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A community manager acts as a liaison between a company and its online community, interacting with members through social networks, message boards, and games. They communicate the company’s policies and marketing efforts and oversee moderators. The job requires good observation and listening skills, familiarity with the community, and experience with social media. Travel may be required for events.
A community manager is employed by a company to serve as a liaison between the company and the online community it founded or manages. Examples of an online community include social networks, message boards, and interactive multiplayer games. Community managers interact with the people who form the community through the use of the networking system inherent in the community itself and also through other media tools, such as external websites and social networks.
The ability and ability to interact well with people is an essential component of a community manager’s job. This means being able to accurately share observations about the community with the company, as well as communicating the company’s policies and intentions to the community at large. A community manager also acts as the company’s marketing arm, such as announcing new services and products. Employees and volunteer moderators of an online network are also typically overseen by a community manager.
Online community managers work with new Internet-based media, such as social media and video streaming sites, to carry out their roles. Most companies prefer to hire a community manager with a degree and experience using social media for business purposes. Some community managers start the job after a stint volunteering as a moderator for an online forum or social network. The work is often unstructured and undefined in terms of responsibility, due to the ever-evolving technology, practices, and progression of the online community itself and the field of community management. It is usually up to the community manager to create a schedule tailored to the needs of the company and the community.
Community management is a desk job, with a standard 40-hour workweek. Travel may be required to attend seminars and social media conventions, as well as to interact with fans and members of the online community at live events held by the company. Good observation and listening skills are essential to connecting a business with the people who make up an online social network of any kind.
To best relate to a company’s fan base and community members, it is also important for a community manager to be very familiar with and well versed in all aspects of the community being managed. Many Community Managers are also fans and participants of their own community, which allows them to empathize and better connect people with the company. Understanding and communicating between a company and its customers is the ultimate task of a community manager; the unique nature of the online environment allows this to be done in an innovative way.
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