The main mission of the community manager

The community manager, or CM, or the web community animator, the mediator of interactive conversations, the community manager, the community manager, the person in charge of Social Media or even the social network animator's primary mission is to create and above all to federate the community of people on the web who happen to have a common interest.

It can be a brand, a hobby, a personality... He will animate their exchanges on social platforms and ensure compliance with basic rules of good conduct between users in order to perfect the image of the brand: The community manager develops and manages the presence of an organization on the Internet.

He can be independent, work in a web agency or, more and more, directly within the company.

Presentation of the community manager

Although better known since the explosion of web 2.0 in 2005, the profession of community manager has existed since the very first discussion forums on the Internet, but also on video game platforms which were multiplying and needed the support of a virtual "commercial" in order to attract more and more players.

They were then called Game Masters. Their mission, in addition to making people discover the range of their online games, was also to moderate everyone's comments in order to avoid excesses, at a time when expressing oneself in the first person was still very new on the Internet. .

Today, the community manager is no longer solely responsible for "monitoring" active members, he must above all animate and energize interactive conversations. Every registrant counts. He will be able to identify the most active members, simple contributors or prescribers, because they are the ones who create the added value that the brand needs (for the attention of other fans).

It is a mediator between customers or prospects and the brand itself. It is he who will relay the feelings of Internet users, summarize the general trend and adapt the communication according to the needs and expectations of each.

The CM is in charge of:

Identify each network where the brand could be cited in order to moderate exchanges and contribute to its good image
Create the "official" networks on which the brand will be represented (Facebook fan pages, blogs, forums, Twitter accounts, YouTube channel or Dailymotion etc.) in order to be able to communicate in its own name with its subscribers
Facilitate interactive conversations within the various networks
Write a specific charter for the use of social media
Organize events that will aim to unite fans or followers, such as a contest for example
Synthesize precise reporting of the overall opinion of Internet users in relation to the image of the brand
Always improve the presence and the virtual image of the brand
Monitor thee-reputation

Writing content optimized for social media can also be part of the community manager's duties. If the brand regularly creates content, then it may have to work with the editors and graphic designers for each publication and only ensure the proper distribution of it.

Action zone

Whether he is part of the parent team of the brand or whether he is external to the company, the community manager must have precise knowledge of the members of the network that he will have to entertain. Very often on a freelance basis, he is however more and more often hired within the organization's communication department. In this case, he may be called upon to manage the publications under the approval of the management and in collaboration with the social media manager, the director of the community managers if several represent the brand.

The different tasks of the community manager

Developing brand presence online

Create profiles on exchange interfaces, in particular social media
Write a charter for the use of social networks for the entity he represents
Moderate exchanges between users
Look for bloggers or other influencers who could represent the brand
Define specific objectives for each of its missions
Recruit new fans
Intermediate between user requests and the services concerned

Create links between members

Spreading your message through the voice of community members
Create virality through debates and exchanges on specific topics
Ensure the exchanges and the smooth running of the discussion and relaunch the conversation
Build fan loyalty on and off social media (“real” events)

Reporting

Report and know how to analyze overall satisfaction, positive and negative
Monitor visit statistics, percentage of interaction and clicks to the site
Continuously improve social media presence

Improve technique

Keep a complete history of all actions taken
Follow the visual or technical evolution of the various social media and know how to submit to them
Identify any malfunction between the networks and the site (or the application)

Day before

Stay informed of all web best practices and consumer habits on each social platform
Watch over the competition, their lines of approach, their qualities and their faults
Know the latest social media guidelines and ensure the brand remains compliant with them
Identify trends (new networks, new tools)

The knowledge of the community manager

The community manager must have a broad knowledge of the brand or entity he represents, its history, its identity on the Internet, its values, its products and its prospects.

Obviously, he will have to know all the rules for using social platforms, for example the Facebook business page or Google My Business.

The CM must have a good understanding of virality on the web, know the main collaborative platforms and their target and editorial skills that will allow him to reach the community with impactful messages.