Most companies would balk at hiring someone to manage “their community”, and I can understand the resistance. The question of whether a Community Manager (I’ll try and refer to the position as CM from here on out) brings value to a company is long standing, and even harder to answer. My answer is an overwhelming yes, and I think it should be a key position.

More and more people are looking for visibility into a company. Customers expect representatives of a company to be in the same places they are. Customers expect some sort of interaction with questions, issues or concerns, and they expect them pretty quickly. CM’s can be a great first line between a company and it’s customers.

I’ve been an admirer of ComcastCares (who has also grown to become a celebrity in his own right) on Twitter, and how the group has grown from a staff of one, to an army of Twitter “agents”, helping as many of their customers as they can. The trend is obviously there. Many of the largest companies in the world have CM’s, and some times several.

But these Jedi usually do more than answer Twitter questions. I had an opportunity to spend some time with Blue Sky Factory’s CM, DJ Waldow, and get a small glimpse of what he does, even for just an hour. A few months ago, DJ sat across from me in a now defunct Co-Working space in Salt Lake City, Utah. He’s a rock star. He’s smooth. He’s fast. He knows his company, his product and his customer. But I’ve also seen DJ interact with the community, and he definitely shares as much as he can. Who else would offer up assistance at 2AM? DJ will. He just had a baby, so yeah he’s probably up on occasion. You can find more on DJ at these digital pads; Blog – Twitter – Blue Sky Factory.

I asked DJ some questions, and he gave some great responses.

Community Management can at times seem like a 24/7 job, what have you done to balance work and life?

Had a baby. Just kidding. Actually, not entirely. Being a new dad has helped to shut off and go offline every now and then. I’m not saying that I’ve figured this out (ask my wife), but it’s help focus me during the day a bit. When I pick my daughter up from daycare, I do my best to make it family time. The same goes for weekends and evenings – that’s my time with my wife and daughter. Don’t get me wrong, I have an iPhone so I’m able to “check in” every so often. Also, I don’t have the typical 9-5 job. Some days, I’m up and rolling with my first cup of french press coffee before 6AM. Other days, I burn the candle late into the evening. Either way, most days are blend of personal and professional. That’s a key to this gig as much of what I do on a personal level helps with my job as the Director of Community at Blue Sky Factory. Much of community management is about building relationships, connecting people, engaging with fans, critics, prospects, clients, and evangelists.

I see a lot of high tech companies with Community Managers, is this a role only for high tech, or can just about any company use a Community Manager?

A community manager can help any organization, not just high tech. I think of this role as the voice and face of the organization. It’s PR, Marketing, Sales, Support, Client Services, Business Development – you name it. Those teams exist in nearly every company, not just in the tech sector. That being said, not every organization needs a community manager – just like social media is not necessary for every company (http://socialbutterflyguy.com/2009/12/16/social-media-is-not-necessary/).

I know you do interact on Twitter a lot, where else do you interact with your companies community? Which do you find is the most critical?

I spend quite a bit of time on blogs – writing for both the Blue Sky Factory blog (http://blog.blueskyfactory.com/) and commenting on other blogs. I also use Facebook to post and have conversations with our community. Finally, LinkedIn is becoming a more integral piece. The group discussions and LinkedIn Answers provide some good dialogue. Most critical? I find that Twitter still gets the most bang for the buck when it comes to generating new business.

CM’s have been around for a long time, but were typically volunteers who loved a product or service, and wanted to help improve it, and help others get the most for their money. The role of advocate has dramatically changed. The CM is called on to interact the customers on multiple levels, create more opportunity for product or service introduction, and build an even larger army of advocates. You will also find a good CM utilized internally, communicating with all departments, and helping shape the direction of the company based on true customer feedback.

Personally, I think CM’s add enormous value to any company, especially if the focus and direction are parallel to the companies vision and goals. The goal should be more customers buying more products or services, right? It’s hard to be the one running the company, building the product or service, and being the sole CM. It’s a very important job that should have a dedicated resource. I know many of you will try and manage on your own, and that’s very admirable, but you won’t see any significant change until it becomes someones sole focus.

Have you interacted with a Community Manager? What was your experience? If you are a Community Manager, share some of your successes, and trials.

I’m going to follow up with some additional posts on this subject. When someone asks me what I want to do after my current career comes to an end, I’m going to tell them I want to be a Community Manager.

Tags: Community Manager, Social Media, Technology