According to Radian6, a Community Manager wears these “Hats:” Ambassador, Storytelller & Face-of-the-Brand.
It occurred to me that of all the hats a Community Manager can wear, perhaps no hat is as big, bold and beautiful as the “Passion Hat.”
Everyone says they are passionate. And they probably are. After all, passion is just a strong emotion. But having a Community Manager with passion alone doesn’t suffice. They must have a “relevant” passionate – passion for your company, brand, product(s), service(s), customers, industry, etc. Do they have to be the Landon Donovan of Soccer? Damn right they should be! Imagine if you had a Community Manager out there talking to your audience day-in and day-out with the same passion that drives Landon?
Your company is in the “market” for a new Community Manager. How do you go about finding this person and what are other things to think about?
1. Listen.
You want your social media employees to be constantly out there listening. Take that one step further, listen for people who are talking about you, your industry or your niche in a passionate way. Identify them. Then perhaps follow them for awhile to see how engaged they are, how they represent themselves and what they know about the topics that might be beneficial for your Community Manager to know.
2. The Nanny who doesn’t like Children.
Would you hire a nanny who didn’t like children? Or a mechanic who barely knew cars? Absolutely not! So then why might you ever consider hiring (for example) a Fitness Community Manager who never worked out and never interacted online with anyone who does?
3. Coffee Date.
Radian6 made note that the Community Manager acts as though they are, “sitting down having coffee with your community.” I couldn’t agree more. You don’t want your Community Manager out there blasting your deals, promotions and products. You want them conversing, engaging and interacting. You want to see them as a part of something, rather than leading the “salesman” efforts. If you don’t think this person can just hang out for awhile with your customers and potential customers, they will probably not make for a very good Community Manager.
4. Communicator.
Radian6 also spoke a lot to the point that the Community Manager must be a great communicator. Not only is it important that they can engage and communicate with the online community, but they must also be able to communicate with each and every internal department. Questions arise online, and there will be times that the Community Manager does not know how to answer with 100% conviction. The Community Manager should be empowered to reach out to the department or individual who would know the best answer. Within an organization communication is key. We have extended this via the Community Manager to all outliers of an organization today as well. The Community Manager needs to have great social, written and verbal communication.
Your thoughts: Can you have a Community Manager who doesn’t have passion for your company, brand, product(s), service(s), customers, industry, etc?
(Note: Click HERE for the Radian6 Community Management Webinar Recap, Part 1. Make special note of these fabulous presenters – Lauren Vargas, Teresa Basich, Katie Morse, and Lauren Fernandez.)
