Surprising isn’t it that so many companies have websites but omit the most crucial information.

Check your website and make sure that the following are in place:-

• Telephone number is displayed clearly – best position top right hand corner, in my opinion, it’s where I always look first.
• Have a separate tab on your site “Contact” which will have a pre-set email form where they can send you a message direct
• If you don’t have this and only show your email address then make sure that is hyper linked
• Ensure your Social Media Links actually link to the relevant sites

As I say, it might be common place for a lot of us but there are a lot of sites out there that just don’t want to be contacted – amazing!  Why make it impossible for your prospective clients to contact you?  What will they do?  They’ll move on to the next provider they find on Google search.  Now that is a missed opportunity.

Debra Ellis wrote about this recently too.  Note:  If you are not already registered on The Social Customer you will need to sign up to read the report – well worth it.

Take a moment now and check your website is working for you.

Georgina Laidlaw posted Easy Content Scheduling for Bloggers which clearly shows  there needs to be a plan.  So working from this I need to be blogging about administration, social media … er – administration, social media.  Hmm… I appear to have a blank spot.  You know what – I’ll use the templates as a guideline and go from there.  I like writing about the odd episode regarding my cat “Butch”- he keeps me entertained and would you really only want to read about administration and social media?  I think not.

Let me know if you have a structured plan for your blogs or whether you just bang them out as and when.

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It was good to chat to you this morning Nigel – I didn’t realise I was going to be featured in your blog!  MYSMB appears to have got a few people in a spin judging by the various comments on blogs and social networks.  I will reiterate.  Although I have been involved in social media for over two years (thank you for the compliment – I think she was proficient in the first place!) as with anything to do with technology changes happen at an alarming rate. We are learning all the time, different ways to enhance what we already know, the changes we need to make, what we adapt and what we drop.  The training modules within MYSMB are excellent and I have gleaned information that may well be out there for free as Mike McGrail clearly states, I just hadn’t found it.

I believe this needs to be put in perspective.  MYSMB is a job opportunity that will provide an income for those keen to learn, for others it will enhance a service they already provide (as in my case) and unfortunately for the remainder who don’t realise they have actually got to work at it the opportunity will pass they by.

I don’t believe there are any experts in Social Media, there are people who have become involved originally through fascination, possibly intrigue as to how global it is,  realise they have a talent for it and eventually make it part of their business.  Some people are better at it than others but that doesn’t make them an expert.  Society will decide for themselves who they want to work with and who they want to represent them.  Where Social Media representatives, for another word, will come to the fore is how they produce the ever evasive ROI for their client.  We are a nation clamouring statistics.  Anyhow that is another comment for another blog no doubt.

Just to confirm I did pay for the branding package which will be integrated with my existing site, under development as I type my response.  Each person will choose how they want their site to look and no doubt will update it frequently as we do with our own sites so the few you have earmarked in your blog may well be working on them now.

MYSMB has provided me with the relevant information and support I expected it to.  It will give other people the opportunity to run their own business however large or small they want it to be and who are we to deny anyone that.  Should existing Social Media experts be concerned, well that will depend on how confident they are themselves on the packages and services they provide now.  As someone who provides this service already I wish every new MYSMB person lots of luck with their new venture.  I will be looking to see how they are marketing their business, just as I do with Virtual Assistants, competition is healthy.  Do I feel threatened, no.  It’s a very large world and I firmly believe there is room for everyone.  MYSMB is no different to any other business; it provides a profession and a service to the business community and each and every one of us has the right to choose which provider we use to fulfil that service.

As you rightly point out I am a member of Nigel Botterill’s Entrepreneur Circle and I appreciate his leadership.  As we discussed on the phone we all find someone we “follow”, “admire” and listen to – Nigel happens to be one along with quite a few others whose knowledge in their individual fields I respect highly.

So in this blog I have decided to explain in simple terms exactly what a Virtual Assistant is and show how a VA can help businesses both large and small. In simple terms, a Virtual Assistant is an independent administrative assistant just like any other Assistant, Secretary or PA. The difference is that in this case a VA does not physically work within your office premises but works remotely using technology to service all your business needs and requirements.

Although no two VA’s are likely to provide identical offerings, most VA’s tend to focus on a number of core business services. Typically these would include secretarial type services like making phone calls and following them up, sending e-mails and physical mail, scheduling appointments, taking messages and even electronic filing. In addition, some VA’s will also maintain your web presence by managing your social media sites; Facebook, Linked-In and Twitter for example.

Some VA’s will also offer to maintain your business website or your blog, arrange mail-shot campaigns, arrange the distribution of company newsletters, write press releases and assist with general sales and marketing activities. For example, as part of my own business I look after a number of clients who need a 24/7 presence on the web through the medium of social media.   I am able to set up their accounts and profiles thus giving them the web presence they require.

The advantages of using the services of a Virtual Assistant are many, but crucially it can prove to be a very cost-effective way of working. By using a VA your business will not have to pay for office space, a PC or office equipment, Internet connection, printer, phone, filing cabinet or desk. Also, because your VA is not on the company payroll, you do not have the additional expenses of health insurance, national insurance, sick pay and holidays. Also, most VA’s already have prior experience of working in an office environment and therefore need very little training in order to start becoming productive.

If you are running a business that uses a Virtual Assistant you will often find that they become an integral part of your team, providing a number of key benefits. To make the most of the services of a VA however, it is worth taking the time to plan exactly how to utilise this important resource to best advantage. For example, think about which tasks can be delegated to a VA, structure these tasks into a priority order and then discuss with your VA how these tasks can best be scheduled. In many cases a VA will specialise in a particular aspect of business and it is worth taking advantage of this expertise if possible.

Realistically, taking on the services of a VA is not always as cheap as taking on a school leaver or part-time Administrative Assistant, but because of their professional experience and reliability it is often more cost effective to utilise the services of a good VA than risk putting your business relationships into the hands of inexperienced staff. Also, it is always advisable to find a VA who is able to offer a wide range of skills than to use the services of a number of different VA’s – because a good VA who understands your business and is able to operate using their own initiative is a much better option than farming work out to a number of different individuals – and then having to coordinate their efforts.

The bottom line is that a good VA can be worth their weight in gold because they free up your time to focus on the most important parts of your business, while you are secure in the knowledge that all your administrative duties are being taken care of by a professional that you can trust.

Don’t forget that if you want any further information on any of the above topics then please do get in touch. On The Go is already helping successful businesses in many of the ways described above – as well as implementing their social networking strategies, helping them set up a consistent company profile and scheduling their media messages to give them a 24/7 web presence.