Ep. 089 How to Stand out on Instagram and Attract Dream Clients with Ericka Calunsag

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 Instagram can be such a powerful marketing tool for virtual assistants, but the problem that a lot of virtual assistants face is that they’re introverts - and showing up online can be scary.

For the past 2 years, I’ve been watching my friend and Support Squad member Ericka Calunsag stand apart from the crowd on Instagram by sharing helpful tips and giving so much value - and doing so in a way that felt so aligned with her personality.

Today, Ericka is joining me on the podcast to share how service providers can avoid making mistakes on Instagram, how to gain the confidence to show up on video, and how to turn conversations on social media into paying clients. If you’ve been working up the courage to start creating Stories or Reels, you’re going to love this episode!

Tune in to hear:

• The main mistakes virtual assistants make on Instagram
• Ericka’s tips for getting over your fear of showing up on video
• How to start conversations with dream clients on Instagram

Let me tell you a little bit about Ericka: 

Ericka Calunsag started her Virtual Assistant Business, EC Virtual Services, LLC in January 2019. After 9 years working in an eCommerce role, she was ready to take her skills and start her own business to have more flexibility and to spend more time with her kids. 

She now supports business coaches and course creators on their Instagram content and the daily admin tasks to help them scale their business with ease. 

Her motto: Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life.

Connect with Ericka: Website | Instagram | Book a Content Strategy Session

What mistakes do you see virtual assistants making on Instagram?

Definitely one is promoting all of your services at the same time. 

Although it's not wrong to do a lot of things as a VA, when you promote all of your services at the same time, it makes it harder for you to be remembered for that one thing.  

Not only that, it just confuses your audience because you're promoting all of these things at the same time. They don't really know what exactly to contact you for. 

When you focus on that specialty service, it'll be easier for you to create content around that service. And it will be easier for you to be remembered for that one service that you offer instead of 10 others that you're promoting.  

What tips do you have for new virtual assistants who are afraid of showing up on video?

Most of us are introverts, so being on camera is scary. The advice I like to give is to start slow. An easy video for you to do when you're ready for it is just to introduce yourself - What do you do? Who do you work with? '

If you're not ready to talk yet on camera, then just take a picture and do some captions and post that on Stories to build your confidence and get used to showing up on camera.

Small steps help you to build your confidence a lot more. 

For me, Stories are the easiest way to be on camera because they disappear after 24 hours. So if you mess up or you think or you feel like you look bad, (which I'm sure you don't), it will disappear. It will be gone in 24 hours.  

How do you start that conversation when you find your dream client on Instagram? 

This can be hard. Especially when you don't know how to start,  it can be very intimidating at first. 

When you find somebody that you would love to work with on Instagram, just remember, you don't know where they are on their journey just yet.  I'm all about starting that connection first. 

Look at their posts, read their posts, watch their stories, and see if there's anything that you can relate to or connect to. For example: With me, I follow a lot of moms.  If they post anything about their kids, like that's something that I can relate to.

When you're watching their content, just start a conversation and be genuine about it. Can you relate to what they're saying? Can you relate to what they're showing you? It doesn't even have to be a long conversation.

Remember: all of this takes time. You have to take time to build that connection and trust with your audience.

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