Number twenty-three of our weekly interviews in which we discover how real businesses are making Social Media work for them. Please meet Lesley-Anne Hornbogen.
Who are you and what do you do?
I am the owner of On the Go VA Services. I provide VA services to professional individuals. A VA is a Virtual Assistant, a PA providing secretarial services online. My niche areas are digital transcription and Social Media advice. For Social Media clients I help them get started and set up their profiles but I don’t manage their accounts. I have a variety of clients utilising my secretarial services, a Structural Engineer, Recruitment Consultant, Healthcare Consultant and Self-development coach. On top of these core clients I carry out one off projects for clients who want their database updated; transcription of books they have written as well as transcription of webinars which can then be produced as hard copies for download purposes.
How do you use Social Media?
I use Social Media to provide a consistent online presence. I try to give a consistent feed of information daily promoting my business, sharing content and interacting with people online.
I use LinkedIn as a professional network, a Facebook profile for more personal updates, a Facebook page for business and Twitter as a stream for information snippets. Pinterest is my bible to unwind and view DIY Crafts that I promise myself I will do one day and I use Google+ to share articles, although I have to say it’s not my favourite. I have recently started to blog using the Empower Network, a viral blogging system.
I like to have a presence on all of the tools as my potential clients may only be on a selection of them. I do feel that social media is a fantastic tool for retail – anybody selling products. It can be harder for professional services.
Can you share a Personal Success Story?
I can share two success stories:
On a personal level, I saw a link on Facebook about the Empower Network system. I had a look, liked what I saw and signed up.
On a professional level, I have received work through Twitter. I saw a post about somebody looking for a VA for 5 – 10 hours of work a month and I have been doing the job for over a year now.
Can you give our readers a top tip?
Think about online networking in the same way you do face to face networking and don’t just promote your services. Update in the following order:
- Entertain by providing humorous photos, videos and links
- Listen to what other people are saying; read their articles/blogs
- Promote and share
Unfortunately too many people promote their businesses first, might possibly share others content and very rarely listen or read.
The other main tip (and in my mind the most important) is don’t say anything online that you are not prepared to say face to face.
Contact Information
You can contact Lesley-Anne, on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Personal, Facebook Page, On the Go Website, Pinterest, Empower Network, Create Your Life