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March 4, 2021
When welcoming a new community manager to the team, there are several ways to help prepare and give them the experience to better their career-performance. It is important to keep the following aspects in mind when on-boarding a new community manager.
As a new community manager myself, here are some tips I’ve put together based on my experience recently joining the Social Edge team.
It is crucial, as with anyone starting a new career, for a new community manager to be welcomed to the team and introduced to the product(s) or service(s) they are promoting through their community. Introducing community managers to their team is essential to forming and supporting a community-driven environment. To best create and serve their online community, community managers should have a good understanding of what the organization does.
Exposure to the platforms that will be used by community managers is pivotal in preparing these individuals to collaborate on these platforms as well as create an efficient community space based on platform capabilities. This exposure however is not limited to sandbox platforms, but also live sessions offered through platforms and the extensive knowledge bases offered through these platforms. All of this pre-exposure will set your community manager one step ahead of the game as they go to work on the real platforms. As they say, practice makes perfect!
Another way to prepare community managers is through the act of shadowing. This can include client meetings, internal meetings and company meetings, in addition to smaller projects, either external or internal. Client meetings present community managers with an opportunity to learn more about the client as well as a look into the platforms being used. Internal meetings give community managers the chance to see how their team approaches challenges, such as use case development. Internal meetings allow for community managers to ask any questions about the client, the product/service, as well as any additional questions they may have.
Internal meetings are also extremely beneficial for new community managers. These may include regular recurring team, department, product, and company-wide meetings. These types of sessions give the community manager more background on how the company works as a whole, as well as a deeper understanding around processes, workflows, and more. Smaller, one-on-one check-in meetings are also another significant way to provide community managers with additional experience, as well as the opportunity to ask questions and get feedback to further improve and hone their skills.
Exposing community managers to a variety of information, knowledge bases, and platforms is crucial to their success. This exposure helps expand a community manager's knowledge, further preparing themselves to work hands-on with clients. The higher variety of exposure gives community managers more experience that once again only assists in the future success of the community manager.
Contact us today if you would like to have an introductory chat about best practices for getting your community manager off on the right foot.
