The “perfect” Community Manager

Many companies are looking for the “perfect” community manager. They want someone who knows everything about every social media platform in existence, but also has great skills as a graphic designer, video editor, content generator, paid media manager, copyrighter, programmer, and speaks four languages.

That’s like looking for an excellent Quarterback, who can play as a wide receiver, a linebacker, a tackle, and can also score a 50-yard field goal. And, of course, if they can coach themselves that’s a big plus.

Nobody can do that. Nobody.

You might find someone who can handle all of that quite ok, but they won’t be excellent at it, in the same way a drummer is not great at playing guitar, or a chemist is not great at applied physics.

The drummer and the guitar player are both musicians, but they have specialized in different areas. The same thing applies to scientists: chemistry, physics, and biology are completely different things.

There is no reason why a community manager should know anything about programming or graphic design. They might know a few things about it, but their area of expertise is another.

Community managers, SEO experts, traffickers, social media managers, content writers, and web designers are just a few of the professions in the digital marketing industry, and each one of them has a very specific role, and each one of them requires a different set of skills.

I’ve heard many stories about a graphic designer who gets hired to build a website, create content for Facebook, edit videos for Instagram, manage Google ads campaigns, and a lot more. Obviously, the results are far from perfect.

I’ve also heard a lot of complaints about them spending too much time on their phones or Facebook when asking somebody about the new community manager they hired. Of course, they do, that’s their job.

Community managers are supposed to generate a conversation about your brand, and they do that on social media using a cellphone and/or a laptop. They’re not supposed to build websites or create your new logo. They manage your communities on social media.

You need a team to handle your digital marketing, not just an individual. You will only get the results that you want if you understand what needs to be done and the function of each person.

Your perfect Community Manager doesn’t exist. Stop looking for it and build your team of digital experts or, even better, hire one, because they will already have the experience that your marketing needs.