This professional figure, so fashionable in recent years, is the one that refers to the person in charge or manager of the internet, online, digital or virtual community, or community manager who acts as an auditor of the brand in social media. With a total incidence to develop or carry out all kinds of strategy in regards to digital marketing.
In any case, and to develop this professional task. The role that training plays is no less true. Not surprisingly, a self-respecting community manager is the company's spokesperson in the digital environment, and as such, must be a excellent communicator. Both within the company and in its external relations and it is a part that must contribute with a certain professional proficiency. To the extent that it can come from the field of journalism, advertising, marketing or communication. Also supported by specialized training in digital marketing and social media management.
While on the other hand, one must try to avoid comparison with a social media manager since they are different professional figures although they can be complemented at some point in their professional stage. Because they are two different profiles, which complement each other and must be reported, but with different functions. Although many times the same professional assumes the competences of both.
Community manager: its most relevant functions
You are surely wondering what is the profile that this professional figure should provide. Well, to begin with, it must be a person who likes social networks and provides high levels of professional empathy, creativity and desire to improve to interact through new technologies and of course on the Internet. But not only, but on the contrary, it must be accompanied by solid knowledge in other disciplines or subjects, such as those that we are going to expose below, among some of the most relevant:
- Strategy design
- Community management
- Evaluation and management of processes and projects
- Crisis management
- Customer service
- Tools 2.0
Within this general context, that these highly qualified professionals contribute as an added value an excellent network of influence on social media that helps to better carry out the strategies in the planning of electronic commerce. Whatever its nature and the direction it takes from its business guidelines. In this way, the community manager can become a strong support for correct decision-making in the direction of the digital business.
How do I know if I need it for my eCommerce?
This is the key question in this class of companies and it can be answered with some ease in the approaches. Because at the end of the day what it is about in the end is to look above other technical considerations for other valuable content of the sector or field of the company for which it works that may be of interest to its followers. This is one of the aspects that you should consider to know if you really need this professional figure from now on.
Because on the other hand, we must also stress the relevant fact that the community manager is a person who must know and address other disciplines. Because it cannot be forgotten that it fulfills multidisciplinary functions. As in the following cases that we expose you below:
Know your own environment a little better to be more effective at your companies at all times. Where the most active users or the most influencers to bring out these functions from now on.
Build empathy cwith your community. To the point this is important, it can be one of the most relevant keys to the success or not of a good community manager. In this sense, it is essential to generate an emotional bond with our users, who interact with the content we generate, getting them to get involved and add value to all their actions.
Do I need an eCommerce for my business?
It is the moment to consider after having analyzed what a community manager really is to establish the need of whether I require this figure for the start-up and development of an eCommerce. From this approach, there is no doubt that to know if we need a community manager we will work with a simple discard process with which I evaluate the companies that I advise.
Well, there are a number of online businesses where it is more urgent against a figure of these characteristics. Because its own characteristics require it and therefore we are going to put the list of companies that can benefit more from social networks. Where they can play a very important role in making their decisions. As for example, in the following cases:
- Clothing retailers
- Electronics retailers
- Companies that provide online products or online services
- Companies that provide logistics or parcel services
- Second-hand objects sale companies
- Consulting
- Lawyers
- Home and sporting goods stores
Another aspect that we must analyze to include this professional figure in our development team is that which has to do with the objectives we pursue in our store or online business. And where the following functions that we offer at the moment stand out.
Along with the objectives of the company / brand, develop a strategic plan on Social Networks where measurable and tangible objectives are established (number of followers, “I like you”, RT's, number of visits from Social Networks, etc.)
Analyze the data obtained of measurement tools and make changes in strategy if they are really necessary.
Interact, listen, and troubleshoot are the 3 main keys that every Community Manager must know how to carry out.
Use all the information for the benefit of the company, previously managed and organized, that it receives from the users or followers of the brand.
So that after all that we have linked to its functions, it is the right time to ask the ultimate question: are you interested in having a Community Manager for your online store? It may be that some cases are, but in others it will not really be necessary from any point of view.
How to choose this professional figure?
This is another of the most relevant approaches that you have to do from now on. Among them is the fact of counting or mastering several languages to maintain a much more fluid relationship from this moment on.
Choosing Community Manager is, exactly, mastering several languages in addition to Spanish, or at least mastering English. And it is that now you may not dedicate yourself to selling abroad, but with the ease and opportunities that eCommerce offers, you really never know.
In addition, that in this way you can see and analyze what foreign competition does in social media and therefore, be able to apply these techniques in your brand.
Be an innovative person from the beginning
Your brand's success on social media will be based on content. Whether it is text through post, videos, photographs, infographics, direct ... without a doubt, when choosing Community Manager, they must be creative in terms of the content they share, know the tastes of your clients and design and create valuable publications for themselves. In this sense, if you have knowledge of video recording and editing, it is better, since video is currently what is best disseminated.
Under no circumstances should you forget that a Community Manager must move in very innovative fields to carry out their work with guarantees of success. Not surprisingly, it is one of the functions that require further learning in these skills so necessary for the smooth running of an online store or commerce.
Know your commercial brand thoroughly
It is more than obvious, to be able to correctly communicate the values of your brand, know how to sell your products or services ... you must know the company perfectly. For this reason, it is often better to have an internal CM, since they will get to know the business better than a CM outside of it. In any of the cases, with a domain over everything related to the commercial brand that you represent at that time.
Resolutive in decisions
Finally, and as for everything in life, one of the qualities of this professional profile is that you are above all and above all decisive. That is, you must understand the metrics and data that emerge from the management of each social network. Each one has an "Analytics" section where we can see the details of our management and that can give some other clue about what we have to do.
Therefore, and by way of conclusion, it will be completely necessary that you know how to choose a Community Manager in the correct way. Among other reasons, because there are many things it can bring you.