What makes a city great? This work can be overbearing, but remaining organized can help professionals stay on top of their responsibilities. "The problem is you've got the keys to the brand's voice," Adobe's King said. " Our list of what makes a community great closely aligns with Conway’s. There are going to be situations, often on a daily basis, when a member of the community attacks the brand. You are not alone. ", Davidson said that she uses multiple spreadsheets that she updates daily with data across a range of metrics for a variety of people and terms. ", In each industry, the way a community manager handles social and site analytics may differ, but it's vital that this professional is educated about how communities are responding to engagement, and can determine what efforts are working and not working. Whether I am planning an event, managing vendors, reviewing a contract or creating content, success or failure is in the details.".
This person should see the brand from the perspective of a fan or consumer, and use this point of view to guide his or her engagements with the community, he added. 10 Traits That Make a Good Community The Importance of Positive Communities.
"Whether it be short form or long form, you have to be able to write," she noted. Google DC Community Manager Corrie Davidson said that the community manager, in many ways, is the face of a brand, and this person must be able to effectively communicate the message to the audience. "If we're just talking about ourselves, eventually people will turn away," he noted.
Flexibility in the workplace is key for a successful community manager. We previously asked what makes for a great neighborhood and now we're thinking bigger. Come and join us. It's no surprise that the person who is acting as a representative of the …
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For many, this means carrying the responsibilities of multiple jobs. Strong communication skills. Better Business Bureau Accredited Business. There are other people who see the world the same way you do. ", One of the most important responsibilities of a community manager's job is not to continue to push the brand's message, but to empower the audience and give it a voice, said NBC News' Quintano. "If you want to check in at 9 a.m. and out at 5 p.m., you're in the wrong field. In many industries, one role of a community manager is of a curator. "They need to be outgoing, friendly and relatable.
But being a quality community manager goes beyond having the knowledge and background to use social media networks. Both renters and homebuyers tend to gravitate to areas with similar demographics. We're using cookies to improve your experience. In any community there are people who can provide an historical perspective, valuable insights into how the area functions, and an understanding of the critical issues and what is meaningful to people. Mashable, Inc. All Rights Reserved. You need to look at things to see if they're working because people aren't always going to tell you. Did we miss any other important qualities? You have to have a cool head and remember that the audience is attacking the brand, usually, not you. "You're dealing with a bunch of different personalities. Share your thoughts in the comments below.
A good community reaches out to like-minded individuals and invites them to become part of something bigger than themselves. Images courtesy of flickr, Scott Monty, Get Satisfaction and flickr, bluefountainmedia. "One wrong entry can throw off goals and spreadsheets across our whole team, affecting other teams and projects. "When you're a community manager, you're on 24/7," said Adobe Community Manager Rachael King. But this professional also is responsible for being the voice of the company, and the audience wants to interact with someone who loves the brand as much as they do. Involvement in a positive and encouraging community has a tangible impact on... 10 Traits of Positive Communities. "Adaptability is important because the community manager wears a lot of hats," Kerpen said. When you've dealt with nothing but mean-spirited comments, hundreds of emails, demanding partners and a grueling schedule of tasks — all in a 14-hour work day — you need something other than a paycheck to keep you going. I believe not answering those questions is answering those questions. As the community manager, it is vital that your response alleviates the situation; not intensifies it. You are technically the face of the brand, so you have to deal with it. ", HuffPost Live's McDonald said that he uses analytics to figure out what the community is not telling him anecdotally. A good community is one that is at peace with itself; one that is confident and assured of its position within Northern Ireland and feels that it is making a positive contribution to wider society. Being able to demonstrate empathy is important, noted Kerpen, because a community manager must be able to effectively converse with the audience. Build tracking links, look at your website traffic, measure your reach and impressions. ", But the community manager position goes beyond the online relationship, Davidson said. Here are their Top 10 Indicators of a Great City in the Essential Ingredients article Lack of/minimal political divisiveness at the local level. "It's a very fast-paced job and there are a lot of things thrown at you at once — and you need to stay on top of it.
