You might be a social media community manager if you can answer ‘yes’ to these 10 questions

1. Are you a people person?

In other words, you don’t have a “dogs are better than people” magnet on your fridge, even though it’s 2020 and no one would judge you. Not all social media community managers are extroverts, but they truly enjoy interacting with people. They value others and are emotionally invested in their relationships with community members.

April Ludgate is not a social media community manager. See example:

2. Do you like spending time on your computer?

Social media community managers must be active, present, timely and responsive, so their computer is their best friend. Along with committing to a lot of time online, Deepak Sahoo suggests keeping hustle mode on:

“Social Hustle is an essential skill for a community manager. [It’s] an ability to reach out and coordinate with a large number of members, and at the same time he/she has to be an active node of information exchange within the community.”

All that work translates to quite a bit of screen time. I recently created a closed Facebook group, and I’m on my laptop twice as much as usual.

3. Can you thoughtfully resolve problems?

When I was young, my little sister and I had countless petty arguments. My dad (a lawyer) always encouraged me to “defuse the situation,” and I think his advice applies to managing social media communities.

Problems, big and small, require patience and artful confrontation. If problems are left unresolved, a community can quickly become a toxic place. Carrie Melissa Jones recommends a comprehensive stance on managing conflict in communities:

“There are two ways we must manage conflict: both reactively after it happens and proactively every single day, to instill a resilient culture in our communities from the inside-out. What we want to do … is create a strong community at the core so that when conflict occurs, it does not destroy what we have worked so hard to build.”

4. Are you social media savvy?

This skill is self-explanatory. If you don’t know how to use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., you might want to brush up on your social media skills before you wade into the waters of social media community management. If you’re in school, your university might offer a free Lynda subscription, which comes with hundreds of helpful social media tutorials.

5. Are you a good listener?

In social media communities, people need to feel seen and heard — especially because digital spaces lack face-to-face connection. When you intentionally listen to your community members, you can apply what you discover to help your community evolve into an atmosphere that is reflective of the members who shape it.

6. Are you an optimist?

According to Paras Pundir, social media community managers run on positivity:

“Having a positive attitude is so crucial because a community manager has to deal with many different personalities, backgrounds, and differences of opinion on every single day.”

A friend introduced me to the amusing term, “pathological optimist,” and I think that might be the most accurate label for social media community managers.

7. Do you know how to engage people?

At the heart of a successful social media community is a rich web of relationships, and relationships stem from authentic conversation. If you know how to engage people — how to inspire consistent interaction among members — you can rest assured that you are capable of maintaining a bustling community.

8. Is content creation your forte?

Remember the importance of engaging your community members? One of the best ways to do this is with fresh, creative content. Whether you’re constructing a poll, designing a visually appealing graphic or sharing a thought-provoking post, social media community managers are passionate about content creation. They’re digital storytellers.

9. Can you make strategic decisions?

When managing a community, it’s essential to recognize what works, what doesn’t and what actions need to be taken — and fast. A social media community manager makes calculated decisions that can be tied back to a solid strategy.

10. Do you like coffee?

OK, you don’t have to like coffee to be a top-notch community manager, but it helps to have a caffeinated sidekick to keep you going. Spend a day in the life with Brand24’s community manager, Magda Urbaniak, and you’ll see why.