What is community management?

Community management is the process of shaping the interactions people have with your brand, usually online. Many brands hire someone specifically for this purpose, known as a community manager. Online community management requires active listening and engagement on behalf of the brand, especially on social channels. Community managers essentially speak for the brand and can do promotions, customer support, fun engagement activities, and even public relations and damage control.

Good community management makes a brand seem less like a distant entity and more… well… human. If done right, it gives the brand a voice and personality and makes people feel something–that’s why it’s a great part of a customer engagement strategy.

Current and future customers should love interacting with your brand online. The old saying is that “people do business with those they know, like, and trust,” and good community management creates this feeling.

But community management has a bunch of other benefits for your brand too. It can help you get valuable feedback on your products and services, figure out where people are getting stuck (their user experience), or what your most attractive selling features are. For these reasons and more, if you’re a brand or business, you should consider incorporating a community management strategy into your customer service.

Now Read: 7 Community Management Software Picks