What is community management?

Community management is a branch of marketing specializing in promoting and fostering a brand's relationship with its target audience. A community manager is responsible for developing relationships with customers, understanding their needs, responding to feedback, and engaging them concerning the business.

Community management vs social media management

Community management and social media management have a lot in common. Both involve managing customer relationships, engaging in conversations, and broadcasting messages. And both involve social media (e.g., you could build a community on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)

However, there are some key differences between the two:

• Community management focuses on fostering relationships and building a sense of belonging among customers, while social media management is more concerned with promoting your brand.
• Additionally, community management often happens on various channels that may not be social media (e.g., forums, comments sections, message boards, Slack channels, Discord servers, etc.)
• Community management tends to be even less sales-oriented than social media marketing. While both aim to generate content and engagement, social media may sometimes strategically "slip in" brand mentions. Community management is more transparent about this matter (e.g., they are either openly promoting their product/ discussing it with the community or using the community to drive user-generated content, which can then be distributed via blog posts, whitepapers, social media posts, etc.)
• Social media marketers do a lot more than customer service. They run social media ad campaigns, collect UGC, create and execute a social media plan, and much more.

What does a community manager do?

Not sure if you need a community moderator to manage your social media channels or another type of digital marketing specialist? Here are the main things that the role entails.

Builds relationships with customers and industry peers

A community expert should focus on nurturing customer relationships, gaining their trust, and understanding their needs. They are also responsible for fostering connections with peers in the industry to leverage their knowledge and stay up-to-date on trends.

Identifies and tracks community KPIs

Community managers need to be able to track KPIs to measure their progress, such as customer engagement and sentiment. They should also keep an eye out for any potential risks so they can tackle them before they escalate any further.

Coordinates with other departments

Another aspect of the job is coordinating with social media, content, product, and customer service teams to ensure that messages are consistent, customers' needs are met, and all departments are on the same page. They may also send that data to these departments to help them create strategies that align with customer wants and needs.

Stays on top of the digital technology trends

Community management specialists have to stay up-to-date with the latest trends in digital technology to ensure that their strategies are as effective as possible.

This means regularly testing out new tactics and tools, ensuring they're well aware of industry changes, and being able to ride popular waves when that makes sense (e.g., if the industry is discussing a specific topic, the marketer should know how to bring that topic into the community discussion.)

Why hire an online community manager?

Hiring an online community manager has really great benefits. Here are a few of the main ones.

Audience and customer support

If you want your customer base and target audience to feel heard, you need to provide them with a space where they can feel free to speak, and that's exactly what a community expert can do for your business.

Whether they're skimming for solutions regarding your product or simply looking to engage with like-minded people, your audience will love that you put time and effort into getting closer to them and initiating dialogues instead of sending corporate message blasts.

More feedback and ideas for marketing

By understanding what your customers need and want, you can develop better marketing strategies tailored to their needs. And this role is key in helping product teams roll out new features since they can leverage customer feedback to determine how the product should evolve.

Boosting customer interactions and conversions

Community management activities are often a great way to boost customer interactions and conversions. By driving engagement with your target audience, you create opportunities for potential customers to get to know and trust your brand and increase their chances of becoming loyal, long-term customers.

How much does it cost to hire an online community specialist?

On average, an online community specialist makes about $55,000 per year. However, if you need someone with more experience, you may have to spend more than that. If you want to collaborate with someone on a contractual or freelance basis, you can get an online community specialist for as low as $1,850 per month.

Skills a good community specialist should have

OK, say you've decided to hire a community expert. Finding the right one is crucial, as you want to make sure your money is well spent, so here are the skills you should be looking for:

Social media and community management experience

Your community specialist should have experience managing social media accounts and communities. However, they should also stay on top of the latest trends in digital technology, such as which tactics work and which specific social media networks or how to create content that will drive engagement and draw more people into your community.

Working with community management tools

A good community manager should be able to work with specific tools, such as:

• Sprout Social
• Hootsuite
• Later
• Slack
• Discord
• ...And so on

Furthermore, depending on your niche, they should know how to get attention and engage communities on different platforms, such as Reddit or Quora.

Customer support know-how

The right candidate should have experience in customer support, providing solutions to common questions and problems within a specific niche.

Branding knowledge

A good community manager understands the importance of branding, so they should be well-versed in developing campaigns and strategies tailored to a specific community and audience. They should also know how to create content that conveys the brand's message and values.

Aside from the aforementioned skills, a community expert should also possess great soft skills (e.g., knowing how to interact with different types of people), communication skills, and excellent writing skills. 

Content marketing and content creation

Your community expert should also have basic content marketing/creation knowledge, such as how to write or edit videos in a helpful and entertaining way for your target audience and how to create effective content that will drive engagement.

Flexibility and adaptability

Things change a lot in social media. One day a funny meme is trending, next day's all about discussing serious matters. While community managers don't always have to be in tune with all these trends, being flexible, adaptable, and open-minded helps them pick up on what audiences respond to - so they can bring it into the communities they manage too.

How to hire a community manager

Not sure how to hire a community manager? Here are some tips:

Goal and needs

Before you start writing a job description, clearly understand your goal and needs and the tangible tasks you need to do.

Create a job description

Once you have your goals and needs, create a job description that outlines the duties and tasks of the community manager, as well as any qualifications required.

Post a job ad

You can post your job ad on freelance websites like Guru or Fiverr, especially if you want short-term collaborations. You can also use job boards like Glassdoor or Indeed for a more traditional approach.

And if you're looking for the quickest and most efficient way to hire the right expert, Mayple's your best bet. We only work with vetted experts with a proven track record of success, and we'll match you with someone suited for your industry and expectations in a matter of days.

Look at candidates' portfolio

Asking your candidates for portfolios will help you sift through the applicants and focus on those with actually relevant experience in your industry and for the experience level you require. Looking at portfolios may take longer, but it’s worth the effort.

Questions to ask when hiring a community specialist

Unsure of what to ask prospective community managers? Here are some question ideas to inspire you:

• What's your experience building a social media community? 
• What are some of your favorite community initiatives from brands you like? 
• What attracted you to our community manager position? 
• How do you create loyal customers? What strategies do you use?
• Do you have experience in other areas of online marketing? 
• How do you collaborate with the different members of a marketing team? 
• Have you ever been involved in cross-departmental communication campaigns? 
• What is your preferred online platform, and why? 
• What is, in your opinion, the secret to a loyal community? Have you ever built one from scratch? How do you make sure it remains active?
• How do you maintain an active community? 
• What are some of the best community experiences, in your opinion? 
• What are the metrics you follow - and why? 
• How do you log community feedback - and how do you pass it along to the right departments? 

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