Who Are You?
A Social Media Manager (SMM Manager) is responsible for promoting a brand, product, or company on social media. Their tasks include planning, creating, posting content, and analyzing statistics.
A Community Manager is responsible for engaging with and nurturing a community built around a brand, product, or company. They establish and maintain relationships with the community. In IT companies, they focus on employees, support community platforms, collaborate with leaders, and create opportunities for professional (CoP), soft skills (CoI), and volunteer (CoI) development, depending on company goals.
Differences Between Roles
Community Manager | Social Media Manager |
Acts as the brand’s voice speaking to the community and the community’s voice speaking to the brand. | Acts as the brand’s voice speaking to the community. |
Focuses on engagement and building relationships with the community. | Creates content and implements strategy across social platforms. |
Communicates on various platforms beyond social media. | Operates exclusively on social media platforms. |
Manages community engagement strategy and platforms. | Manages the brand’s overall social media presence. |
Focuses on engaging the community beyond social media. | Focuses on online marketing and brand strategy. |
How Can Community Managers and SMMs Help Each Other?
A Social Media Manager can support a Community Manager by promoting the community’s brand. Together, they can strategize how to spread information about:
Case #1: Community initiatives.
Case #1: Promoting a Community Initiative
In May 2022, a corporate community (CoP, Community of Practice) of Project Managers collected over 80 books for the Charity Book Sale initiative. These included leadership books, soft skills development materials, PMBOK guides, and Agile & SCRUM literature.
The idea was to gather books that project managers had already read and donate them to those in need. This resulted in a catalog of books that could be exchanged for a donation to a charity fund.
In June, the Community Manager decided to expand beyond the internal community and invited project managers from other companies to donate or purchase books. After a discussion with the Social Media Manager, they decided to promote the initiative on Instagram through:
3 photo stories
1 story with a link to a Facebook post
Results:
+13.5% growth in the Facebook group
44 leads interested in the book catalog
5 people outside the corporate community contributed or purchased books
The catalog expanded to 115 books, raising 39,000 UAH for charity
How to Collaborate Effectively?
Setting up a short planning meeting is key. Prepare in advance to make the most of it.
Meeting Goals:
Present the initiative, event, or achievement
Define the challenge or expected promotion outcome
Request references/examples of successful content from other communities
Determine deadlines for content submission
Understand current ad requirements and budget estimates
Agree on tracking and reporting formats
Meeting Outcomes:
Get input from the SMM on successful case studies or ideas for specific social media platforms
Receive a brief or form to structure the content request
Learn about the latest content formatting requirements for each social media platform
Key Factors for Successful Collaboration
The key question you need to answer before planning a meeting with an SMM specialist is: What problem should the content on social media solve?
Having a clear understanding of your desired outcome is a must. If it’s an event, the goal might be the number of registrations. If you’re focused on raising audience awareness and improving community engagement, you should track page visits and the time users spend on it.
It’s important to schedule posts in advance for each social media platform. That’s why I recommend having separate meetings with the individuals managing different social platforms within the company. If your company has just one Social Media Manager, schedule separate meetings for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.
Additionally, you should prepare a backup plan in case the expected results are not achieved at different stages of the communication strategy (e.g., low registration numbers). This can include reserve posts, reminders, alternative ad creatives, or additional budget for promotions.
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