treat this as a transitional medium as you reach out to people to convince them that you are someone who should be trusted as their agent. While your website may sell your products or services, the blog is much more interactive. Here you impart knowledge, advice, entertainment, information and prompt people to comment and build a relationship. WordPress is a fantastic tool to use as a blog platform and your virtual assistant will be able to configure it so that it looks the part. There are so many different ways that this can be done, but it does require certain knowledge and experience to make sure it is done right.

Online Listing Marketing:  Today, there are many different ways of advertising your listings and you, as the right buyer’s agent. You may choose to do so by placing ads through networks such as Google’s Adwords or Craig’s List. You must ensure, however, that your advertising does your brand justice. Don’t be tempted to try and do this yourself as you know just how important those first impressions are. A virtual assistant can create a very professional looking marketing message for use in these campaigns.

Logo Design:  Your logo tells a story about your business in graphic form whether you are individual agent or you work for a larger corporation. Get your virtual assistant to work on a number of different options rather than wasting your time by spending hours on designs that you may ultimately discard. Somebody with a flair for graphic design can come up with a variety of possible alternatives while you work on more important, business-related matters.

Graphic Design:

Are you thinking of revamping your business appearance? Maybe it’s been quite some time since you updated the look and feel of your business image. Maybe you have branched out into other areas and feel that you need to create a separate marketing presence with its own distinct imagery. Whenever it comes to essential graphic design work, I have partnered with multiple Graphic Designers to capture your unique message. To start with, they can do all of the hard work in creating the initial imagery. Once this is approved by you the designer can then work to integrate the new logo artwork within all your marketing collateral materials. This can include letterhead, business cards, adverts, promo items and so on.   (You can view some samples of our work here).

When it comes to design work as the business owner, you really should only be saying yes or no as part of the approval process for new concepts. Everything else should be handled by a graphic designer or Real Estate Virtual Assistant Firm, such as Virtual Assistant Chick.  if you want to ensure that your time is productive.  Take a look at our Creative Services or complete the Work With Me Questionnaire so that we can determine your unique needs.

There is no doubt whatsoever that when it comes to the various different types of media online, video has become the undoubted favorite.  Why would a prospective home buyer read the listing description when they can tour the home from the comfort of their own?

It shouldn’t come as a complete shock to us as almost everyone prefers to watch a moving image rather than read something else in order to pick up the same information. Both video and audio represent dynamic media options as they are now available and accessible to everyone and anyone who wants to be seen online. There is quite a lot to appreciate technically; however, your Real Estate Virtual Assistant knows exactly what to do.

1. Video Creation:  Based on the fact that as a real estate agent you have a story to tell – or rather a multitude of stories to tell – you can repurpose the content and promote it in the form of a video. Your virtual assistant can help you to create a video, with audio overlay based on voice or music. These videos can be based on a slideshow format or they can be a lot more sophisticated. Today, due to technology, there are many options available when it comes to displaying the video, so that is not an issue anymore. Outsource the design work associated with creating the video to your virtual assistant to start with.
2. Video Imagery:  No longer does the agent have to play second fiddle to any larger broker when it comes to the sheer impact of the video imagery associated with the company. Your virtual assistant can be responsible for creating a truly professional, dynamic and hard-hitting “intro” that can in turn be used whenever an informational video of yours is displayed to a prospect online. Never underestimate the importance of portraying your organization, no matter how small, in a very powerful light using a variety of special effects and audio.
3. Video Hosting:  Not too long ago video files used to represent quite a problem for webmasters as they were very large and would use a lot of bandwidth. This could represent issues in terms of the cost associated with bandwidth but also limitations imposed by some web hosting companies. Now, there are options available “in the cloud” and many different ways now available when it comes to rendering the actual video file itself. Your virtual assistant can ensure that there are no hurdles associated with the display of your video, without interruption, buffering and so on, to whoever wants to see it.
4. Video Marketing:  Just as it is important to distribute articles to top line directories and other authority sites online, it is important to market the videos that your VA produces so that they are seen and can be found through various dedicated search engines. You will often notice that videos are displayed as an option in the Google search engine whenever you’re looking for information about a particular topic. When your virtual assistant is in charge of your video marketing this can give you added flexibility in terms of your overall business exposure. Your VA can even develop and manage your own YouTube business channel.

Ready to incorporate video into your marketing?  You should be!  I have recently partnered with an AMAZING video SEO company who is giving my clients a great discount.  Complete my Work With Me questionnaire for more information.

BONUS SECRET STARBUCKS MENU:

If you’re interested on on jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon too, I have a  5 day email series on using it for real estate.

