There are countless responsibilities involved in keeping the gears of your small business running smoothly. From handling the day-to-day operations of your company to taking care of payroll, marketing and every other aspect of business ownership, you may be feeling stretched a little thin. And while on-boarding a professional to handle your marketing would free up your time to focus on other aspects of growing your business, hiring another full-time worker isn't financially feasible or practical for many small businesses. Fortunately, there's always the option of hiring a virtual assistant.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant performs many of the same tasks as a dedicated personal assistant would; the primary difference is that freelancing professionals perform the work remotely. Specifically, you can hire a virtual assistant to take over the marketing of your business. This can include anything from conducting market research and preparing reports to maintaining your company's social media accounts, optimizing your search engine results and even handling your online advertising.

The Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Assistant for Marketing

There are many reasons to consider hiring a virtual assistant for your business marketing. For starters, doing so allows you to have a dedicated marketing professional on your team without the cost and commitment associated with on-boarding a new, full-time employee. Because these virtual assistants are freelancers or independent contractors, you are under no obligation to provide them with insurance, retirement or other benefits.

Furthermore, since they work remotely, they do not require physical space in your office, thus saving you money and resources on office space and supplies. And because virtual assistants are independent contractors, you can "hire" them on a contract basis. This means you can set forth a series of goals or tasks that need to be completed, and once they're done to your satisfaction, you have the choice to renew the contract or terminate it. This makes working with a virtual assistant less of a financial risk than hiring a full-time employee.

Another significant advantage of hiring a virtual assistant to handle your business marketing is that doing so can free up extremely valuable time. Think about how much time you spend on a weekly basis on your business marketing (developing email campaigns and updating social media accounts). Wouldn't that time be better spent focusing on other areas of your business? With a virtual assistant, you enjoy the best of both worlds: An experienced professional handles your marketing and you have more time to focus on other tasks with less stress.

Other Important Considerations

Be sure to take your time in choosing the virtual assistant that best suits your company's needs. This means holding a thorough phone and/or Skype interview, as well as clearly laying out all expectations and job requirements in a contract. You may even consider running a background screening, especially if you're going to be sharing confidential information (such as social media passwords or financials) with your new assistant. By taking the right precautions, hiring a virtual marketing assistant can be one of the best choices you make for your business.

Overall, working with a virtual assistant on your business marketing strategy can be a great solution for many small business owners.