The importance of a community manager

Building community online is not easy. And it’s not just for social networks anymore. Companies of all sizes, shapes and colors have recognized how important digital communities can be to their business, so many (if not most) are carving out positions specifically for community management.

In a post last year, Marshall Kirkpatrick asked at ReadWriteWeb if startup companies need community managers? Viewing the issue through the lens of a startup company is even more instructive, since most are working with scarce resources, meaning the decision to hire anyone is critical. Should one of your precious hires you go to a 20-something who will spend hours of company time on Facebook and Twitter?

This summer, Serra Media hired Amy Rainey as an experiment to see whether a community manager would help our affiliate sites grow their respective audiences. She’s done a wonderful job keeping sites fresh with new content, reaching out to site editors and communicating with end users. Not surprisingly, traffic to all sites using Newsgarden and TownLuxe is up, significantly in some cases.

If you expect to foster any sort of a community on your web site – or cultivate a community on one of the existing social networks around your brand – hiring a community manager will be a smart move.

Note: We’re currently accepting applications for a fall internship as a community manager at Serra Media. (We’re also looking to fill marketing and programming positions.)

– Mark Briggs