Retailers, no time to Tweet? Virtual assistants can help

Onecoast recently unveiled Snap Retail’s Trafficbuilder, a marketing tool for retailers that, among other things, can automate emails and posts to a store’s Twitter and Facebook pages. Driving traffic with social media, in fact, comes up quite often in my conversations with retailers these days. In a recent roundtable discussion, one shopowner announced she had just hired a virtual assistant to help with the process. None of the retailers in the room had heard of such a person, and everyone wanted to know more.

I’ve met several people in the past few weeks who are finding career opportunities in this social networking niche, including my daughter, Sophie Pyle, who is blogging, tweeting, generating leads and tracking stats for a growing list of clients. The catch is, it’s done offsite, at the virtual assistant’s computer instead of the client’s place of business. 

The virtual assistant topic at the roundtable discussion was brought up in response to a statement by another retailer: “I’m trying. I sit there and say, ‘Okay, I’m going to tweet now.’ But then I think, ‘This is crazy. Who cares if I just got a shipment?’”and the comments that followed:“What do we post… How do you get fans… How many times are you supposed to be posting… Who has the time?”

To which the virtually-assisted retailer responded:

I’m dedicated to embracing it all, but I have the same problem. I sit down and go “ummm…”  So, I just hired a virtual assistant to take care of all of my email addresses, email blasts, blogging. She’s a good writer and a computer person. I found her online – there are several virtual assistant associations. Now, instead of having somebody in there two mornings a week while I’m on the computer, I can be on the floor.

Virtual Assistant Dawn Martinello, president of Monday Morning VA, has been providing virtual assistance from her home in Ontario, Canada for over a year now. Martinello defines what she does as "Whatever it is that needs to be done in your business that doesn’t actually create your revenue or require your special skill set… things like updating the website, creating mailing lists, or setting up an autoresponder follow-up email system for customers.” 

One of Martinello’s specialties, of course, is social media. “The big three are Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn and each provides a different platform to reach a different audience,” she said. “On Twitter, life is fast and furious; so while it’s important to be the voice behind your business, you may want to consider automating some daily tweets that keep your brand in the front of people’s minds.” 

She says Facebook Fan Pages are also a must-have for retailers. “The applications you can apply allow custom website-like pages to be created with clickable graphics and links.  And since search engines index these pages, it will help boost traffic to the Web site as well. LinkedIn enables retailers to form professional connections with clients, customers and vendors… and will allow you to see 2nd and 3rd tier connections as well,” Martinello said. “And these are all things a virtual assistant can help you with - whether you need a general consultation to get the ball rolling or someone to complete the job from start to finish.”

Martinello can also assist with the launch of online products and ebooks. Prices range from $20 to $75 an hour depending on the scope of work and level of expertise required. 
 

As mentioned above, Snap Retail’s Trafficbuilder module also helps retailers use Facebook, Twitter and email to communicate with customers. Retailers who sign up for the program have access to marketing tools, product photos and vendor templates they can use to send personalized and targeted messages to customers with “the click of a mouse.”

Christi Tullis of Ambiance Interiors & Gifts was not only one of the first to sign up, she’s also helping with the roll-out. Tullis, an avid Facebooker, plans to use Snap Retail to supplement her already active social marketing efforts:

Our holidays were fabulous; sales were up about 5% in December. About 25% of the customers came in because of something they saw on our Facebook page. I try to post something there at least once a day, every day. Anyone who is new to it knows that Twitter and Facebook can be confusing at first. Snap will streamline our emarketing – automatically creating e-mailers for us based on our product orders. I can do it all through my iPhone – I’ll get an email from a vendor, “Your xyz shipment is on the way… would you like this posted with a link to product photographs on your Facebook page? Or would you like to be reminded in three days?” It gives me more control over my marketing so I can spend more time on the floor.

For those who might be interested, Snap Retail is offering a free three-month trial to retailers who sign up by March 31^st.  

On TWITTER: @susandickenson, @homeaccents2day