What Is the Difference Between a Community Manager and a Social Media Manager?

Many will think that a “community manager” and a “social media manager” are not different or that it is just another name for the person who sits in front of the computer and begins to manage social networks.

Furthermore, there are now more derivations and intersections between the two positions, causing more confusion than ever before. It even seems that these specialists have simpler tasks than they are. However, the reality is very different, so that we will see the specificity of each position, their differences, and their points in common.

What is the distinction between a social media manager and a community manager?

A community manager is the professional in charge of having constant contact with the users of a given social network. It represents the brand within a platform in which it interacts directly with customers.

As a social media manager, you can also do the same. But its main role is to elaborate on the marketing strategy that will be implemented on social networks, manage the publication of content, and perform the analysis of results.

What is a Community Manager (CM)?

He is the executor of the strategy for social networks. He is the one who represents the brand and watches over its image. A community manager is responsible for communicating and understanding the brand’s followers to know their positive and negative opinions. In addition, he is the person who constantly seeks the active participation of users to create engagement with the brand.

A community manager should keep up to date on the new tools available on online social media. You should also be aware of best practices, and other organizations and companies are active on social media. In this way, the company it represents can continue to be a pioneer in adopting emerging technologies.

In addition, the community manager must know public relations. You should participate in professional networks by interacting with your peers to liaison between the development and sales departments. Similarly, it would help contact thought leaders and communication professionals through online forums or attend events to boost brand awareness.

The Functions of a Community Manager

A Community Manager must be responsible for analyzing the context in which the market is and the results that the strategy is obtaining so that in this way, he can communicate it to the Social Media Manager.

In situations of negative interaction, the community manager must identify, correct errors, and contact users so that the situation does not become harmful to the brand’s image. Below, we give you a small list of their main responsibilities:

1. Contribute to the development of the digital marketing strategy.
2. Foster a sense of community around the brand and build relationships.
3. Monitor online conversations and events to ensure that the company participates effectively and is being represented.
4. Measure the impact of the actions you have been developing.
5. Manage, maintain, and ensure the success of the company’s blog.
6. Participate in the creation of the online community plan.
7. Create engaging and quality content.

What reports does the community manager deliver?

The reports or reports that the community manager delivers are addressed to the Social Media Manager. With these reports, you can measure and analyze communication effectiveness between the brand and its audience. Among the most requested reports are the following:

1. Report on social media results
2. Create quantitative measures according to business objectives.
3. Qualitative report of consumer responses and how they behave and what users think.
4. See what the competition is doing.
5. The number of interactions that have occurred on each social channel is the cost of advertising.
6. Make suggestions and comments on the brand’s communication on social networks and during meetings with the managers and executives of the company.

The objectives of a community manager

The objectives will vary according to the requirements of each company, but some are practically indispensable:

1. Improve the “engagement” between the community and the brand.
2. Create and maintain user relationships.
3. Take care of the online reputation of the brand.
4. Create relationships with influencers or celebrities.
5. Increase the number of followers.
6. Increase conversions.

The skills and qualities of a community manager

Among the main qualities that every successful community manager must have are the following:

1. Organize everything you do on social media.
2. To make a good impression, you need to be empathetic and quick with responses to followers.
3. Have patience and know-how to communicate properly.
4. Be extremely strategic in your actions.
5. I have a lot of creativity and know-how to improvise when necessary.

How to Become a Community Manager

Once you are clear about everything that goes into being a community manager, you can start looking for ways to become one. Although it is a relatively new profession, there are plenty of options to learn how to develop in this job. Many of the professionals dedicated to this work come from careers in marketing and social communication, such as advertising, journalism, audiovisual communication, or graphic design.

In any case, you must bear in mind that, like any career, it requires dedication and an interest in continuing to learn. For this, you can resort to community manager courses, books, websites, and events that help you become the best. You will notice that there is a lot of content and options to learn how to develop in this work. However, what is important is that you get the most out of all the information you acquire. Everything you learn can be complemented to help you forge a great professional profile.

