Looking for the lowdown on community management? Not sure how it’s different from social media management?
Read on as the Loomly team addresses all your questions in this community management FAQ.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Community management is the practice of building an authentic community either externally among your customers or internally among your employees and partners through various types of interactions.
Brands use both online and offline opportunities to create a network in which they can connect, share, and grow. A brand’s community may be spread across multiple platforms, such as social media, forums, blogs, YouTube, and Quora.
There are six types of community management as defined in the SPACE model:
Although community management is a key aspect of social media strategy, it is not the same.
Social media management includes creating, publishing, reviewing, and improving a brand’s social media content.
A social media manager will post as the brand’s account on social networks. They’re the voice of the brand and are responsible for posts, replies, and general content. Typically, they deal with people who have a relationship with the brand.
Community management takes place after your social media publishing. So it’s part brand monitoring, part customer service, and part being active in discussions related to your brand.
A community manager will post as a brand ambassador under their own account, not the brand’s, and develop the community by participating in discussions, finding new customers, and listening to the current ones. Typically, they deal with people who may or may not have heard of the business they represent and boost awareness for the brand.
Community management is important for several reasons:
If you want to build a long-term business with a strong brand, you’ll want to invest in community management.
The top ten community manager skills (& qualities) are:
The main focus of a community manager is to be a brand ambassador, engaging with potential customers and building relationships with existing ones. They also focus on gauging sentiment around the brand, using social listening tools to monitor feedback and engagement.
There’s more than one way to become a community manager, but the following steps will help you position yourself well for this career path:
Community management costs vary according to your requirements. Prices can range from $1800 to $6900 per month.
The best community management tools include:
Although community management is often confused or used interchangeably with social media management, it’s a different role with its own set of goals, skills, and qualities.
If you want your business to succeed, make sure you invest in community management to retain your existing customers, attract new customers, and enhance your brand awareness.