Community Manager, the friend who cherishes your social media community

In the era of “all-digital” where companies are forced to digitize by competition and more recently by the pandemic, the role of the Community Manager is heightened. To stand out as a brand on social networks where the offer is increasing, many factors need to be taken into account. One of the most important is the quality of your Community Management.

To the eyes of the novice, this job only requires mastery of social networks. Therefore, any user could theoretically take on this responsibility. This stereotype often leads new businesses to be disappointed. They think the task will be simple, barely time-consuming, and that promoting their brand will be easy.

FALSE and we will see why!

| A creative in the company

To communicate effectively on social networks, it is necessary to ensure mastery of them, but it is also necessary to know how to use various design, video or audio editing software. Depending on the time of year, the client, or the recurring themes, the CM will have to innovate and be inventive and show adaptability as Myriam, a freelance community manager, explains:

“In the morning I can work for a design brand that wants to be friendly with its customers, by calling them by their first name, for example. In the afternoon, if I’m in insurance, I will have to be very formal.”

A Community Manager is therefore above all a creative person, capable of adapting their speech to the employer to provide them with the best possible service. They thus promise the quality and good frequency of publication of the content. Indeed, an account, regardless of the network, is dictated by an implicit editorial line that everyone who interacts with it must follow, the uniformity of the content being of primary importance. (Graphic charter, theme, ideas, etc.)

Next comes the moderation or exchange phase. Showing your customers that you care about them and recognizing their engagement, “even if it’s just a smiley!” says Myriam, Community Manager at Netino by Webhelp: “We show that a human is there, it’s not just a robot that responds mechanically.”

These two activities are accompanied by a “reporting” phase, in concrete terms, a return on activity at a given time that allows the relevance of a post or a marketing campaign to be evaluated. Engagement or conversion will be measured to determine what works or not.

The Community Manager also serves as an intermediary between the influencer, a key role in digital marketing, and the brand. They must identify those who are most in line with the company and think with them about actions to be taken, always innovating: “The sports halls are closed at the moment, for example, so we are forced to adapt. We are setting up remote sports sessions, nutrition advice, etc.”

| Indispensable Community Manager

It is no longer necessary to demonstrate that the success of a brand is due to its customers. They bring the company to life, dictate areas of improvement, and convey your values. On social networks, this will be expressed by direct interactions, comments or reactions to the content published.

“It was originally a niche profession, for connoisseurs, but it is now a recognized profession that is professionalizing.” says Alexa Gal, Business Developer at Netino by Webhelp, it is a profession in full expansion. As evidenced by the increase in negative comments, multiplied by eight since 2014.

A single dissatisfied user can lead many others who probably wouldn’t have voiced their complaints without them. Some of these users are highly followed and have a close-knit community. By engaging with them in the right way, a healthy de-escalation can be achieved. Preventing bad buzz and pacifying a relationship is also one of the attributes of a Community Manager.

The opposite is also worth noting. 39% of consumers share useful feedback and 31% of them respond to your surveys. This feedback helps improve customer understanding, and it’s important to show that you’re listening to reinforce your relationship.

To build a strong brand image with its own codes and a customer relationship based on the long term, investment in this area is necessary: “Community Management brings your brand to life. It’s like it’s a real person with real interactions.”