What is an Online Community Manager?

The revolution of Digital Technology has made many things possible; connecting people around the world, expansion of businesses and changing the way it is done especially in the inclusion of social media in businesses, not only among established companies but in small businesses as well. It's importance and demand has actually created different kinds of occupation that seems far fetched a few years ago, and up to this present it is still unfathomable to many....

“So your job is to, like, tweet for your company?”

Community Managers, how many times have we heard this? Explaining you’re a “Community Manager” usually results in a blank stare. We excuse our friends and family, because your friends aren’t hip-enough to understand and your parents are, well, your parents. But what about the people in your company, or your boss for that matter? Unfortunately, it’s possible that your boss or coworkers are not entirely sure what it is that you do and how it contributes to the brand.

Being The Voice

Social media provides brands with the unique opportunity to get customers acquainted with more than their products. Social media can be a vessel to showcase what makes up the brand beyond the product. Community Managers are in charge of setting the tone on social, showing off the people behind your brand’s personality and adding a little life to your products.

Building Relationships

In my opinion, this is the most important part of being a Community Manager. The whole point of the job is to connect with your audience, and not just once. Every brand wants to improve their customers experience, and creating an ongoing relationship with a brand is a great way to do that. Without a Community Manager, creating a personal and connected relationship is difficult and time-consuming. Luckily, this is exactly what we love to do. You’re certainly able to build relationships without a Community Manager, but having at least one dedicated person to foster and grow these relationships is a must.

Creating Buzz

With over 883 million people on Twitter, odds are some of your current or potential customers are tuning into updates from both their friends and brands. When the time comes to release a new product or feature, you want to tap into this audience. Certainly, without a Community Manager you could reach these people once or twice, but with a dedicated Community Manager, who’s objective is to get your brand name out there and create some hype, your reach would dramatically increase. Your Community Manager is essential to creating hype around a roll-out of a new product or feature.

Listening

A great Community Manager is a good listener. A great Community Manager should be in touch with the space, as well as with their audience. For example, when a big development takes place, social media is usually the first place it breaks. You want a Community Manager on hand to keep an eye out, so you aren’t late to the party. In addition, listening to customer and fan feedback is another essential function of CMs. Keeping an eye on the sentiment surrounding your brand can be difficult for people who don’t have the time for it. Luckily, that’s what you have us for.


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Source:Jade Furubayashi– January 27, 2014