Guest Post by Holly Ross: The Second Coming of the Online Community Manager

Submitted by Holly Ross, publisher of NTEN

Your job isn't going to exist in a few years, and it ain't the economy's fault. Blame it on social media.

If you're implementing social media smartly at your organization, you already know it raises more issues for nonprofits than it solves. Chief among them: who does it? If social media is about individuals conversing authentically with a community, who's in charge of the conversation?

You'll find most people responsible for social media in marketing departments. But shouldn't program staff be involved, as well? How about leadership?

I'm fascinated by the ways social media is changing how organizations structure themselves -- and in particular, how social media is redefining job titles in our sector. To whit: the second coming of the online community manager.

ReadWriteWeb has a new report out, "The Read Write Web Guide to Community Management", that marks the ascension of the online community manager (2.0). They do a great job summarizing exactly why the role is so challenging:

The job is part customer service, part marketing, part public relations, and part web savvy. Some of the skills required are timeless and some are very new and unique to the web.

Yeah, what they said.

We used to organize our jobs by who we were talking at: people with problems (customer service), the population we want to engage (marketing), the media (pr). Now, we don't have the luxury of simply talking AT people. Those same people are talking to us, and each other.

We all need someone to be part of that conversation.

But how are you supposed to write a job description for that? Doesn't it sort of sound like you're hiring someone to goof off online all day? The ReadWriteWeb report has a price tag, but it's well worth it if you're really considering these issues.

I'll summarize some of my favorite bits for the rest of you:

Are communities any more engaged when there's an official community manager?

• Well, yes. There's a great case study from Tom Humbarger. Watch the engagement levels drop as soon as he's laid off.

Is the ROI all about the web metrics?

• Not so much. The report points out ways community managers contribute to innovation, recruitment, and other key areas of an organization.

How to Frak it all up

• I love the list of ways to screw up online community management. My favorite? Be afraid. Sound familiar?

Oh, and there's a plethora of case studies. I loved the report so much I twisted MarshallK's arm -- OK, I just asked -- and he gave us three copies to give away free to NTEN members!

Here's the deal members: Leave a comment below telling us how social media is changing your job description, and we'll pick three at random to get the prize!

This article was originally posted on NTEN at http://nten.org/blog/2009/05/13/second-coming-online-community-manger by Holly Ross:

Holly has spent more than five years at NTEN, combing through all the technology fads and listening to the NTEN community to line up the webinars, conferences, and research that will help members use technology to make the world a better place.

Comments

[Laura Norvig]

My official job description hasn't changed yet, but my actual job sure has. Setting up our org's social media presence on multiple popular sites was easy and fun. I like Twitter, so tweeting for my org was a no brainer and I found my voice quickly. But one day I turned around and realized that I had to check in every day on multiple sites to see what was going on, to cultivate my community garden, to absorb, disseminate, and schmooze on the topics of the day.

All of this has paid off, but the next big step for us is bringing our community back to our own web presence and providing a community space there.

In addition to executing the social media piece, I find myself responsible for creating a longer term strategy, figuring out how we'll measure stuff and how we'll analyze our data. It's now to the point where I need to list out my job duties and see which of my older, traditional duties can come off my plate OR, who I can delegate these new duties to. So, yeah, big changes that creep up over time.

[Marshall Kirkpatrick]

Thanks Holly and Beth for posting this here! We're real happy with the feedback the guide is getting and we hope it will provide lots of long-term value for the people who purchase it. I hope you both are well!

[pmatthews]

Nice post!!
Thanks for sharing.

Stay connected with friends at global personal networking.

[Swan]

Great post, Beth. You start out at the top with a scare tactic of job-loss and non-profit issues and then go on to explain how people can change to take advantage of the SM.

I just want to re-iterate. SM will create more of a need than ever for non-profits. As you point out, there is always a need for a tribe leader (in Seth Godin's terms). The fact that the community ,which a non-profit serves, is now more engaged than ever; means that non-profit needs to step up and take that leadership role before someone else does.

I run a company that is trying to draw the speaking industry into the web2.0 world. SM has changed my job significantly because it has allowed me to build a business that can improve the way speakers are found and consumed by audiences.

[Swan]

Sorry, realized that post was from Holly, not Beth.

[Maggie McGary]

Social media IS my job description ;) I'm a social media & community specialist for an association.

I think staffing social media initiatives in the association world is tricky, because silo culture is at odds with community. I, for one, will be interested to see how the next few years play out in terms of social media/community manager jobs at associations--I think there is going to be a lot of mid-course correction going on as associations grapple with the concept of online community.