Real Estate Related (but not all “look at me, I’m a Realtor”):

From my favorite mentor, Fabienne Fredrickson:

Something every agent (or their photographer) should know how to do:

Are you using Pinterest yet? Has it increased visitors to your site? Leave a link to your boards in the comment box below so we can follow you too!

However, when social media is used thoughtfully and carefully by a Real Estate Agent, it can make a considerable difference to the way that people perceive you and how you conduct business. Still, some Realtors do not understand how to approach the subject. They don’t know how to use the potential, or to figure out whether they should choose one particular outlet over another. When this typeof confusion is evident, the result is predictable. Nothing is done and an opportunity goes to waste.

This is the perfect solution for a Real Estate Virtual Assistant. Outsourcing your social media online is one of the most astute things you can do and a core component of any relationship that you have with your VA.

1. Social Bookmarking:  Let’s start off by looking at social bookmarking. Essentially we are using the power of crowd sourcing here. When more people talk about a particular subject more focus is given to that subject. In other words, the topic is given credibility. On the internet, a great way of spreading the word is by “bookmarking”. This is when other people essentially vote for the topic in question within a variety of extensive networks, such as Digg. Your virtual assistant will write a compact description of listing homes in your area, how to help first time homeowners in your town, or whatever storyline you would like to publicize. This brief will then be distributed through various networks by a variety of people and this will serve to provide links and awareness.
2. Facebook:  Facebook, as you know, is at the center of anything to do with social media. It has swiftly become an essential part of many people’s lives. It’s a place that a lot of people visit not only every day but several times each day. A business can – and should – have a dedicated Facebook page. Virtual Assistant Chick has a couple of great Social Media packages, and can create a Facebook Page that will work for you and your audience. It can be branded so that it appears very similar to your actual website. Here, however, you will be able to interact with friends, new prospects and can gain exponential exposure by proactively working to establish you as the respected expert in your neighborhood.
3.  Twitter:  If Facebook is the king of social media, Twitter is the crown prince. This is essentially a micro-blogging platform. Here again, your Real Estate Virtual Assistant brands a business page carefully so that it has the appearance of your website and other marketing collateral. Your VA will work to engage with people who are by definition, also interested in the area within which you operate. By constantly keeping in touch with pertinent news, information, updates and advice, an organization that uses Twitter can be at the forefront of the social media scene.

You can view our Social Media Packages, or complete the Work With Me questionnaire so that we can discuss your unique social media needs.

1. Calendar Management:  If you feel that you are running around from pillar to post, always seem to be late for appointments, and can never seem to fit in time for meetings with important prospects, then you should outsource your calendar management to a VA. When you’re busy doing other things, meetings can be scheduled and you can be given plenty of advanced notice so that you are in the right place at the right time without feeling flustered.
2. Trip Planning:  Love all of the great Real Estate seminars but hate the hassle of traveling for them?  Have you noticed how long it takes to try and plan a trip these days? Those airline travel consolidator sites may offer you many different choices but you’ve still got to try and sort out your hotel, car and do so within your budget. Before you know it you’ve spent hours trying to arrange just one trip. Outsource this to a virtual assistant. Once you have given them the appropriate parameters they’ll do the rest with maximum efficiency.
3. Client Support:  Now that Real Estate is finally starting to come back again, you’ve got an increasing number of listing and showing appointments “on the books”, not to mention worrying about getting your transactions managed.  You will find that there will be an increasing number of client issues to deal with. Yes, Real Estate is highly relationship based, but well-trained Real Estate VA’s can handle issues that don’t involve negotiations.  This is something that you must prioritize, as poor support in this area will quickly gain you a bad reputation, to say nothing of lost or angry clients. The right VA will ensure that everything is handled carefully, professionally and promptly, with your input only required in predetermined circumstances.
4. E-Mail Management:  Time management and efficiency experts tell us that one of the worst ways that we can waste our time is to constantly drop everything to deal with e-mails as and when they arrive. So many of these e-mails can be time wasters that will veer you off course. Other e-mails represent an attempt by the originator to control your time according to their schedule. By putting a virtual assistant at the gateway, you know that you will only be prompted to deal with emergency situations and all other e-mail can be handled by the VA in the background.
5. General Tasks:  As there are only so many hours in the day, most Real Estate Agents will invariably find that there will be many calls for their time that may not necessarily be related to business at all. For example, running errands, gift shopping, social event organization, and other things of that nature. All of this can be handled by your VA.

Treat your virtual assistant as an extension of yourself. There’s no need to feel as if you are giving up control when you outsource all of those general administrative tasks that in truth are simply non-productive and holding you back from becoming successful.

Click to view full infographic