Online Community Manager: a growing and developing profession. People in this position work to build, grow and manage online communities around a brand or cause.*

I was recently approached by Sprout Social to be interviewed for their Community Manager Tips segment for their blog and to be shared on their various social platforms. Here are my quick tips:

Sprout Social is a social media management tool created to help businesses find new customers & grow their social media presence. With all of the platforms out there I must say that this platform is not only aesthetically pleasing but has everything you need to successfully manage your social media presence. I’m using the free trial now and so far, really good!

If you’re considering to be an Online Community Manager, I’d follow this check list to see if you have the skills and are prepared to take on this role.

1. PATIENCE – You need a lot of it. Building a community takes time and instant gratification.. well there’s really no room for that. You’ll see smaller gratifying interactions at first within the community you’re building and eventually will see it grow into a bigger community. With time it will become easier to attract more people. Be creative, have fun and people will follow!

2. WEARING MULTIPLE HATS – Often those who are online community managers are social media managers and manage other online marketing aspects of their companies. Sometimes it works, especially since the same online voice and information flows through all the online avenues. Your followers can pick up on it. But in some cases, especially if you have a large community it can hurt your companies growth. Investing in someone to focus on one crucial aspect of your social presence, be it your tweets/posts or building a community, works in the companies benefit. More time to brainstorm new fresh ideas and more time to create compelling content.

3. ANALYTICAL – Decisions you make as a community manager are usually based on data you have gathered through your social media. Whether it was a post that was worded differently and it got more views or if it was a tweet or post directed to a specific demographic. If you can understand that data and action it for the benefit of your community. Then my friend, you’ll do just great!

4. STRONG WRITING SKILLS – You’ll be writing a few sentences or one sentence post/tweets that will have to hold a STRONG message. Can you do that? Can you send a STRONG message to your brand/companies community that will impact them?

5. ONLINE PRESENCE – Do you have a Twitter, LinkedIN, Instagram, Google+ or better yet a blog? Because if you don’t then this role isn’t right for you. Create a colourful online presence as it shows dedication and your passion for this role.

What social media managing tool do you use and what do you love the most about it?

*Wikipedia definition

Have you thought about your social marketing strategy for 2014?

Be the master of your social universe. Right now the social marketing universe is expanding at an overwhelming rate. New networks are sprouting regularly. I bet you didn’t know about Jelly. The technology that ties them together also continues to advance. With its advancement comes great opportunities.

Those who are intimidated by it all will be tempted to avoid learning. The social followers will dive in headfirst and fail. Somewhere in between are the curious souls who do their research on how to master the social networks that their customers are on. That could be YOU!

Some people think all you need is a Twitter account, or a Facebook community/business page. Reality is social is a lot more than just one platform. In order to gain success in the social marketing universe, you need to be involved in more then one platform. The more platforms you’ve dipped into, the better. Not to be confused with making accounts on different social platforms and just leaving them bare. You need activity on all of your platforms. It’s easier than you think. Upon hearing this most people get scared and think “oh my goodness, ain’t nobody got time for that“.

The trick is, use one platform as your hub station for the social universe you’ll be creating. I recommend a website or a blog.
Whenever you create a new post or put up something on your website, use tweetdeck, hoot suite, or manual copy and paste to post it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and whichever platforms you’re using. The point is, it’s all got to come back somewhere that has MORE content and information for your customers/fans/followers to engage with.

If you look at the social universe from this angle, you’ll be on your way to increasing your social network:

Foundation of your social community: Website/Blog
Social pushers of your content: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
Visual stations: Instagram, Youtube, Pinterest and Flickr

(you don’t need to be set up with all of these platforms, as some are very similar)

Increase your social network with solid information and engaging content. If you can’t manage and differentiate the use of all of your social platforms then it would be best to start with less and do your best. Less posts but amazing content is better than more useless posts and crappy content. Check out the infographic below:

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