Virtual Assistant vs Online Business Manager: What’s the Difference?

If you’re a wedding pro considering outsourcing, you may have heard the terms, “virtual assistant” and “online business manager.” While they may seem interchangeable, there are distinct differences between the two roles that are crucial to note before you start connecting with these professionals. Both a virtual assistant (VA) and online business manager (OBM) serve key purposes in the growth of your business, so it’s important to know what the differences are and which one you need to fulfill your goals. Perhaps you even need both!

In this post, we'll explore the unique responsibilities of a virtual assistant and online business manager. You’ll learn how to distinguish between the two roles and determine which one is the best fit for your wedding business needs. I’ve even created a handy infographic that you can save for when you’re searching for one or both of these roles, so stay tuned!

And if you end up needing both a virtual assistant and online business manager, make sure to read to the end for your perfect solution!  

Overview of a Virtual Assistant & Online Business Manager

Let’s start by defining a virtual assistant versus an online business manager!

A virtual assistant is an administrative professional, responsible for the daily operations of your wedding business.  

An online business manager is a strategic professional, responsible for the bigger picture goals of your wedding business.

Think of it this way: A virtual assistant has her hands in the daily tasks that are necessary to keep your business running while an online business manager focuses on the higher level tasks needed to meet your longer term goals.  

There are tons of amazing virtual assistants and online business managers out there, but for your wedding business, you probably want to consider a wedding-specific VA or OBM; someone who has experience working in the wedding industry! In this case, these roles would be called a “wedding virtual assistant/online business manager” or a “virtual assistant for wedding creatives,” like myself!

Wedding Virtual Assistant Responsibilities

Now that we know what a wedding virtual assistant is, let’s dive into what this role is responsible for!

Email Management

A common task for a wedding virtual assistant to handle is email management, also called inbox management. If your inbox is constantly overflowing and you can never seem to get a good grasp on it, this is a great task to delegate to your virtual assistant for wedding creatives.

When you work with me as your wedding virtual assistant, I’m the frontwoman for all the emails that come in, whether it means responding appropriately, moving them through your sales pipeline (see next section), or forwarding them to the correct person on your team to handle. I consider your inbox my to-do list, so your inbox will be cleared out by the end of each day, meaning you never have to worry about catching up on emails again!

CRM Management

With CRM management, a wedding virtual assistant can move your clients through your sales pipeline, handling them from initial inquiry to fully booked! Whether you use Dubsado, Honeybook, or another CRM, I handle every step in your workflow, including gathering their initial information, sending them your package information, generating client contracts, creating their invoices, answering client questions, and following up when appropriate. I also assist with confirming day-of details for the timeline with both vendors and clients, sending post-wedding thank yous, and collecting those all-important 5-star reviews for you!  

Blogging

Blogging is a more specialized wedding virtual assistant task since it involves special knowledge of SEO strategy. Not every virtual assistant is going to be knowledgeable about SEO best practices or offer blogging as a standard service, but it is one that is important for your website’s SEO and your overall marketing plan nonetheless.

Luckily, blogging for SEO is one of my signature services!

I know the ins and outs of SEO optimization and I apply that to each blog post, so that every one is intentionally designed to boost your SEO and drive traffic to that page. My blogging services including SEO keyword research, gallery culling, a professionally written 1,000-1,500 word blog post in your brand voice, and full SEO optimization.  

Social Media

Similar to blogging, social media content creation is a more specialized wedding virtual assistant task. We all know that being consistently active on social media is more crucial than ever. Nearly 90% of all couples use Instagram to select their wedding vendors, so ensuring your profile is up-to-date, SEO-friendly, and encourages engagement is vital.

Here at Jessica Hetu and Co, I offer done-for-you social media content creation, where I fully create your monthly Instagram and Facebook content calendars! I take it all off your plate, from image selection to caption creation to hashtag research to scheduling, and more. 

If you stress over posting to Instagram on a regular basis and writing the perfect caption eats up half your day, this is your sign to free up your calendar and mental energy by delegating your social to me!

Email Newsletter Creation

Building and managing your email list through newsletters is another specialized wedding virtual assistant task. Whether you send a weekly or monthly newsletter or use Mailchimp or Flodesk, I’ve got you covered! I’ll create engaging and information-rich newsletters that can serve to promote your latest blog, inform readers of your limited time promotion, showcase your recent weddings, and more.  

