Today’s guest post is by Yvette Pistorio.
It’s a mystery to many people what a community manager does.
Thank goodness for Jeremiah Owyanng, who created a holiday for us…Community Manager Appreciation Day.
It’s the fourth Monday, every January, and it was created to, “Recognize and celebrate the efforts community managers around the world to improve customer experiences.”
It can be an exhausting job – yet it’s among the most in-demand social media position.
So what exactly is a community manager?
Every organization will need or want something different for the role they are trying to fill.
To me a community manager is a mix of support and marketing. They let people know what is going on and they listen to understand what the community wants. Some community managers may be mostly support, some may do some messaging to promote their brand message or an upcoming event, while others arrange meet-ups and write blog posts that spotlight interesting community generated content.
We just celebrated Community Manager Appreciation Day a few weeks ago and to commemorate our very special day, Marketwire and TheCommunityManager.com released a collection of community management advice from more than 600 community managers. As a community manager myself, I was interested to see what some of the answers were. Some of my faves are below.
Advice From the Trenches
“The real power of community management is that it connects directly with the customers, bypassing standard marketing channels that are seldom more than a one-way, outbound form of messaging.” (on what role community management plays in marketing)~ Cade Peterson, Sony Computer Entertainment America.
“These departments are inextricably linked. They’re like cheeseburgers and French fries. Sure, you can have one without the other, but why would you want to?” (on the relationship between customer service and the community) ~ Jenne Pedde, 2U, Inc., and TheCommunityManager.com
“You’re going to fail a lot. That’s ok. Don’t be afraid. Embrace it… ” (on advice for new community managers) ~David Spinks, Feast
“You’re only one person and there are going to be pits and peaks. If a campaign doesn’t work, learn from it and move on….” (on the biggest leson learned in community building) ~ Alexa Plew, Eventbrite
“I believe the community manager will enter the c-suite, or a similar role. Because community managers touch everything from product to customer service to marketing, there are few people (better) suited to lead the customer experience from the top down moving forward.” (on the future of community management) ~ Nick Cicero, Livefyre.
For those in the community management space – or if you want to BE in that space – give this eBook a read. You might find opinions you agree or disagree with, but there is no doubt you’ll learn something. And it just might help you feel less alone.
Also a HUGE thanks to Jason Konopinski for sending me some chocolates for #CMAD. All the rest of you better step up your game next year!
Does your company have a community manager? Have you had a great experience from a brand thanks to a community manager?
Yvette Pistorio is an account executive and community manager for Arment Dietrich. She is a lover of pop culture, cupcakes, and HGTV, and enjoys a good laugh. There are a gazillion ways you can find her online. You can find her on Twitter (Spin Sucks and personal), Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+.