When you hear the phrase “community management,” what is the first thought that comes to mind? If you’re asking yourself, “What even is community management?” then you’re in good company with many other business owners who are also trying to discover exactly what community management is and why it’s essential for their brand.
Every business is – or should be – built on community and the ability to connect with your audience to make them feel they belong. Loosely defined, community management is creating and maintaining authentic relationships between your employees, clients, partners, vendors, and potential clients. These relationships humanize your brand and develop connections unique to you. It’s important to cultivate these brand-specific connections. You can also make the most of the fact your audience can’t get these connections from other businesses.
Community management also allows you to learn more about your audience and what they expect from you. You can ask for their feedback and ideas in a very candid, natural way. In a world where disconnection is common, your company can bring this breath of fresh air to your audience.
So, where do you even start with community management? Let’s break it down to a couple of focus areas.
Define.
Define your audience and what they want to hear. By clearly defining your audience, you can better captivate their attention and engage with them personally.
Identify the individuals who regularly interact with your online presence and ask what they want to see from you. Investigate the other brands they engage with online and watch their social media. Researching your audience allows you to intentionally tailor your communication to them and meet them where they are in their lives. Think about your favorite companies online and how they make you feel. Why do you connect with them, and how can you help your audience feel this connected to your brand?
Engage.
Engage with your audience by responding to their comments and messages and interacting with them as much as possible. Engagement with your audience organically happens when you share quality content, but it also depends on your consistency. It is important to post consistent content that aligns with your brand and is engaging for your audience. A great way to easily post engaging content is to base it on your audience’s feedback. If you share content they want to see, everyone will interact with your posts and candidly share with others. The best engagement is natural engagement.
Listen.
Listen to feedback from your community. It’s a tough call, but not every post is great, and not every relationship is perfect. Listen to all of the feedback from your audience, both positive and negative. Positive feedback is a great way to identify what aspects of your community resonate with your audience and build on them. Negative feedback can be difficult to hear, but it can be the most effective. It is impactful to recognize what content is not connecting well with your audience and how you can improve it for future posts.
Adjust.
Adjust your plans based on your audience and their engagement. You can have the best intentions, but sometimes they’re still not well received, and flexibility is the best mentality when it comes to community management. Sometimes your content is intentional, consistent, and engaging, but it still misses the mark. When this happens, dive in and look at which aspects didn’t work. As difficult as it might be, content that doesn’t resonate with your audience is a great learning opportunity. You can recognize what is not working and adjust accordingly.
Your community management is your opportunity to make your business personal. Don’t miss out on your unique ability to humanize your business. Interested in community management for your business and other marketing initiatives? Reach out to chat with someone from our team.