Scroll stopping images, vibrant videos, and captivating copy are vital parts of a social media strategy but, what lies beneath the making or breaking of a brand on social media? Community management.
High impact content grabs attention for a second or two, but, genuine community managers can convert window shoppers to buyers and even brand advocates. Community managers are responsible for measuring, monitoring and moderating social media accounts on an hourly basis. They spark conversations, protect a brands reputation, and sit in a unique position with your consumers. They also manage customer complaints, network with other brands, and get valuable, real product feedback. Social media management for a brand is a lot of work and we feel community management gets underestimated far too often. One of our clients, Pebble Gear, has seen huge benefits from having a dedicated community manager.
We strive to offer a personal touch to our community management projects.Whilst great content looks sharp visually, it does not reply to your customer queries or understand the human problems that face your audience. Social media is primarily created to build conversation. I have loved chatting with our super supportive and inquisitive parents. The breadth and depth of comments and bantering back and forth in DM's has been a lot of fun... even on weekends!
I've had some wonderful, personal conversations with many of our parents. They have taught me more about their lifestyle and how they view consumer technology for their kids than any research paper ever could. As a result, we now have a list of fantastic considerations for future product development to meet needs we never even knew our audience had.
Talking openly and honestly with existing and new customers has provided a much deeper understanding of the key questions that drive our consumers' buying habits. In turn, this has helped scope out our marketing strategy in a way that is more tailored to the way our audience makes informed decisions. One huge learning for us was understanding the view around celebrity-based influencers. From our daily chats with our followers, we quickly established that most of them look to micro-influencers for reviews and recommendations before making a purchase. This was a game changer for us. We were even given introductions to some of the most engaged influencers available. Working with trusted and respected influencers helped us engage with our audience and we are certainly getting discovered by like-minded parents.
So, while social media strategy, copywriting and content is at the head of your brand building across digital platforms, do not forget that community management is the heart and soul! Make every conversation count.
Our top takeaways:
Community managers are the human voice of your brand and help bring products to life
Community management is key in creating authenticity by connecting with your audience in a way that is meaningful for them
Without community managers, you lose the opportunity to gain important feedback and ideas from your target audience and build one to one relationships with potential brand advocates
Community management can help you make sense of your social media metrics by using qualitative feedback from your audience
