what does it take to be a good community manager? Find out!
The social media profiles of brands and companies are not a robot, nor do they work alone: behind them, there is a team of people working every day. And one of those employees is the community manager (CM), also called social media manager. This is a professional profile created in the digital era that is responsible for communication through marketing, advertising or public relations strategies. It is the public image of the company and, as such, its objective is to create content that adds value to the brand and generates a community among users.
Being a community manager is a multidisciplinary job and a growing profession, as companies are beginning to realise how important it is to transmit a good public image not only through traditional advertising, but also through communication on social networks. In this sense, it is important to distinguish this position from the digital social manager and the copywriter (although, in practice, you may find that the three functions are performed by the same person):
- The digital social manager is your supervisor. He or she carries out more analytical work and directs the specific strategies for social networks. He or she also controls, analyses and monitors the campaigns carried out by the community manager, who is the one who executes the general planning of the digital social manager.
- The copywriter is in charge of writing texts for marketing campaigns, whether they are scripts for tutorial videos, blog articles or publications on social networks. This is where the community manager comes into play, as his work is more strategic (remember that he must create and maintain a community). On the other hand, the copywriter offers his knowledge to use the most appropriate words to improve profitability and increase sales.
15 recommendations to consider if you are (or want to be) a community manager
If you are attracted to the role of community manager, you are passionate about social networks and you have great communication skills, this may be your vocation, but before you take charge of a company's social profiles, consider putting these tips into practice:
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Learn about the brand
If you are going to be the voice of a company, you should know its mission, the values it stands for, its objectives and its history. It is also advisable to maintain relationships with the rest of the employees and find out interesting facts about the company that you can use in your content.
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Establish a plan
Setting your short- and long-term goals will help you to direct your day-to-day work. In this sense, it is essential that you design a calendar with the daily actions that you will carry out, whether they are public or internal. Otherwise, you will inevitably get carried away by improvisation and lose control of your strategy.
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Create a community
As we have already mentioned, this is the main and essential task of the community manager. Above and beyond increasing the number of followers or likes on Instagram posts, is the creation of a community of loyal users involved in the brand. It is better to reach fewer people if they participate with you and with the company. In this sense, it is not advisable to buy likes or followers: focus your work on generating human interaction with followers (and potential customers).
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Take care of users
In line with the previous point, it is important that you show empathy and respond to the doubts, suggestions or complaints of your community. They must feel satisfied with your strategy, and for this, personalised attention and speed are important.
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Know the differences between social networks
Each social network is a world with different rules, audiences and behaviours, so create a particular strategy according to their characteristics, checking what works best in each of them. Also, be very careful when publishing content and make sure you are doing it in the right social network and profile: mixing corporate and personal accounts is more common than it seems.
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Be creative
Differentiation from the competition is essential, and the work of the community manager is one of the best ways to achieve this. Follow a unified and creative strategy to make it recognisable and stand out from the rest. Spend time working on original ideas that are attractive.
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Don't just talk about the brand
It is impossible to create a community if you only talk about your company's products and services. In addition to sharing eye-catching messages along these lines, check what interests users have and create light-hearted content on these topics. You can even relate them to your brand to get more out of it. This way, you will make your relationship with your followers more personal.
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Follow Internet trends and take advantage of them
Due to the immediacy of social media, a topic that is of maximum interest in the morning can be outdated by the afternoon, so it is essential to be alert to trends and use them at the right time to promote a product or make a witty comment that attracts attention. On the other hand, you can research the work done by your peers, analyse their strengths and weaknesses and take advantage of them in your strategy.
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Be consistent and patient
Depending on the company, it is not always appropriate to publish content every day. But that does not mean that constancy is not an intrinsic characteristic of the community manager. Before pressing the share button, there is a daily work behind design, positioning and planning. In addition, in relation to constancy, it is important not to lose patience if you do not achieve your goals in record time.
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Continuous training
In addition to the basic initial studies, a community manager must be open to updates in his or her sector, and there are many of them, taking into account the constant innovations announced by the different social networks and the natural evolution of the digital environment.
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Familiarise yourself with useful tools
There are many platforms that facilitate each of the functions of the community manager, and it is advisable to know them and take advantage of their resources. Some of them are: Canva (design), Hootsuite (content programming), Social Blade or Metricool (statistics analysis). You can also use the free metrics offered by the social networks themselves for company profiles.
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Don't be impulsive
Social networks are not (at all) free of conflicts and misunderstandings, so it is important to be prepared to receive negative comments and act intelligently, instead of responding impulsively and in a way that is dangerous for the brand image. Try never to lose control of the situation.
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Manage potential crises appropriately
As a community manager, it is likely that you will have to deal with a reputation crisis. Although other areas of the company will also be involved in finding a solution, you must remain calm and pay attention to the timing.
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Watch your spelling
The writing is inseparable from the community manager and, although you can maintain an informal tone, spelling mistakes give a careless image that does not benefit the company at all. In this sense, do not abuse hashtags or emoticons.
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Analyse your results
As you progress with your strategy, check the statistics offered by the different tools to see what works and what doesn't. This way, you can adapt your campaigns according to the results and offer a better service to the company.
