The differences between community and social media management

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In the fourth program of the community management webinar series, on June 16, 2022, we had a pleasant conversation about the differences between community management and social media management.

What are the main differences between audience and community management?

Community management and social media management are two topics that are often confused with each other. Community management has a very different understanding, strategy and business plan from social media management. Neither community management is above social media management nor its full course is possible. Both are specializations indifferent fields.

When we look at the communication in the audience management, we can say that there is a single layered relationship such as the audience of artists and fans, sports audiences,writers. Artists, writers, institutions, etc., who have the audience, communicate with their audience; however, there is generally a one-waycommunication.

In community management, there is a two-way communication and a multi-layered interaction. Sense of belonging, bilateral relations and communications, sense of community separate community management from audience management. As Ferrari brand did, the audience can turn into a community among themselves over time.

Community manager and social media manager are often confused with each other. Can you explain the differences between them?

Now, you can see that different departments of companies are actually doing community management, albeit unknowingly. When we look at the coming years, it is certain that community management will be seen as a separate field or a separate department.

The community manager is member and experience oriented, creating, growing, developing the community. It is the person who enables the community to communicate with each other and to maximize the benefit generated from the community. Social media management is a field that has emerged with the development of technology and the fact that social media has an important place in people's lives. Social media has become more and more important as it surpasses many traditional marketing channels. We can say that social media management is the voice of a brand, product, service and concept.

What are the must-have features in Community Manager and Social Media Manager?

The main feature that a community manager should have is to be people-oriented. He or she should be able to create a safe and comfortable place for the members, understand the psychology and wishes of the members, and shape this community accordingly.

A university education or course on community management is not required. It is necessary to have good relations with the stakeholders in the community and to be able to develop the community according to their wishes.

The community manager needs to be in constant communication with the members and work on all layers of the community. In this respect, the community manager must also be a good stakeholder.

A social media manager must first have a deep knowledge of social media platforms. He or she needs to understandand process the data generated on the platforms very well. Social media managers appear as the voice of a brand, product, or service. It is also important to have good reputation management knowledge and reflexes.

What should the community manager know about social media? What topics should the social media manager also have knowledge about from the community management field?

It will be an advantage for the communities if the community manager has knowledge of the admin features and measurement methods of the platform he or she uses. At the same time, the community manager will also play an important role in providing information and increasing interaction to the community by making integrations through channels such as API. The advantages in this regard will also benefit the social media manager.

If the social media manager has knowledge about issues such as community strategy and community value, it will facilitate audience management. By working on the community strategy, it can both anticipate the needs of the audience and increase the added value offered. It will also be beneficial to provide a seamless experience by integrating with the community management platform. In addition, it is possible to bring members to the community through social media.

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