Not only because you have a website and Twitter; it means that you are an expert in Inbound Marketing. The Community Manager or the person in charge of the Internet community is the one who is aware of and strategically manages all the electronic media that a company has to advertise. In the special case of Inbound Marketing the Community Manager is of great importance, since thanks to this person, digital marketing can achieve its goal of converting potential prospects into clients.
The Community Manager is like the person in charge of public relations and customer service, but online, which is constantly analyzing what consumers need or want; as well as the person in charge of sustaining, increasing and defending the company’s relations with its current clients. They are people who must be immune to insults and should be able to get the best feedback, both good and bad comments, thus generating an excellent Inbound Marketing.
Another of its functions is to create fully digital content completely specialized depending on the digital platform where it will be displayed. That is to say, his work not only consists in monitoring, but also in designing the published information, separated by segments; to avoid that what is published on the website is exactly what is on Facebook, Twitter and in the blog, causing customers to be disappointed and end up getting bored and changing company.
However, nowadays it is inevitable not to have people in charge of that specific area, because you are missing a very important point in the sales process, which is customer service. Every company needs sales or income to stay current, but what happens when your niche is reduced to just your community or a single city? Your income is limited, however, through digital platforms your market niche can be expanded to areas that you thought were unattainable or customers that you previously did not consider interested.
In general, a community manager in inbound marketing must:
- Manage the brand on the Internet.
- Monitor the competition.
- Have active listening in social networks.
- Create content for the Web, blog, social networks, etc.
- Update daily all electronic platforms.
- Control and analyze online positioning.
The advantages for an organization / company, regardless of its size, of having a Community Manager, can be seen from several points of view:
– On the part of the clients: in general they will feel better served, listened to and valued by the company, since their comments will really be taken into account and they will receive a response in this regard. Causing them to become loyal customers to the company for longer than the average, just like they will recommend the company in a good way.
– By brand: indirectly generates an excellent image of the brand, having varied and updated content, will make you position both in search engines and in the market, your customers will perceive you as a responsible, creative brand that generates commercial value; without falling into everyday or traditional.
– On the part of the workers: also the fact of having a person specialized in the area, and in the best of cases, with people prepared for them; guarantees a quality result. Different employees will not have to worry about doing that job they probably do not know and waste time on it. As for the Community Manager himself, it will be very important for the rest to recognize their work, and be able to perform in the best way possible.
Undoubtedly all are excellent advantages if you take into account that for efficient results, you have to hire the best. The management of electronic platforms is not directly linked to age and the fact of having accounts in social networks, does not guarantee that you know how to analyze the data; you have to know how to understand technical and marketing concepts. So pay close attention to your staff, keep them updated and documented constantly new content, new trends and fashions among the society.
Finally, it may be that if you are a start-up company, do not have the necessary income to hire a specialized Community Manager or that probably among the founders themselves want to take the business forward. In principle this option does not have anything bad, if it is executed in the correct way. Some recommendations are that the person in charge take a small course in the subject and feel passion for the tasks that he / she will perform, as well as being in constant communication with the rest of the members, so that everyone can understand the terms and be aware of how the company is seen in electronic media, and from there, generate strategic planning.
Thus generating a considerable increase in customers and therefore in the final sales and revenue of the company. So do not stay behind with the internet and exploit all the tools that this can give you, and more importantly without major investments. Stop competing with the same marketing practices of 10 years ago and project a better future for your business based on creativity, innovation, technology and people’s talent.