Blogging, social media, and newsletters actually all go hand in hand in hand! When these 3 marketing efforts work together, you get the most functionality out of each one. For example, I showcase your work through a blog post, which I then promote via social media and your biweekly newsletter, thereby maximizing the post’s number of views while simultaneously driving traffic to your website and Instagram profile.

Synergy at its finest!  

Online Business Manager Responsibilities

On the other hand, what is a wedding online business manager responsible for? It’s worth noting here that some online business managers may offer some of the more specialized VA tasks, like social media and email newsletter creation. However, the following tasks are OBM-specific:

Business Strategy Management

To put it simply, a wedding online business manager ideates, creates, and implements a strategy to achieve your business goals. This can look like scaling your processes to maximize efficiency, forming a plan to increase incoming leads or optimizing your client onboarding process to be as smooth as possible. Your online business manager will evaluate the current state of your business and develop a roadmap to help you reach the next level.

While I am a virtual assistant for wedding creatives, I also offer online business manager services, such as business strategy management. I serve as a hybrid VA and OBM, allowing you to have one point person for it all.

Team Management

If you already have a team or are looking to grow one, your online business manager can help! Team management involves leading your team by implementing new team processes, running team meetings, answering their everyday questions, and assisting them in navigating tricky client situations. This also entails interviewing and hiring, new team member onboarding, and scheduling. Managing other people takes experience, skill, and time, so finding a seasoned wedding online business manager is imperative.

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Creation

A key part in growing your wedding business is establishing clear standard operating procedures (SOPs). Your wedding online business manager can help in streamlining your current processes and then formalizing them. SOPs are essential in ensuring that your current team members are clear on who is responsible for what tasks and how to accomplish each task in accordance with your business’ best practices. They’re also especially significant when bringing on new team members in order to make their onboarding as efficient as possible.

Systems Setup

An online business manager can also set up a new CRM or other system for your business. If you don’t yet have a formal CRM, like Dubsado or Honeybook, or want to switch to a new one, you’ll want to look to your OBM! I offer a custom systems setup package depending on your needs, which can include guidance in selecting the right CRM for you, importing all your current contacts, creating email and form templates, setting up automated workflows (see next section), and more.

Workflow Creation

Workflow creation goes hand in hand with systems setup! This entails creating automated workflows within your CRM. Your online business manager can set up a sales workflow, a booked workflow, a repeat customer workflow, or any other type of workflow your business may require. The goal of these automated workflows is to streamline your processes and maximize efficiency.

Does this sound like something you need?

Wedding Virtual Assistant vs Online Business Manager Infographic

If you’re more of a visual person like I am, I created this handy infographic for you to easily see the differences between a virtual assistant and online business manager. Make sure to save this to Pinterest or bookmark this blog post for easy access later!

How Your Virtual Assistant & Online Business Manager Work Together

If you’re saying to yourself, “I need all of the above services!”, you probably need both a wedding virtual assistant and an online business manager! I’m a hybrid virtual assistant AND online business manager who can cover all of the above services and would love to chat!  

But if you already have a VA or OBM on your team and want to bring me on to work in tandem with him/her, I am more than open to doing so! A VA and OBM work closely together to run the entire backend of your business. The VA handles clients daily by working within your CRM and workflows, and communicates with the OBM to let them know of any hiccups in the processes or potential improvements to consider. When your OBM is planning and strategizing for your business’ future, they will communicate with your VA to implement any new procedures and improve the current ones.

Ultimately, your VA and OBM will work together to grow and scale your wedding biz!

Hybrid Virtual Assistant & Online Business Manager

Need a virtual assistant AND online business manager who can do it all?

Meet Jessica Hetu (that’s me!).

I’m a virtual assistant for wedding creatives, who specializes in expertly managing your business’ backend, so you can focus on what matters most. In my 10+ year career in the wedding and event industry, I have been a wedding planner and coordinator, venue manager, and catering director, planning events at national brands like Walt Disney World, Loews Hotels, and Ritz-Carlton Orlando, to name a few.

When you work with my team and me, not only do you get a like-minded wedding & event creative, but you also get a new best “friendor!” We have hearts for service and are chronic perfectionists, so you can be confident that we will get the job done right with the same level of excellence you give to your clients.

Connect with Jessica by hitting the button below and get ready to make some magic together!