What is community management?
With the rise of social media, new careers have emerged. Companies have invested in platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and their presence on social media is now essential. They have therefore had to find professionals capable of using these new media to communicate, to nurture their brand image and to raise their profile.
A relatively recent profession: it was only in the early 2010s that Community Managers carved out a place for themselves within companies. Since then their numbers have grown steadily and their role has become indispensable.
In 2019, the profession was still very female and very young. 69% of the community managers surveyed by the Blog du Modérateur were women, and 65% were aged between 21 and 30. Who better than a digital native to speak to a young audience, often from the same generation?
What does a community manager do?
The Community Manager, also known as the Social Media Manager, is in charge of managing communities, in the literal sense of the word. This digital communication specialist is in fact the manager of the accounts of a brand, a company or an association across the various social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. The CM is responsible for regularly posting relevant content to showcase the organisation, to bring a community to life, to unite it and to generate engagement among the people who follow those accounts.
The idea is to use social media to communicate differently, in particular about the organisation’s news, its values and the way it works, in order to build a relationship of trust with potential customers. Maintaining that special connection, for a brand for example, can later translate into a purchase. The community manager may also call on influencers in the sector.
Social media can also be used to raise a company’s profile. As well as engaging the existing community, the Community Manager will often need to grow it by attracting new users to the pages and accounts they manage.
A true all-rounder, they may be called upon to post content, reply to comments, moderate reviews, monitor their employer’s online reputation on social media, and then track and analyse their posts to measure their engagement rate, their click-through rate and the number of likes, in other words how effective they are. The CM is usually a skilled writer, must have flawless spelling, and may create video and visual content from scratch that is relatively playful and suited to social media. Their aim is also to get noticed, so a degree of originality is expected of them, while remaining consistent with their company’s values.
In the sports sector, they may work for an equipment manufacturer, a specialist media outlet, a federation, a club or even an athlete. In that case, they will relay live information on social media during a sporting event. Responsiveness is the watchword of their day-to-day work. The CM can ride the wave of events involving their organisation to raise its profile, while avoiding any bad buzz that could harm the brand image they are there to maintain.
The essential qualities and skills of a community manager
To work as a Social Media Manager, it is important to bear in mind that the role is multidisciplinary. They therefore need to be comfortable in several areas in order to carry out their tasks. To get noticed and grow the community of the company they represent, a great deal of originality, a certain amount of diplomacy and sometimes humour will come in handy. A good Community Manager therefore needs to be:
- Creative
- Responsive
- Analytically minded
Salary and career progression
The Community Manager earns an average of €30,000 net a year, or around €2,500 a month. But this figure can vary from one company to another, depending on the responsibilities they are given, and also as they gain experience. Their salary can then rise to as much as €50,000 net a year.
Once they have proved themselves, the CM or Social Media Manager can aim for more senior roles in larger organisations. They may be asked to take charge of all of a brand’s communications or become a web project manager. They may also choose to go freelance and work for themselves offering their services as an expert in social media management and online reputation.
What training do you need to become a community manager?
To work in this field, it is essential to acquire the fundamentals of communication and digital marketing. Students can choose to specialise in the sports sector through their programme, but also during work placements, which allow them to put into practice what they have learnt in class.
The level required varies from one company to another. However, it is advisable to obtain at least a three-year undergraduate qualification such as a bachelor’s degree in communication and web marketing in order to work as a community manager for a company in the sports sector.
As this career calls for a wide range of skills, students often go on to master’s level, which is always an advantage when it comes to landing a job. In 2019, 54% of people working in the sector held a five-year degree and 87% of them had at least a three-year degree, according to the BDM. Community management is therefore not a career you can enter without a qualification, and it is hard to succeed without solid academic grounding.
