The Evolving Role of a Community Manager (Part 1)
Community managers like hats. And that’s a good thing – because they wear several.
It’s hard to list everything a community manager does because that list varies from company to company and Web site to Web site. It’s also a moving target.
I recently spoke with a friend of mine at the Patricia Seybold Group, Matthew Lees, who was writing a report titled: “How Should You Manage Customer Communities?”
Matt asked me about my background and how my professional experience helps me do my job. I told him it does more than help me “do” my job – it helps me “shape” my job. This apparently piqued his curiosity and forced me to think back to events that have transpired since my 1988 college graduation.
This trip down memory lane both horrified and delighted me (not in that order). I told him that since graduation I’ve been a:
- Newspaper reporter/editor
- Peace Corps volunteer
- English teacher
- Marketing writer
- Technical writer
- Project manager
- Internal communications manager
- Forums moderator
- Community manager
“I should have warned you that I’ve worn a lot hats,” I told him.
He paused for a few moments.
“Well, that’s probably a good thing,” he said.
When the report was published a few weeks later, I understood what he meant.
Matt wrote that: “Community Managers could be the most well-rounded employees on the payroll. The role demands a strong mix of business, management, technical, analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills, and a wide range of experience.”
This of course made me feel better about all of the job-jumping I’ve done over the years. Yeah, that’s it … it’s all been part of my master plan! 
In Part II of this topic, I’ll talk about my specific experience as a community manager at Symantec and how that role rapidly evolved to include all of the bullets listed above. I’ll also talk about some of the cool things in the works at Cadence.
Meantime, I’d love to hear from you. If you are a community manager (or a related area), what hats do you wear? Is your job constantly evolving? Do you have a team or are you a one-person show?
Feel free to talk about anything else that’s on your mind!
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Friday, May 23rd, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Tom - great post. Can you elaborate a little about the differences between a forum moderator and community manager?
And, how exactly do you think a community manager should be measured?
Saturday, May 24th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Hey Michael,
That is an excellent question. And I’ll be sure to elaborate more on that in Part II of this topic. The quick answer is that the community manager is in charge of the big picture.
In the enterprise space, the user community is usually more than just discussion forums (which is the domain of moderators). Most corporate user communities also have a “news” section; a downloads section; local user groups … the list goes on and on.
There is also a lot going on behind the scenes that the community manger is responsible for.
In a nutshell, online community managers oversee the moderators (and are also moderators). They also manage (and in many cases, produce) content (white papers, interviews, articles, videos); work with support and product management to capture “lessons learned — or “customer-driven innovation,” as Intuit’s Scott Cook calls it. And many more tasks.
I don’t want to spoil my next entry, so I’ll stop here. ☺
Saturday, May 24th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Generalists unite! Hooray for our side!!!
Well, it’s always nice to share a conversation with someone who has a wide variety of real-world experience and insight. Makes for a better, deeper and more valuable experience — which is good!
I’m also happy to find yet another ex-journalist working on the new frontier. As journalists, we understand that the goal is communication. The medium is just the vehicle for exchanging ideas.
Cheers!
Sunday, May 25th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I had to laugh when I reflected on my own laundry list of careers over the last 12 years:
microchip tester
mountain bike tour guide
skate shop owner
PR flack
part owner of a new-marketing agency
CEO of a failed tech startup
New Media Consultant
corporate social media strategist
There might be a correlation between the eclectic resume and social media. Who better to manage a companies social media efforts than someone who’s been in the seats of multiple different customers?
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I think the job in my life that best prepared me for my role as community manager was being a waitress. Being a waitress is like being a professional plate spinner; it requires you keep track of all your customers and where they are in their food consumption process. But, more importantly, it requires you to think about their experience from their point of view–and you must adapt to meet them on their turf. For example, if a couple is embroiled in a heavy debate you soon learn it best not to check on them too often or offer them superfluous items.
Likewise, being a community manager (you can check out the community I manage here: http://communities.intel.com) also requires you to put yourself in your customer’s seat and adapt to the unique needs of each individual. Of course scale is important, but more important is treating each person who posts in the forum or comments on a blog individually. It’s about being comfortable in your own skin and being authentically human.
I look forward to your extended post where I hope you might cover the specific jobs of today’s community managers. You touched on them above but they certainly deserve more attention.
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
haha…
waitress = community manager
Makes complete sense. I used to be a dishwasher at the Old Spaghetti Factory in High School; I don’t think there is any correlation though (other than interacting with the waitresses).
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I think the reason that the best community managers/CSMS are so “diversified” is that we see the world outside of it’s silo that it exists in, because we have been in so many silo’s!
Here’s my list….the IRS just loved me…
Swim Teacher/Gymnastics Teacher
Volleyball Coach
(during grad school I worked at least 6 different jobs-I will save you the scrolling)
Outdoor Equipment Sales Guru
Receptionist
Operations for semi-pro (very semi) football team
Ticket “schleper” for semi-pro hockey club
Sales/Marketing for College Arena
Retail Furniture Sales
part owner of a new-marketing agency (copy & paste from Tac)
Corporate Social Media Gal (at least I am trying)
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
okay, i’ll chime in too .
- Marine
- Security guard
- marketing coordinator
- sales trainer
- marketing manager, many times
- social media dude
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I’m a “community manager” for Intel’s Mobile and Atom developer communities. I learn more about what that means every day, but it’s still fuzzy.
I think my best qualifications is just being a general communicator… I like to meet people, talk with them, and learn from them. Always learning more about how to do that, too.
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Ok, ok…you sucked me in too.I broke down my mktg experience b/c it is so diverse:
- nanny
- waitress
- wine & cheese department at Whole Foods (yum!)
- travel agent
- group sales for hands-on science museum
- marketing for computer manufacturer
- marketing & trade shows for instrument manufacturer
- marketing & PR for organic foods certifier
- consumer relations for organic salad company (yes, the big one)
- marketing strategist for outsource company
- marketing & PR for senior living center and nursing home
- copywriter
- independent consultant
- web producer/editor
- relationship manager
- conference account sales
- internal communications manager
- social media chick
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
I am a ‘community manager’ for Cisco’s Facebook group but it’s a job that only requires about 5% of my time so I’m definitely “wearing other hats” when I’m not in Facebook.
As for the ‘community manager’ role, Cisco has a pretty hands off approach - hence the small amount of time needed. We are really just keeping a look out for spam or inappropriate content and we update the site weekly with relevant information. For that I suppose being a good communicator and overall customer service skills are important. I did work at a daycare center in college - I’m sure communicating with a 2-year old was good practice. =)