It may seem an odd and rather contrarian statement to make nowadays to declare that a sense of disconnectedness pervades our society. Given how connected things seem to be with the proliferation of smart devices and social media, it might feel like an out of place comment. However, it’s definitely true that because communication tools pervade our current landscape, it has become more diffuse overall, and creating personal connections to people in your community can feel harder than in the past.

If you actively work as a community organizer or activist in your locale, then perhaps you know this problem all too well. Or, if you’re a business owner, then you feel the push-pull of connecting to your “audience,” but your efforts peter out fairly quickly. The confusion is understandable since it’s a difficult demand to meet. The only way to make seemingly disparate objectives meet is by fully comprehending the importance of community management and its tools.

Read on if you’re curious to learn more.

What is community management?
It is easy to blur community management with community engagement. However, they are not one and the same. Instead, the former leads to the effective implementation of the latter. If you are running, say, a non-profit initiative for your local community, then you need to nail down the administrative skills necessary to get your mission and goals out there and effectively accomplished. These skills are what is entailed in the term “community management”. It’s the know-how required to make things happen in your community, and for you to become a good leader and activist.

Understanding numbers
One of the big skills necessary to smooth and self-contained community management is accounting. Parsing the numbers is such an underrated and less-flashy component of the work, that it often gets neglected entirely. However, this can lead to a major financial crisis in the organization, or even worse, an audit. According to the experts, it is important to figure out which financial standards apply to different forms of nonprofits, using sound accounting principles and being able to avoid a financial crisis, the guidelines that need to be followed in order to pass a financial audit, understanding financial statements, and being able to track funds and revenues. Checking accounts, in particular, can be tricky especially if not one person is handling them. Aaron Martineaux from Iconcmo.com (https://www.iconcmo.com/) explains that it is important to void any transaction that was done with the wrong checking account. This is to avoid any discrepancies to reports or statements that could affect your community in various aspects. So, even for those who are not running a major for-profit operation or a more traditional business, applying good accounting standards is an elemental part of community management.

The power of Social Media
Another important aspect of community management is, of course, communication. But here, it means taking the extra step needed to reach your target audience utilizing new social media tools in a savvy, targeted way. There are many platforms available nowadays and it might be tempting to sign up for all of them and make your presence known everywhere. However, most experienced communication managers will tell you that it is best to think of your target audience and its demographics first before adhering to a particular social media channel. For example, if you are going to need to reach as broad an audience as possible, then perhaps Instagram would work best for the purposes of your organization. Alternatively, if you are seeking a more professional audience, then you might want to turn to other social media platforms that can help you target that specific audience.

In addition, you might want to research the value of starting up a website and having a one-stop-shop front for your work that functions well in tandem with your social media presence. This is an especially effective way of reaching the people whose life you’d like to change since you can easily communicate your vision and objectives in a simple, streamlined manner. All of this is to say that pinpointing a good communication strategy is integral to getting community management done right.

Assessing the “Deliverables”
Strong community management can help you and your non-profit or organization not only reach out to your audience, but you can - should - ask them to assess the value of your content or “deliverables.” This helps you ensure that you are producing the kind of results your audience needs and wants. Asking for feedback and revealing an openness to suggestions, even receiving criticism, not only makes your organization work better and stronger, it shows people that you value their opinions. This engenders loyalty and the general public will deeply appreciate this commitment to advocacy.

The importance of analysis



After you have established a connection with your audience and garnered their feedback regarding your work or the content you are producing, the work does not stop there. You need to continuously measure and analyze your organizational results. In this instance, you will need a balanced approach to quantitative data, and create a holistic analysis of your organization’s growth.

One of the best ways to do this is to look into employing analytics tools for a deeper understanding of your audience, and the effectiveness of your organization. These tools can be incorporated into your social media platforms if they are not already built into them.

Gratitude
Revealing a sense of appreciation to members is another integral component of community management. It strengthens ties between you and your audience and also garners a great deal of loyalty. You can do this by acknowledging every mention they give your organization on social media, conducting special events to show that their feedback and commitment to your cause or brand is vital and important to you, and so on. It is rarely enough to sit back and analyze how your establishment grows since it will become stagnant at some point without you taking the time to cultivate these important relationships and becoming a better listener and a stronger leader.

Managing your community doesn’t just boil down to how well you engage with your audience. You need to stay in the loop with feedback as well as critique, and accordingly, tailor your business model to cater to your audience’s demands. One of the most efficient ways to do that is through your social media platforms and analytical tools that allow you to measure just how effectively you can communicate with your audience through your online presence.