When you learn how to establish your brand identity, you’ll gain access to some opportunities that would have bypassed you. With the VA market being too competitive, differentiating yourself could make you stand out in front of potential clients.
A unique virtual assistant brand will put you on the map more than you can imagine.
Remember that in the service industry, your brand begins with you as the person. You can have all fancy logos and brand colors, but your reputation will supersede all this.
One of the most important aspects of your branding is how you make people feel when they see, hear, or use your VA services. Now, it’s time to learn how to create a brand that attracts clients and makes them want to work with you.
What is Branding for Your VA Business?
The first step to understanding how to make yourself likable to your customers is understanding the concept behind it. Branding in your virtual assistant business occurs in two major parts.
The first is the unique look, feel and voice your business will use to reflect its identity and mission statement. The second part is about what the customers feel about your brand.
It entails what the customers, conscious or unconscious, say about your brand. And the level of emotional attachment to your brand.
Here are a few things you can do to establish your VA brand.
1. Define Your Brand Personality
How you want people to perceive your brand is very important. An important concept to learn about your VA branding is that you should be consistent with your message.
Therefore the first decision you have to make is on your brand personality. Your brand personality should be evident in your tone, message, and mission statement.
Your brand personality will identify your unique position in the freelance industry. It speaks to your target audience and tells them what to expect from you.
Moreover, it is expected that your brand personality should tie directly to your core values. The vibe your business gives off should easily be detectable in your branding.
You could be saying the same thing as your competitors. But how you say it is what makes your unique brand personality.
2. Keep it Professional
Your VA branding reflects on you as a person and professional. You cannot be able to separate the two, especially in the service industry.
An observant client can tell your level of professionalism by analyzing your brand. For example, your brand is one of the biggest giveaways on your level of professionalism.
How you choose to relay your brand message affects your brand image. Your word choice may alter the message to make it more professional. Here is a sample professional VA brand message.
I help small business owners grow their online customer base by building strategic email lists.
In this example, your message is professional because it is clear enough about what you do, how you do it, and why. Any client wanting to work with you will come with the expectations of getting professional services from a competent VA.
The level of professionalism should extend to your personal social media pages. Some clients never kid around in their research for the best VA to hire.
Imagine that you are applying for an executive VA position. Such a client will be keen to research your personal social media profiles to see the kind of content you post. Remember, anything you post on these pages reflects on your business and that of your client.
You can bet no client is willing to take such a risk with their business. Nothing as what you do in your free time is completely separate from your professional life.
3. Emphasize Your Skills and Services
What immediately comes to mind when you see the Apple Company's logo? It probably reminds you of your iPhone or MacBook laptop.
Now that is an example of branding emphasizing products and services. Your brand's primary objective is to create awareness among potential customers.
On the other hand, your VA branding should create awareness about your services and skills level. For example, you cannot be a skilled graphics designer yet have not developed a unique logo for your website and social media pages.
Here is the example VA brand message we talked about
I help small business owners grow their online customer base by building strategic email lists.
From this brand message, it is evident that the VA is a professional email marketer. You can tell that the VA is also skilled at what they do based on their explanation of how they get things done.
You can see that the VA didn't have to list their skills or the services they offer. A potential client can easily get that from the brand message. If they want clarification on other services this professional VA can offer, they will simply visit the 'Service page' or click the CTA button.
4. Be Active Online
Your professional career is based online. Therefore, you have no justifiable reason not to be online for most of your time.
Clients want to be sure that the VA they are hiring will be dedicated to their tasks. For example, how can you be taken seriously as a social media VA if your pages are not regularly updated with fresh content?
Being active online is beneficial for you too. It keeps you on your toes to learn what is new and what your competitors are doing. Updating your website and social media pages will help you attract new leads.
Note: You don't have to stay online marketing your brand. You can use your spare time doing other activities that still attract eyeballs to your personal social media pages. For example, preparing your favorite recipe.
Learn More Ways to Establish Your VA Branding
We have not exhausted tips on how to establish your VA branding. Join the Royal VA Community today and find more tips from experienced virtual assistants about how to stand out from your competitors.