But really though… what exactly is a “community manager”?
What is their main job? How do they really do it? Why should I hire someone to be in charge of my social media when it seems “ so easy” to do? These are just some of the questions people and companies tend to have surrounding community management, most of them either very limited or just plain wrong. There is almost a very subtle feeling of the work being “overrated”.
But it isn’t overrated. Not at all. As a matter of fact, a good community manager can take all of the areas of potential that a brand has, and take it to the next level.
And in this blog, we want to mention some of the areas of your business where a focus on community will provide commercial value once you hire a community manager to join your team; and because being a community-focused business has significant marketing benefits such as:
1. Increase the number of new users
Your marketing should be responsible for bringing new people to your door. No matter the size or “prestige”, your brand is nothing without people following it.
So what happens once they step in, and bring a breath of fresh air to the channels of communication with your audience? Well, by making new users feel welcome and at ease, they are more inclined to stick with you rather than one of your competitors. They create a dynamic brand, with an inherent and accessible voice ready to answer and seek the followers behind it.
2. Retain your current customers
Have you ever heard of this one?:
“It’s not that complicated, really; all I need is to invest in ads on the channel and customers will come after”
The thing is, you can spend lots of advertising dollars today to bring in new users, but without realizing that yesterday’s users are already leaving because no one was there to cultivate those ties! That’s another thing that makes community management so important; they manage relationships. It requires attention, two-sided communication, to be cultivated frequently in order to succeed and, if all goes well, attract more people to make a one-sided relationship into a community,
It costs 80% more to attract a new client than it does to keep an existing one. Do not underestimate the importance of focusing on retention.
3. Increase brand loyalty
You want your audience to be satisfied with your service so that they will return for more. A community manager develops programs to promote a pleasant community atmosphere and motivate followers to spread your content to other people to keep your audience growing organically.
Your company has the ability to bring something valuable to others, And a good community manager can point out what that is to ensure that your audience will remain as loyal customers for a long time.
4. Maintain influencer relationships
Working with influential people in your field, such as celebrities, bloggers, and social media stars, is a great way to bring your brand in front of a lot of people. And after all, what better way to build brand perception, than choosing people to talk about your brand, and who are perceived by your audience in a very positive light?
A community manager cultivates these powerful connections in order to help your startup flourish, from their first contact with the person to the QA of the content they post to ensure the best results possible for your social media.
5. Act quickly in a crisis
It is a fact that businesses make mistakes from time to time. And sometimes, these mistakes can shed a negative light on your audience.
If you annoy them in any way – for example, by running an accidentally inappropriate ad or removing a popular feature – your community manager will be the first to hear about it. And their work is to fix these mistakes, as smoothly and quickly as possible. In short, they deal with challenging circumstances and snuff out public relations fires before they spread.
6. Inform your product development
Your marketing should be responsible to inform, honestly and in detail, how your products and/or services are beneficial to your audience. That, in essence, may be the most important task any community manager has.
To ensure your users don’t quit their subscriptions or deactivate your app, you must listen to their comments, ideas, complaints, and answer them in detail. Your community manager spends the entire day listening to and connecting with these people in order to prioritize what your consumers want and provide input to your product development team.
Being a community-focused business has significant marketing benefits. When done correctly, your user community becomes an extension of your marketing staff, spreading the word about your business in their everyday life. Hiring someone to be in charge of your community’s support and growth will benefit your startup’s bottom line.
In Nomad Desk, we are just as passionate as you about your brand. And to be up to the task of making it as successful as you envision it, we have some of the most talented, attentive community managers you can find. To change your brand from a social media page – into a community.
