Introduction
Social media management and community management are two different but equally important ways to build and maintain an online presence.
While social media management focuses on using platforms like Twitter and Facebook to reach out to potential customers or fans, community management is all about building and maintaining relationships with the people who already follow or support your brand.
Both approaches have their own strengths and weaknesses, but the most successful online brands usually use a combination of both social media management and community management to create a well-rounded online presence.
What is Community Management
Community management is the process of developing and maintaining a healthy online community. This can be accomplished through a variety of methods, such as moderating user-generated content, fostering positive interactions, and providing helpful resources.
An effective community manager will have a deep understanding of the people who make up their community and what motivates them. They will also be skilled in conflict resolution and be able to create an inclusive environment where all members feel valued.
An online community can provide its members with a sense of belonging, support, and camaraderie that might otherwise be lacking in their offline lives. For many people, an online community is an essential part of their support system.
If you are thinking about starting or managing an online community, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
- Define your purpose and goals. What do you want to achieve with your community?
- Build a strong foundation. Create guidelines and rules that will help keep your community healthy and thriving.
- Be proactive. Moderate content and interactions, provide helpful resources and encourage positive interactions between members.
- Encourage feedback. Ask for feedback from your members on how you can improve the community.
You can read more about community management in our community blog post here.
What is Social Media Management
Social media management is all about creating and sharing content that promotes your brand or business. It’s a way to connect with your customers and followers, and build relationships.
There are a few different ways to approach social media management. You can do it yourself, hire someone to do it for you or use a tool like Sanka to help you manage your accounts.
When you’re managing your own social media, it’s important to be consistent and regular with your posting. If you only post sporadically, people will stop paying attention.
It’s also important to interact with your followers and customers. Respond to comments and questions, and like or share their content.
This will help you build a connection with them and make them more likely to support your business.
If you decide to hire someone to manage your social media, make sure they understand your brand and voice. You don’t want someone who’s going to post random things that have nothing to do with your business.
And finally, if you use a tool like Sanka, take advantage of all the features it offers. It can help you save time by scheduling your posts in advance, tracking who’s talking about you, and measuring your results.
With Sanka, you can combine multiple channels and build unified profiles, allowing you to provide the best support across channels.
It’s also important to mix up the content you share. Don’t just post links to your blog articles—share photos, infographics, quotes, and other types of content that will keep people engaged.
And finally, don’t forget to interact with people who comment on or share your posts. A little engagement goes a long way!
Community management, on the other hand, is about moderating conversations and interactions between users.
It’s about creating a safe and welcoming space for discussion, and managing any negative sentiment.
So which one do you need? The answer is: both! A strong social media presence requires both great content and a supportive community.
What is the Differences? Community Management vs Social Media Management
There is a big difference between community management and social media management.
Community management is all about creating and maintaining a space where people can come together to interact and share ideas.
This often requires a lot of facilitation and moderation in order to keep the community running smoothly.
In practice, this means that community managers are more likely to:
- Facilitate discussions among community members
- Address customer concerns and provide support
- Encourage user-generated content and collaboration
- Build partnerships with influencers and advocates
Social media management, on the other hand, is more about using social media platforms to reach out to potential customers or promote your brand. This can involve anything from creating and managing a company’s Facebook page to running social media ads.
Social media managers typically focus on:
- Developing and executing a content strategy
- Monitoring and responding to comments and messages
- Analyzing performance metrics and optimizing content
- Managing paid social media campaigns
In general, community management is more focused on building relationships while social media management is more focused on marketing and sales.
Which is better? More effective?
Community management and social media management are two different but related fields.
Community managers typically focus on creating and maintaining online communities, while social media managers focus on promoting and managing an organization's presence on social media sites.
So, which is better? More effective?
If your primary objective is to build strong relationships with customers and foster long-term loyalty, community management may be the better choice.
This approach is particularly effective for brands with niche audiences, subscription-based services, or products that require ongoing support.
On the other hand, if your goal is to increase brand awareness and reach a broader audience, social media management may be more suitable.
This approach is ideal for brands looking to generate buzz, drive website traffic, or promote specific products and campaigns.
In many cases, businesses can benefit from a combination of both community management and social media management.
By integrating these strategies, you can create a comprehensive digital presence that engages your audience at every stage of the customer journey, from awareness to advocacy.
Why people care about community today
People care about the community today for a number of reasons. And this is closely related to why many brands and their marketing teams are paying attention to this thing "community".
First, a community can provide a sense of belonging and connection that is often lacking in our fast-paced, individualistic society.
Second, a community can offer support and guidance, both emotionally and practically, during difficult times.
Finally, a community can be a source of inspiration and creativity, a place where we can come together to share ideas and promote positive change.
While social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have their own communities, they are not the same as an offline community.
For one thing, online communities are often much larger and more diverse, which can make them more challenging to manage.
Additionally, online communities are subject to the whims of the algorithms that control what users see in their feeds, which can make it difficult to maintain a consistent presence.
That said, there are many advantages to managing an online community. For one thing, you have the potential to reach a global audience with your message.
Additionally, online communities can be 24/7 operation, which means you can connect with people from all over the world at any time of day or night. Finally, online communities offer a level of flexibility and customization that is simply not possible with offline communities.
Wrap-up and next action
Community management and social media management are two different but important strategies for online engagement.
Community management is about developing and maintaining relationships with your audience, while social media management is about creating and managing content across social media platforms.
Which strategy is right for you depends on your goals and objectives. If your goal is to build relationships and interact with your audience, community management is the way to go.
If your goal is to generate leads or sales, social media management is the way to go.
Both strategies require a commitment of time and resources. And both can be very effective in engaging your audience and achieving your marketing goals.
