What is a Community Manager and what does he/she do?

The term Community Manager encompasses a relatively new profession. So much so that many people still don't know what a Community Manager is or what they do. That is why, below, we are going to learn more about the work of the CM and what their main functions are. Don't miss it!

What is a Community Manager?

A Community Manager (CM) is the person who specialises in building and managing an online community for a business or brand. In addition, they are also responsible for managing the identity and brand image in order to create stable and lasting relationships with potential customers. In short, the CM's job is to maintain a good image on social networks so that customers remain loyal to the company or brand.

Although it may seem like a simple profession, it really is not. Being a Community Manager entails a great deal of responsibility, which is why it is a complex profession in which it is necessary to be constantly updated.

What does a Community Manager do?

The CM is between online communication management and digital marketing. The professional in this sector must meet certain objectives and for this it is necessary to establish an action plan linked to digital marketing. It will be necessary to define a strategy that will also intervene in the objectives and Social Media strategies of the company or brand.

In general, this is what a Community Manager should bring to a company:

Content creation and management. Customers, or potential customers, are looking for something that catches their attention in a brand and that is the job of the CM. Capture the attention of social media users through content creation.

● Analytics. The Community Manager should monitor the strategic parameters and the definition of KPIS, i.e. community growth, social web traffic, engagement...

● Communication. In addition to creating content, a CM must engage in fluid communication with the community that has been created around the social media profiles. This will humanise the brand and generate added value.

● Planning of actions related to digital marketing.

Of course, to get there, i.e. to create that action plan that will get more customers for a company or brand, the CM must set specific objectives.

Specific objectives of the Community Manager

The Community Manager has the following objectives:

1. Improve the visibility of a brand or company in the online world.
2. Increase the community while respecting a certain quality. It is important to create a loyal community rather than a community with millions of followers, but with little impact on the company.
3. Generating social web traffic that ends up converting, i.e. that ends up being profitable.
4. Establish relationships with customers and even influencers in the sector.
5. Customer service through social networks, i.e. answering customers on the social networks it manages.

Skills a Community Manager should have

In order to achieve all the objectives, the Community Manager must have certain professional skills. It must be taken into account that it is a very complex job profile as, apart from being relatively new, it is very complete. But what are these skills that a CM must have?

● Patience. A CM must be patient as, at the end of the day, they will be dealing with other real people who will want to talk about the brand, whether for good or bad. The Community Manager will receive both good and bad comments, so it is essential to treat each message with the calm that is required.

● Orderly and methodical. In order to achieve everything, it is essential that the Community Manager establishes a daily routine and methodology. By having a methodology and following it to the letter, the CM will avoid mistakes and will be much more efficient in their work.

● Professional. Although nowadays everyone has social networks, only the Community Manager will know how to get the best out of them.

● Proactive. The Community Manager must be a proactive person, i.e. he/she must know how to respond, how to search and how to keep the company's profile active.

Mistakes a Community Manager should avoid

As in all professions, the Community Manager must also avoid some mistakes that will make his or her job a failure. What are these mistakes to avoid?

● Do not give answers that do not fit the brand and style guide.

● Beware of too many hashtags. It is important to correctly apply the use of hashtags in each social network. To do this, the ideal is to create a strategy for each of the social networks and analyse each of the hashtags used.

Never use unfamiliar tools. Before you use them, test and compare with what you already have. It may not be worth it.

● Never believe that the accounts of the companies you manage are your own.

Don't just talk about the brand or the products that can be found in the company. Create valuable content as this will keep many people coming back for more advice that will help them in their day-to-day lives.

Community Manager tools, are they necessary?

As in other professions, Community Managers need to have their work tools well organised, as this is what will allow them to carry out their profession. But what tools are essential for a CM? The main thing is to have a tool to be able to schedule publications. Being part of a strategy, publications must be thought out and studied.

Likewise, a Community Manager must also measure and know the impact of the publications to know if the strategy is working or if it is necessary to change it again.

In addition to this, you should also have at least a stock of photographs for social media.

As you can see, being a community manager is not as easy as it seems. But don't worry, if you need help to effectively manage your company's networks, contact us now!