5 Underrated skills of a community manager

When you think of a community manager, what comes to mind? For a typical community manager’s job description, you often see items like facilitating discussions, engaging with members, and moderation. While these tasks are certainly important, there's a treasure trove of skills and responsibilities that a community manager have that often fly under the radar. Let's dive into the lesser-known, yet essential, skills that every community manager possesses by the very nature of their work.

Education and Enablement

Community managers are perpetual educators. They tirelessly advocate for the value of community within their organization, constantly enlightening internal stakeholders on its essence, operation, and significance. They serve as the guiding light, ensuring everyone understands how to engage constructively while safeguarding the community's integrity as a safe haven for its members.

Data Analysis

‍Beyond fostering interactions, community managers have to be adept data sleuths. They skillfully extract insights from disparate platforms, amalgamating data to glean meaningful metrics and generate reports to share with leadership and other cross-functional partners. This data-driven approach not only measures community health but also fuels informed decision-making across the organization.

Operations

‍The unseen architects behind the community's infrastructure, community managers are also operators. From deploying new tools and platforms to managing migrations, they navigate the labyrinth of the tech stack with finesse. They’re responsible for creating the processes, the documentation, and making sure the gears of the community continue turning.

Marketing

‍Behind every successful community lies a robust marketing function, and this typically falls onto the community manager. They are the master storytellers, crafting compelling narratives through communications, content creation, copywriting, and targeted email campaigns. A lot of what community managers do takes engagement and creates an entire community experience for their members.

Customer Support

‍A community manager is the frontline support for community members. Whether troubleshooting technical glitches or providing guidance on community initiatives, their unwavering dedication ensures that every member feels heard, valued, and supported.

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In conclusion, a community manager’s job often includes a lot of other factors and skills not listed directly on the job description. Though the standard community manager responsibilities are inherently there - things like engagement and moderation, there is a whole set of other skills that are often underrated and under discussed. Community managers are the educators, analysts, operators, marketers, and support gurus who form the beating heart of any thriving community. So, as a community manager, don’t be afraid to toot your own horn and show off the other skillsets you have.

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