I’m sure you know what a community manager, but do you know what they’re not? They’re not an admin assistant, they’re not a customer service representative, they’re not a graphic designer, and they’re not a web developer. If you’re into social media and have ever wondered what a community manager’s actual role is, don’t worry, we’re here to define them and put an end to the misconception that a community manager is a ‘jack-of-all-trades’. What’s more, by clarifying their responsibilities, we’re confident that professionals in the sector will do their jobs much better and achieve better results.
Would you like to find out more about community managers and digital communication? Read on!
What is a community manager in the strictest sense of the term?
If we translate ‘community manager’ into Spanish, it means ‘gestor de comunidades’, and this involves fostering engagement, building lasting relationships between the company and its users; and fostering engagement.
As a professional in the social media, and as this is a very broad field within digital marketing, requiring various types of tasks, the role of the community manager has ended up being misunderstood, with many responsibilities being attributed to them that have nothing to do with managing social media profiles.
But don’t be misled! The community manager’s sole responsibility is to keep followers active and engaged with the brand, and to help the community grow.
Discover the 7 essential roles of a community manager
- Property management: replying to comments, accepting friend requests, identifying trolls or haters, handling criticism or negative feedback, monitoring hashtags, keeping track of conversations in which the company is mentioned, and responding to users’ queries relating to the company. In short, everything to do with user interaction.
- Strategy design to improve the proposed KPIs: the main KPIs on social media are usually: growth in quality followers, improved reach, increased views on video content, greater interaction with the account, a higher engagement rate, and an improved online reputation. For all this to happen, it is important to define a social media strategy based on prior analysis. Furthermore, whenever a strategy is implemented, the results must be measured and any necessary adjustments made or key areas reinforced.
- Project evaluation and management: A social media strategy may form part of a wider project or campaign, so the community manager must be able to devise a strategy that fits this context and provide the data that is most relevant to the main objective. For example, if an awareness campaign is being run on the importance of keeping beaches clean, the main KPI for the social media strategy cannot be to increase the number of followers.
- Crisis management: One of the most important roles of a community manager is to manage reputation crises, which mainly occur on online communication channels where anyone can express their point of view and interact with other users, such as on social media or forums. Crises usually strike without warning, as they arise from unplanned errors or misunderstandings; for this reason, it is vital that the community manager draws up a crisis prevention and management plan, so they know how to tackle the situation. The most urgent priority is to prevent rumours and fake news from spreading; consequently, reacting promptly, providing explanations, apologising (where necessary) and proposing solutions publicly are essential requirements.
- Content planning: We already know that the community manager, whilst they may have some basic knowledge, is neither a graphic designer nor a video editor, but rather an effective content planner. Therefore, although they do not produce the designs themselves, they must set out in a clear and concise plan which graphic and audiovisual elements they will need to achieve the set objectives. How many will be needed each month, what text they will contain, and the range of formats required for each post – the community manager must liaise with the creative team and provide them with all the detailed information.
- Creative copywriting: The community manager must have excellent writing skills in order to communicate as effectively as possible with their community. They need to be familiar with creative writing techniques, copywriting and, ultimately, the best way to convey a message tailored to the target audience. Of course, impeccable spelling and a command of the grammar of the language in which they write are essential.
- Social media management media: There comes a point in every community manager’s life when the number of profiles they manage increases and the communities become overwhelming, pending posts pile up and the schedule keeps ticking over – even at the weekend! What should you do in this situation? It’s very simple: make use of social media tools. Hootsuit to schedule posts and take your mind off things on your days off, Metricool to collect data automatically, Mention to monitor mentions, Audience to identify and connect with your audience – and there are plenty more!
How do you become a community manager?
If you enjoy social media, are creative and active, and have a knack for new technologies, your ideal job might be that of a community manager. To do this, you’ll need to undertake a specific course in social media management or, better still, complete a master’s degree in digital marketing, which will give you in-depth knowledge of every area covered by this branch of marketing.
Once you understand how digital communication works, all you’ll need to do is give free rein to your communication skills and keep an eye on the Educa.Pro blog to stay up to date with all the latest trends. We look forward to seeing you there!