Workspaces of a Community Manager

An expert community manager must be highly trained and prepared to face the various challenges that arise when building and safeguarding the brand’s identity on social networks. With this in mind, you may be able to carry out your work in various areas, such as the following:

1. Design of strategies for communication in the various digital environments.
2. Management of the brand’s virtual communities
3. Evaluation and management of processes and projects of the brand.
4. Crisis management, in the face of possible expressions of public dissatisfaction with the brand. There is also a notable difference between results and objectives.
5. Communication management on social networks and brand websites. Get to know the Facebook and Instagram advertising platforms in depth.
6. Copywriting is the strategic production of text for brand content.
7. Web analytics: data analysis to evaluate traffic to the brand’s websites and fan pages.

Social Media Marketing (SMM) is

On the other hand, the Social Media Manager is responsible for elaborating the strategic part of the content plan on social networks. This specialist seeks to ensure that what will be communicated on the networks is given according to what the brand offers. It demonstrates a brand’s values and how committed it is to its target. We can say that the Social Media Manager mainly fulfills being involved in the “macro” decisions of social media, designing, implementing, and supervising the marketing strategy on social networks.

In addition, the Social Media Manager sets the tone with which the content will be transmitted on the platform and develops a specific plan for situations that threaten the brand’s integrity. In this sense, the Social Media Manager receives reports of the crises that the Community Manager has identified. So, based on this, it decides how to respond to the crisis and implement contingency plans.

The Functions of a Social Media Manager

Additionally, the SMM is responsible for managing, distributing, and controlling the budget as it deems best to achieve the marketing objectives proposed by the company. For the latter, he is in constant contact with the marketing area. Their job is to check if the social media strategy they are implementing is the right one, and if not, change it immediately so as not to lose visibility or participation in the advertising part. Here are its main functions:

1. Conduct market research to identify people from different social networks, depending on what suits the company.
2. Develop a social media marketing plan.
3. Carry out a segmentation of the target audience and the social networks where you will work.
4. Design the strategic plan, taking into account the most appropriate Social Media Mix, the company’s objectives, and its budget.
5. Identify and establish the actions that the Community Manager will perform.
6. Analyze the results obtained and the reports prepared by the community manager.
7. Carry out advertising campaigns and tactics on social networks.

What are the reports the Social Media Manager delivers?

The reports that a social media manager produces are related to other company areas, such as marketing and sales. With these reports, you can control, analyze, and measure the effectiveness of the strategic actions of the brand. Among the most requested reports are the following:

1. Develop a social media marketing plan.
2. Control the execution of the content calendar.
3. List of social channels on which the strategy will focus.
4. Reports of the definition and segmentation of users to whom the communication and brand actions will be directed.
5. You must define and control KPIs, conversion goals, and ROI. In coordination with the sales and marketing area of the company,
6. Develop contingency plans to manage crises.

The objectives of a social media manager

A social media manager performs a strategic task that requires certain indispensable objectives:

1. Design a social media strategy that is consistent with the brand’s identity, its audience, and its objectives.
2. Design a plan to deal with reputation crises in social media.
3. Define the SEO strategy.
4. Guide research to determine market and sector insights, then apply them to the different strategies.
5. Study and analyze the results of reports generated by the Community Manager. With them, you can detect threats opportunities and measure the effectiveness of different actions. Based on this, you can make decisions on each of these aspects: implement improvements, modifications, change of strategy, among others.
6. Work intensively with the client and with the company’s different departments to analyze results and propose strategic improvements.
7. Develop strategic alliances within the social media sector for future actions that help reinforce the brand’s growth and virtual communities.

