With regards to the ever-growing number of new professions centered around the web, it is easy to lose track of them all. However, with the rise of social media networks, one profession, in particular, has established itself in recent years: the Community Manager. But, what exactly is a Community Manager? And what are the basic skills required to excel?
For the role of a Community Manager, mastering social networks is at the heart of his or her know-how. Moreover, it is essential that they become familiar with the community’s requirements of the account and to respond efficiently to demands and reactions from followers. As an ambassador of the brand, the Community Manager is the mediator between a community composed of customers, prospects, Internet users and a brand or company. As such, they are responsible for taking actions to involve and grow their community. Thus, the Community Manager plays a decisive role in a company’s overall communication by establishing its reputation among web users.
The Community Manager’s skills are being reviewed in response to the ever-increasing demands of agencies and brands. Creativity is becoming a priority and web writing an additional coveted skill. Considering that smartphones are highly prominent in terms of net usage, it will be necessary to rely on the content creation adapted to this device.
The Community Manager will, therefore, have to address “snackable content” by responding to a mobile audience ready to consume information on the go.
What are the main skills of the community manager?
In the view of digital marketing, the most sought-after skills of a Community Manager are: the management of a blog, the mastery of social networks, community animation, web writing and the mastery of digital tools. Each platform solicits a set of required skills that are fundamental to the Community Manager. The primary responsibility of any Community Manager is to master the different social networks, such as:
- YouTube
- Snap
While the Community Manager can master these social networks and oversee one or more communities on these channels, their digital skills and training remain numerous. A working knowledge of the technical tools that are constantly evolving lays the basis for successful digital communication. This includes:
- Knowledge of the brand within its community
- Web culture
- Development of communication strategies on social networks (depending on position)
- Community management and activation
- Quality writing skills
- Content management
- SEO / SEM referencing (fundamental)
- Monitoring, curating and a working knowledge of the main tools for analyzing statistics and social media management…
Considering the constant presence of information overload to which we are confronted every day, creativity serves as a real remedy against this phenomenon/syndrome of our digital age. Thanks to editorial skills and creativity, the Community Manager can produce digital communication that stands out from the clutter–an essential requirement for creating a unique and strong brand image. Since the key to many companies’ success is to enhance online visibility, it is crucial to be well-versed in the essentials of SEO and Google’s algorithms to optimize content as much as possible.
To be noted:
In professional life, the job of Community Manager is often confused with that of Social Media Manager – not without reason, because the two work closely together. However, while the Social Media Manager is particularly concerned with advertising activities and content management on social networks, the Community Manager focuses only on the community.
Versatile, empathetic, with a good knowledge of software tools and social media networks, the Community Manager could be referred to as the Swiss Army knife among the digital communication professions. The Internet is changing and so are consumers’ consumption patterns. The digital transformation of companies shows us how much web-related professions are booming and how important it is to be trained in new tools and technologies.