A Year in Review As A Virtual Assistant Pt. 3

This is the third blog in the Year in Review As A Virtual Assistant blog series. We have already discussed online courses and social media. We’ve been looking at the numerous changes and opportunities for virtual assistants and the clients we serve. There are a lot!

Now let’s talk about video!

Q. How has video changed the way your client(s) are doing business?

The studies are in and 87% of businesses are using videos in their marketing. With the continued rising numbers and increased spending over the past few years, it’s not just a trend. It’s now a business practice. Should there be any doubt, check the ROI for video users which is 83%! No matter how much we and clients love our work, without ROI there is no business to run. 

There was a definite mix of responses from the AVA members who completed our survey. 

My clients aren’t impacted, but the business development courses I’ve been taking all dive into the concept of migrating to the “video channels” of the big social media platforms ASAP. Lizabeth Wesely-Casella of L12 Services reports.

Liropeya “Peya” Robbins also said, “I haven’t seen this in my clients.”

On the other hand, Erin Sturm of The Sturm Agency said, “Most clients utilize video in some way. Courses MUST include videos to be successful at this point. I don’t know of many clients who aren’t using video.”

Melissa Mosher of Support Savvy also reported in a matter-of-fact manner that videos are commonplace to her. In fact, she offers a best practice when it comes to videos, “Say more with less – we digest a lot more info with sight AND sound than just one or the other by themselves” 

Bonnie Schutz of Tandem Resource Solutions, makes an interesting point when it comes to clients adding video to their marketing, “I have noticed and noted that video is very prevalent on SM nowadays.  I think our clients have as well and are being encouraged by the masses to produce videos to promote themselves, their products and/or services to “keep up with the Joneses”. “

Q. What are your plans for assisting clients with video in 2020? 

Melissa’s response, as very tech-savvy VA, came as no surprise “Nearly all of my content and support will be via video, either live streaming or recorded replay. I’m just more fun on video than text. :)” Melissa is not only supporting her clients technically but incorporating it into her Virtual Assistant business communication strategy. 

Wonderful, obvious, and yet unexpected responses were in how VAs plan to use the Association of Virtual Assistants to assist them. 

Bonnie said, “I have no plans myself to get into video production. However, if my agency has a client need, I will provide them with a VA that has this desire and know how to do it. If we don’t have any, I’ll encourage the team to learn, or most likely reach out here to the AVA members for subcontracting opportunities.” 

“Hiring a digital media/social media contractor (hopefully AVA member) to support these needs (for myself as well).” – Lizabeth

Videos continue to be useful, effective, and in many cases deemed necessary. However, as with any marketing tool, your clients shouldn’t be doing it because they have to or because they want to keep up with the Joneses. 

Starting small can be a great strategy. Find out what’s working, what feels good and, as we’ve previously discussed, authentic to your client. A key factor is also consistency. Remember your client has to start somewhere. Perfection and having highly professional looking videos doesn’t need to be the goal right out of the gate. 

If you are looking to continue working with clients in this area there are many additional services to offer or possibly even learn. Knowing the proper SEO, writing meta descriptions, and captioning are a few that are necessary and don’t deep dive into the video creation or editing if that doesn’t appeal to you. Never forget videos should be scripted, especially when your client is first starting out. Writing scripts is another great service to offer.

I believe what Fast Web Media says, “Video is like pizza. Even if it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.” 

All these predictions are precisely the reason the AVA exists. As stated in our mission:

“The mission of the Association of Virtual Assistants is to be the most trusted source of information in the VA industry. We promote a high standard of excellence within our Association, which not only benefits current and future virtual assistants but those we serve – the client.”

With demand comes educating, teaching, training, supporting, assisting, and staying ahead of the trends. The AVA has quickly become the trusted source for VAs and clients alike to get the assistance and virtual assistants needed at every stage of their business. Through providing resources, a fully transparent pricing guide, free trainings, real-time support, a VA directory, certifications, and collaborations we stand poised for 2020 and beyond!