But Seriously, WTF is a Community Manager?
It’s not a black and white job, so let’s clear a few things up.
The Conundrum
When I tell people that I’m the community manager at Opternative, I’m usually met with blank expressions. To keep it short, I describe myself as “a hybrid between marketing and customer service.” But this doesn’t quite frame what it is to be a community manager. There is a complex chemistry between technical marketing data and connecting with customers. I work with numbers and conversions, but I also work with customer feedback to improve my product’s experience and brand.
I was recently interviewed by the Startup Institute about my journey as a community manager. During this interview, I realized that community management is not black and white and that the definition of community management varies from person to person. Even community managers define their role differently from company to company.
Some Insight
So what is a community manager and why should anyone care? To shed more light on this topic, I sought the opinion of a few of my community manager friends.
“A good community manager is more than anything else an extraordinary listener. Most department heads are in charge of getting their customers to DO something with our product. Community managers, by contrast, are facilitators. It’s their job to listen to a company’s users to understand how a product or service actually influences their lives. The real magic of community management is in equipping users with what they need to go from being power users to brand ambassadors.”
- Charles Perry, Community Customer Experience at DScout
“A community manager is equal parts content strategist, analyst, and customer service agent. They are on the front line when interacting with consumers. They have to know the voice of their company or brand and be ready to respond to any question, from the mundane to the ridiculous, with poise. They have to be able to engage the audience and get them excited about the brand.”
- Lauren Knight, Community Engagement Manager at fairlife, LLC
“A successful community manager is achieving a mix of the following: owning the relationship with users, advocating on users behalf, connecting users with each other, increasing engagement, and increasing retention. Place yourselves in their shoes and identify what keeps you engaged, how would you connect with other users, or what’s missing from the conversation, and always — always — alway ask users for feedback because you don’t know what you don’t know.”
- Will Ruiz, Community & Events Manager at Jopwell
The Takeaway
There are some common threads here. Enough to knit yourself a fine sweater, or at the very least, understand what it takes to be a decent community manager.
Listen
It’s that simple. Kick back, relax, and listen! Information is power. You’ll need to get every last drop of feedback from your customers to be as strong as [Insert strong superhero name here].
Empathize
Being able to not only know your audience but also feel for your audience is crucial. Having a firm grasp on your customers’ needs will give you an upper hand in solving their pain points.
Engage
With the vital insight gained from listening and understanding, a community manager can interact more authentically with their audience. Don’t be afraid to engage with and leverage your biggest fans. Believe me, they love the attention and talking about your product just as much as you do.
