Online Communities

Community management involves building relationships with a business’s customers, both online and offline. It can include managing customer service issues, loyalty programs, events, online forums and communities, and more. The aim of community management is to create a community around the business or brand so that customers feel a stronger emotional connection to it. This ultimately builds trust in your business, which attracts new customers and nurtures loyalty in previous customers.

Community management and social media marketing are related, but they’re not the same thing. Community management focuses more on creating and nurturing relationships, while social media marketing can have a range of goals. Community management work can also take place outside of social media, including on websites, through print media, and in person. However, community managers should have social media marketing skills, as it will enable them to use social media to build a community.

A community strategy is your plan to build a community around your brand/company. This strategy should include: Identifying your target audience. Researching your intended audience thoroughly

Identifying the channels that they use. Providing them with useful content and benefits. Encouraging them to take further action (e.g. purchasing a good/service, offering feedback, recommending your brand to others). Interacting with them in a positive, compassionate way. Passing on relevant feedback. Your community strategy will depend on your brand’s goals.

Creating relationships with your customers can make your brand feel more authentic and personable. Quality community engagement sets you apart from the competition by adding a human element to your brand and establishing a strong emotional connection with your customers. Community engagement can: Increase customer loyalty. Deal with customer complaints in a positive way. Collect valuable feedback from customers. In short, community engagement benefits both your brand and your (potential) customers.

While each community manager has different duties depending on your brand and needs, most community managers: Research your potential customers and the content they respond to

create an effective community strategy. Monitor what others are saying about your business, especially online. Increase product and brand awareness among your audience. Respond to complaints and questions from customers. Nurture relationships with customers and potential customers. Create and manage online forums and groups. Gather and analyze customer feedback