Connie’s stuff is always thought provoking, but this piece hits harder than most of her stuff. Follow the link for great definitions of both Community Manager and Community.
Connie puts forth the idea that we in the community field have put ourselves in a box because we aren’t explaining what we do in words that the leadership of enterprise companies understand. I tend to agree with her.
My problem is that there is more to community than social media. Community work includes making sure that the voice of the customer is heard within the company. If that doesn’t happen, it doesn’t matter how much is shared to the customer. If no one is passing the customer’s views back to management, all the talking is just noise.
Does the Enterprise Understand Community?
I have come to realize that as community managers may be doing ourselves a disservice by choosing that title. We are all in agreement that we’re not managing anyone. But do organizations understand the term ‘Community’?
It seems that the larger the organization, the bigger the challenge. Small businesses and start-ups understand the value of having a community manager. In the last few years it is in vogue to add the position. And if the brand has a product support site, then the role is defined as a forum moderator. Oh how narrow that view is!
Let’s start with a definition for Community Manager:
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