"The only reason we are successful is because of our audience. ", For many community managers, the job consists of managing multiple platforms, tracking feedback and then sharing this information with their employers. While the job opportunities grow, so to do the number of professionals who include community skills on their resumes and profiles. ©2020 Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe. is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company.
On LinkedIn alone, the number of people who have added "Community Management" to their skills list is up 46% year-over-year.
For a community manager who just goes through the motions, he or she is not going to be successful and the company will ultimately suffer, Kerpen noted. ", To engage a community in a discussion about a brand, a community manager must know the type of people who make up the audience, said Tim McDonald, the community manager for HuffPost Live. Unlike with other positions, there is no end of the work day for community managers. The message is: Hey! ", At HuffPost Live, McDonald said the organization realized that roughly 70% of all comments on site were in response to other comments. "We wanted to turn those comments into the conversation [on HuffPost Live]," McDonald added. When news breaks, whether the organization you represent is on the giving or receiving end, a community manager has to be available to the audience. "Passion is really important," he said.
", Community managers must also determine the best ways to handle feedback from the audience, and decide how to respond in an appropriate fashion, said Dave Kerpen, chairman of Likeable Media, a social media agency that employs community managers. Mashable, MashBash and Mashable House are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis, LLC and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission.
On the surface, it's the people, the food, the outdoor environments and transit systems, incredible art, and architecture. They'll tell you one thing but then want another. "Good or bad, something huge can happen at any time, and when it does, social is the first place it hits. They should be comfortable interacting with people offline as well as online; a natural networker.". A truly great neighborhood is one in sync with your current lifestyle. For news organizations, deciding how to engage with an audience is especially important in times of difficult news, noted NBC News Senior Community Manager Anthony Quintano. "When people ask questions, how do you answer? Here are 10 qualities a community manager should possess to improve the chances of success in the position, according to professionals who work within social media and community today. Companies are looking for professionals who can blend their skills to effectively deliver updates to a community, but also have the ability to tap into that community to collect feedback for a company to use for improving its product or delivering its message. The ability of the public to be able to name the local “movers and shakers” with ease. "On any given day, they have to be a marketer, a PR person and then a communications guy who has to react to a story.". Anything you say on behalf of the brand can and will be held against you, and can be inferred as the brand's perspective. "I believe that community managers have to be able to multitask, and that means staying organized," Likeable Media's Kerpen noted. "On days where we have really upsetting news to report on, we're very careful about the kind of stories we share, and what information we put out there. ", Community managers have to look at their positions as a lifestyle rather than a job, Google's Davidson added. A community needs to actively (and carefully) solicit other members. It's the Internet. Have a goal and reach it. This person must be able to parse through all the content coming out of an organization and determine what to share, how to share and when to share. The important starting point in developing a concept for any public space is to identify the talents and assets within the community. "The community isn't always going to tell you what they want.
You have to eat, sleep and breathe the brand.".
If you're not empathetic, you're never going to be able to to put yourself in those people's shoes, which means you won't be able to communicate a message to them.". As more companies and more industries buy into the benefits of social media and community development, the number of job opportunities available for professionals with community-building skills also continue to grow. "At the end of the day, you are the representative of that brand. "Blog posts, guest articles, emails, proposals, social content — you have to be able to craft your ideas and messages to fit any medium. "I hate when people say they can't measure the metrics of engagement," Google's Davidson said. It's no surprise that the person who is acting as a representative of the brand should have strong people skills. The work this professional does will often extend beyond creating conversations with a brand's audience on social media networks.
"We wanted to give the audience a voice on equal footing with our on-air guests.". "If you can't measure it, you aren't doing it right. We want to try to reward them as much as possible. In many ways, the community manager is the eyes and ears of a business or organization.