The Community Manager is the professional who is in charge of managing the presence of a company, institution or organization on social networks. This is a task that should not be entrusted to just anyone if you want to obtain results based on planned objectives. Only the person trained to perform this task will be able to carry out adequate planning, prepare a Social Media Plan, develop a calendar of actions and monitor them adequately to know if the defined goals are being achieved.
Let’s put an end to the myth that anyone can manage a company’s social networks
It is still a relatively recent profession, which is reaching a certain degree of maturity, and more and more companies consider the figure of the Community Manager – or Social Media department – crucial within their organizational charts when it comes to achieving their objectives. . People started talking about it at the end of the last decade, when Facebook and other social networks launched company profiles. It is at that moment when the need is perceived to name that professional who is in charge of managing clients and potential clients of a company on the different social platforms.
But even though it has been evolving for more than a decade, many managers are still wondering what qualities they should look for when choosing the person who will be in charge of managing their company’s social networks. What qualities should a good Community Manager have?
The 17 qualities of a good Community Manager
1-He is a qualified professional. It is the fundamental quality. Every community manager must be specifically trained to manage the presence of any brand on social media and master the 2.0 tools and environment to perfection. Additionally, you should be aware that it will need to be constantly recycled. His profession is constantly evolving.
2-He has communication skills. You must generate conversation with social media users and be able to transmit the company’s messages effectively and provide value. You will have to adapt the content to the language of the Internet, respecting the tone and editorial line of the brand, paying special attention to spelling, grammar and punctuation correction.
3-He is able to listen. In order to interact and converse with community members, the community manager must remain attentive to their comments at all times and value their suggestions.
4-Knows how to keep silent. You should only issue messages when it will add value to community members. If you don’t have something interesting to communicate, it is better to stay put and not publish for the sake of publishing.
5-He has temperance. You must be patient with criticism and negative comments. She must adopt a conciliatory attitude and will never lose her temper or get carried away by visceral feelings when offering a response.
6-Know your brand perfectly. You must know everything about the company whose social networks you manage: both its history and its current reality, its portfolio of products and services, its future plans…
7-Know the competition well. You know who your company’s direct competitors are and you know both their weaknesses and their strengths. You must be up to date with their launches and news, as well as their use of their social networks.
8-Know your community. You must know who the brand’s target audience is, as well as the tastes and preferences of the users to whom you will direct your messages. For example, what times of the day or days of the week are most likely to receive information from the company.
9.He is a planner. Their actions are previously thought out and correspond to a strategy defined and matured in advance. You must even plan how to react to unforeseen situations.
10.It is analytical. You must carry out exhaustive control and analyze, generating reports, each of your actions.
11.He is creative. To attract the attention of followers, you must create content, making it valuable to both the brand and consumers.
12-It is proactive. If you are proactive, you will be able to know what users expect from the brand and you will be able to anticipate their needs.
13-Has an open mind. You must be innovative, anticipating the tools that will succeed in the future, think of new ways to engage the community and not be afraid of unexplored experiments.
14-He has the ability to react. If an action does not give the expected result, react quickly to find a solution and reorient the strategy. He knows that trial and error often works, and he learns from mistakes.
15-He is decisive, versatile and organized. You may have to manage several accounts on one or different social networks by changing the tone or way of communicating. You need to be a methodical, organized professional who masters management, programming, analysis tools… that make your work easier.
16-He is a committed professional. You should always keep in mind that you are the company’s spokesperson on the Internet and will always speak on its behalf. He will never give priority to his personal opinions nor will he have excessive prominence.
17-He has common sense. This is the fundamental characteristic. You must act in accordance with common sense, especially when you have to face situations not foreseen in strategic plans.
Finding a professional who brings together all these qualities is not an easy task, which is why choosing the right community manager for each company is essential.
If you also want to train and learn techniques and tools to take advantage of social networks in corporate environments, be sure to read our book «The Community Manager Encyclopedia«.