The skills and qualities of a social media manager

Among the main qualities that every successful social media manager must have are the following:

1. You should know the sector in which the company or business it manages is located.
2. Be effective and efficient in managing and controlling the budgets allocated to the different actions of each strategy.
3. Be strategic to build and increase your followers. It is also necessary to create channels that reinforce engagement.
4. Have the vision to define contests, promotions, product launches, paid to advertise, and events disseminated on different platforms. Always in coordination with the marketing area.
5. Be consistent in defining the content strategy and communication style.
6. Select which tools and apps will be used to carry out the tasks.
7. Ability to write content on social networks.
8. Knowledge of SEO to increase web traffic to the company’s site.
9. Skills to choose, create, and edit images.

How to Become a Social Media Manager

Since you have a better idea of everything that can involve becoming a social media manager, you can start looking to expand your knowledge in this area. Although it is a relatively new profession, typical of the environment and the digital age, there are also many options to learn the skills necessary for this job.

As we highlighted when talking about the Community Manager, many of the professionals dedicated to this work come from careers in marketing and social communication, such as advertising, journalism, audiovisual communication, or graphic design. And in the same way, to be a good social media manager, you need to be involved in your development and expand your knowledge through courses, websites, and events, mainly through self-learning.

Workspaces of a Social Media Manager

An expert in social media management must be highly trained, be a great strategist, and be prepared to face the various crises when establishing social media strategies for the brands or companies he manages. With this in mind, you may be able to carry out your work in various areas, such as the following:

1. Design of digital marketing strategies.
2. Evaluation and management of processes and strategic branding projects.
3. Crisis management in the face of a notable gap between results and strategies
4. To take advantage of your social media tools and measure results.
5. Copywriting is the strategic production of text for brand content.
6. Web analytics: data analysis to evaluate traffic to the brand’s websites and fan pages.
7. I work directly and in conjunction with the following areas of the company: Board, Public Relations, Marketing, Production, and Sales.

Community Manager or Social Media Marketing?

To be a community manager within a company, it should be large. A small one would need more than one social media manager because they seek to have an effective presence in the digital medium quickly, and for this, they need to develop a good social media strategy and thus find the target most related to the brand and have a better return on investment.

Job Board: Social media manager wanted

Currently, the labor market for both community managers and social media managers is very competitive. But fortunately, these areas of work are in high demand due to the high potential that social networks have for brand communication with their customers. Therefore, we list some websites where you can find your ideal job and exploit your full professional potential.

Job Board 

On this website, you can find the community manager or social media manager you are looking for. Whether in the main cities of Peru or abroad, You have to put into the search engine the position you are looking for, the position, and the area of specialization and click to search. In addition, you can find tips to improve your CV and links to specialization courses.

Linkedin

It is one of the most developed websites when looking for a new job or improving your professional profile. Linkedin acts as a contact network between professionals from all areas worldwide. Therefore, you can find a wide range of jobs that interest you. In addition, you can contact the profiles of the companies and learn a little more about them.

Facebook

Currently, this well-known social network has been very useful when looking for and finding a job. It is as simple as putting the words in the search engine, and immediately you will see pages and publications related to the position you are looking for. In addition, large groups operate, especially as job boards for community managers, social media managers, and other professionals in the digital environment. In them, you will find constant publications about new jobs available.

Job portals

In this aspect, job search sites such as Bumeran, Computrabajo, Laborum, and Indeed, among others, are well known. On these websites specializing in job search, you can find a position in any city in different countries, depending on your skills and availability. You have to enter the websites, create your virtual CV, put the words into the search engine, and start looking for the job you want.

Remember that you can dedicate yourself to working in companies, agencies, or being a freelancer depending on your skills, dedication, and objectives. In each case, you will need to develop experience in the field and keep abreast of all the updates in your career.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the community manager is responsible for constant contact with the followers of a certain brand, and it is he who represents it in the eyes of others. If there is a problem or situation with the product or service, he responds to it.

In the case of Social Media, it is responsible for developing the marketing and content plan in conjunction with other company areas to implement it and achieve the proposed objectives. In simpler words, the SMM performs the strategy, and the CM executes it.

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