#19. Natalia Donnet. The story about the Swiss Army Knife community woman. Andorra 🇦🇩

Natalia Donnet is a Community Manager and founder of an SMM agency based in Andorra. Her path into community building wasn’t straightforward—she moved through coding, design, and even 3D modelling before discovering that her real passion lay in helping people grow their presence and connect through social media. Today, she leads a small team dedicated to content creation and community management, working exclusively with clients she feels a deep connection to.

Natalia joined The Community Media project as one of the voices from 42 European countries, offering a glimpse into Spain’s evolving community landscape and her own journey of building with authenticity.

Catch the full story below!

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Alla Zhdan: Introduce yourself briefly: your current role, where you are from, and where you live.

Natalia Donnet: Hi, I’m Natalia Donnet, and I currently run a marketing agency focused mainly on content creation and community management. I work with a small team of editors and community managers who help me grow every day. I’m from Madrid, Spain, but I currently live in Andorra.

Alla Zhdan: Can you tell us a bit about your Community management experience? How did you become a Community Manager? Are you a switcher from another domain, or were communities the only thing you always wanted to do?

Natalia Donnet: I experimented with coding, UX/UI design, and even 3D modelling, but none of it felt right. The turning point came when my sister asked if I could help her design her Instagram content and website. I gave it a try, and out of nowhere, one of her TikTok posts went viral. Even now, that post still performs incredibly well (and she actually quit the account!). That’s when I realized this was what I wanted to do.

I started freelancing as a Community Manager, learned a lot, became head of a community team, and eventually decided to build my own agency.

Alla Zhdan: What are your core responsibilities as a Community Manager? What does your day-to-day look like in terms of work tasks?

Natalia Donnet: Right now, I’m in a phase where I’m starting to delegate, but up until very recently, I was doing everything myself: editing, designing (stories, posts, covers, thumbnails), writing SEO-optimised captions, creating reel scripts, coaching clients on how to record themselves, attending their talks and filming them… Basically, I’m a Swiss army knife.

You might think: “If you do everything, you can’t possibly do it all well.” And honestly, that’s a fair point. But I truly believe it’s important to know how to do everything before you delegate—so you know what to ask for, how long things take, what’s realistic, and how much something is really worth.

Alla Zhdan: What are the core specifics of the community domain you are working with? What should you consider to engage and reach your target audience?

Natalia Donnet: The most important thing to capture and maintain a client’s interest is genuinely caring about their business, their project, and what they’re building. I could say that having a good strategy or posting consistently is key—and it is—but that’s something everyone already knows, even your clients.

What truly makes the difference is being there when they need you, becoming their right hand, offering ideas even before they ask for them or pay for them. That’s when they see who you really are — someone who’s not just in it for the money, but genuinely wants to help. Of course, we all have our rates and limits, but something I often see in this industry is overpriced services with minimal effort or care behind them.

Whenever I start working with a new client, I ask if they’ve worked with an agency before. Most say yes. Then I ask why they stopped — and they almost always say the same thing: “They only cared about the money. With you, it feels different.” I may not have the best strategy in the world, but I connect with my clients, listen to them, get involved, and understand what they need. And that’s what makes them choose me.

Alla Zhdan: What interesting things can you tell about communities in your country? What are the specifics and peculiarities?

Natalia Donnet: Spain has a wide variety of communities — from rappers and dancers to entrepreneurs and humour creators. But lately, something powerful has emerged: more openness around complex topics. People share experiences of loss, illness, or personal struggles. That honesty connects deeply and reminds us that communities are about empathy and humanity as much as they are about growth.

Alla Zhdan: What soft skills and hard skills are essential for a Community Manager, in your opinion? 

Natalia Donnet: For me, the most important soft skills of a Community Manager are:

• Communication: knowing how to speak with clients and audiences clearly.

• Empathy and involvement: truly caring about each project and treating it as your own.

• Adaptability: every client is different, and you need to adapt to their voice and style.

When it comes to hard skills, I would say:

• Creativity: since we are constantly creating content and ideas.

• Problem-solving: coordinating with the team (editors, designers) when something is missing or urgent.

• Copywriting: being able to write in the client’s voice so that the audience connects

Alla Zhdan: What top 5 tools do you use regularly, and how do they help you do your job faster or more efficiently? 

Natalia Donnet: The five tools I use the most are:

1. Figma – where I create all designs (stories, posts, etc.).

2. Canva – I use it only for inspiration, then I design in Figma.

3. Photoshop – for thumbnails, covers, or any corrections.

4. CRM Twenty – to track the podcast guests of my clients (who we contacted, who replied, and if a date is scheduled).

5. ChatGPT – of course! Even if it never delivers exactly what I want, it makes my life easier by facilitating improvements or idea generation.

Alla Zhdan: Webinars/events. What was the last coolest Community Management event that you attended online or offline? Why did you enjoy it that much? 

Natalia Donnet: In Andorra, I attended an event called Digital Life Congress, where many different speakers participated. The one I enjoyed the most was Elia Guardiola, because she taught about strategic storytelling. Thanks to her, I learned a lot of things that I now apply to my clients.

Alla Zhdan: What do you enjoy most about your work?

Natalia Donnet: What I love most about my work is how it helps me grow as both a professional and as a person. At the beginning, it’s easy to think: “How am I going to start if I don’t even have clients?” That was my situation too. My first experience was managing my sister’s account (she’s a psychologist), and seeing the results was incredible.

Over time, what I enjoy the most is seeing the results of my clients and how grateful they are. They make me feel useful, they remind me that my efforts and even my tough days have meaning. That feeling is the best part of my job.

Alla Zhdan: What is your favourite place in the country where you live that helps you to recharge your batteries and get your inspiration? I mean the location. 

Natalia Donnet: The mountains are what recharge me the most. Breathing fresh air, looking at the sky, and being surrounded by nature and high peaks give me energy and inspiration. That’s one of the reasons I moved to Andorra — no matter where I am in the country, as long as I can see the mountains and breathe pure air, I feel recharged and motivated. It also reminds me how far I’ve come and the road that still lies ahead.

Thank you very much, Alla, for allowing me to answer these questions. I know it has taken me quite a while to respond, but I really appreciate it.

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So happy we made this story with Natalia! ;)

Learn more about my Community Managers' Strories project to gather insights from Community people from 42 European countries here. 

Do you have a story, and I haven't "visited" your country yet [check the map of countries here]? Drop me a line on LinkedIn, then!