6 Skills Every Social Media Community Manager Needs to Have!
First off, what is a social media community manager? These individuals are responsible for growing and maintaining a community on social media. They create a sense of belonging and add value for the members of the community. They augment the human element — setting the tone for brand (Baker, 2021). There are many benefits to hiring a community manager to your team, including making your social media manager's life a lot easier. Often, when there is not a community manager, the social media manager assumes responsibility for tasks a community manager would complete. The social media manager needs to focus on posting on the brand’s social media accounts, replies, and general content (Chen, 2020). Leave developing the community, scouting new customers, and encouraging current customers, to the social media community managers (Chen, 2020)!
Now, what are some skills that every social media community manager in 2022 needs to have to be successful?
6 Skills Needed for Success as a Social Media Community Manager
- Great Communication Skills!
This one is a no-brainer. A social media community manager needs to interact and engage their audience online. Speaking through the web can be difficult, it is a boundary that community managers need to know how to tackle. Being authentic in the ways they communicate online leads to success. It builds trust between the brand and customer when communication is thoughtful, authentic, and engaging (Pundir, 2021).
Having great communication skills sets apart a “just okay” community manager from an “excellent” community manager.
2. Think on Their Feet
Social media community managers need to think quickly and make snap decisions. Social media is very fast paced, and if your community manager is too slow, you may be late to respond with commentary on trending topics. They need to adapt quickly in this role and adjust their communication strategy as needed. Having a fast response time when interacting with members will put more (Pundir, 2021).
3. Good Listener
Besides great communication skills, being a good listener was another essential skill. It was also one of the most mentioned skills when actual social media community managers were asked what skills were important to be in this role. Teja Bitra, Founder of Freelancing Mindset, said “… it is more about understanding what your members are saying and asking them the right questions at the right time.” Priya Sood, who serves as the head of community at WOOP India, ensures that listening allows for everyone’s to be heard and community needs will be fulfilled (Pundir, 2021).
Let your community member feel heard!
4. Understand Brand Voice
Community managers need to understand the brand's voice. Brand voice is the distinct personality the brand takes on in every touch point and communication (Chen, 2021). It is all about being consistent! Community managers, while they are brand ambassadors, need to encompass the same voice when engaging with members.
5. Creativity is Key!
Get Creative! Community members must think outside the box when it comes to creativity. This does not mean being creative, just in the way of content creation. The way members are invited, collecting feedback, and how to increase engagement should all be thought about with a creative mindset (Pundir, 2021). Creativity can help a community meet new heights!
Do you have any of these skills and traits? Maybe, you should consider looking into community management.
Resources
Baker, K. (2021, November 18). The Ultimate Guide to Community Management. HubSpot. Retrieved February 13, 2022, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/community-management-expert-advice
Chen, J. (2020, December 2). Social media manager vs. community manager: What’s the difference? Sprout Social. Retrieved February 13, 2022, from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-vs-community-manager/?fbclid=IwAR2x4723OiglsacXGAFeU-iCqAYTcXIwgyuSUID_M1bJdnnaXRoFlAIy91c
Chen, J. (2021, June 28). Brand voice: What it is & why it matters. Sprout Social. Retrieved February 13, 2022, from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/brand-voice/
Pundir, P. (2021, December 13). 9 Skills Every Community Manager Should Have | Experts’ RoundUp. Medium. https://medium.com/community-folks/9-skills-every-community-manager-should-have-82c9d93e33e3
Swinney, A. (2019, July 29). Skills Of A Good Social Media Community Manager. Kasasa. Retrieved February 13, 2022, from https://www.kasasa.com/exchange/articles/marketing/social-media-community-manager
