What does a community manager do? – Blog – The Intersection of Community, Communication and Content.
Here is a good blog entry by another person who does Online Community Management for a living. I am always given a hard time because I am on “Facebook” or about this blog. I do this for a living people. I am lucky that part of my job is actually being on FB and Twitter, and reading articles etc. I feel very fortunate that I am able to do something for a living that I actually like to do in my off time as well.
One of the most frequent questions I get asked by family members and friends is the classic, “What exactly do you do for a living?” Most of my family and friends know that I live in the technology world (my degree is in Management Information Systems and I spent the better part of the first 10 years of my career dealing hand-on with IT systems), but the digital world is huge and covers many different areas, and is actually expanding into new areas each and every day. So I thought virtual online community2it would be good to run through a quick explanation of what keeps me busy.
My current position at Life Time Fitness really involves two components, both which are very closely related, but have two different sets of disciplines and skill-sets. I am Life Time’s Community Manager and Social Business Manager. This post will explain what community management is, and in a later post I will touch on the Social Business piece.
The diverse world of a Community Manager
The job of a community manager is one of the most least-understood positions in business, but it is also one of the fastest growing positions as well. A community manager is in charge of a variety of tasks within an online community, which can either be branded or organic. This involves tasks such as, but not limited too:
* Designing a place for individuals to gather together around a shared interest,
* Develop strategies for growing the community (if that is a desired objective, which sometimes it is not)
* Develop content for members of the community to consume (for a variety of purposes) and engage with
* Moderate content that was developed by members that is not appropriate for the community
* Develop and enforce community policies
* Gather community statistics and develop reports for stakeholders
* Be an advocate for the community and an ombudsman at the same time
community-manager The community at Life Time Fitness that I perform these duties is a member-only community called “myLT”. That part of my job makes up about 50% of my time there. It is fair to say that my job is different every single day of the week. myLT is an expansive community with many different areas of interest for the members of the community to visit and engage with, like Yoga, Cycling, Running, as well as location-specific clubs like Minneapolis and Phoenix. Every month, members of the community write thousands of blog posts and discussion threads asking questions and sharing stories about a wide variety of topics like training for triathlons and losing weight.
Mixing in Community Development
Everyone has different definitions for things they do at work. Community Management is no different. Some Community Managers refer to “community development” as the actual process of developing the platform and membership base of the online community. I actually look at this “development” differently.
The future of business is 100% customer-initiated products and services. Some companies are pulling this off now, but not at a 100% level. Companies use research to determine what their customers will buy, but due to the openness of the web and the power of social channels, we can now tap into the thinking of our customers. I am working on new projects focused on having strong community social groups who can help with developing products and services in a calculated manner. This topic is a whole other blog post that I will write later.
The Softer Side of a Community Manager
Not everyone can be a community manager. I know that sounds cliché, but it is very true. Community Managers often have to take it on the chin. When members speak their mind, they usually do it to the community manager. CM’s need to be consistently respectful, helpful, and “caring” (if you want to phrase it that way). Especially in a branded community, the community manager is responsible for representing a brand and protecting a company’s image online. Walking this line can be a very difficult thing to do. There are days when jumping into the shark tank at the zoon looks like a great idea after a difficult day at work. I love the challenge, personally, and many people have told me I have that unique personality that is needed to be a warm and inviting, but yet stern enough to maintain order.
At the end of the day, I wouldn’t trade my job for anything. Being a community manager is very rewarding because there is no better feeling than connecting people with interests.