Flow Communications

As more consumers become accustomed to using social media to review, research and interact with brands, community management has emerged as a game changer. It entails listening to and engaging with customers across various social media platforms while using their feedback to forge a connection between the brand and consumers.

This task is no small feat – the internet is filled with trolls, spam and crude comments, which can be very disruptive when left unmonitored. But the internet can also be a warm and fuzzy place filled with positivity and glee.

Community management is a balancing act. It’s all about building and carefully monitoring your brand’s customers, fans, followers and partners – its community. Not only does effective community management help brands understand their audiences, but it also tracks feedback, helps your community when it needs it and makes it easier for you to communicate with customers.

Social media community management
Social media community management helps bring brands to life. (Image: Merakist)

Here’s why community management matters

Online communities provide marketers (like Flow, on behalf of our clients) with direct access to customers and fans. Years of experience and research have taught us that we should consider these communities to be an essential part of brand building and use the feedback to develop clear, data-driven strategies that address concerns and add value to the consumer experience.

Community management has many benefits. This is why at Flow, we are asked to provide social media and community management services to the likes of Elegant Fuel, Wits Business School, the Women Presidents Organization, Proudly South African, Taxi Recapitalisation South Africa and the South African Veterinary Council, among many others.

We recognise that communities want to feel heard by brands – engagement is everything!

Flow social media strategist Kerry Robertson talks about the benefits:

  1. Community management entails listening to your audience, interacting with them, responding to comments, providing support and resolving issues as they arise. It demonstrates that you are concerned about them and their interests. This is why it is a critical component of every social media strategy we develop at Flow

  2. Community management provides you with information about your target audience’s experiences, needs and preferences

  3. Community management contributes to brand loyalty and trust

  4. Community management increases brand awareness

  5. Community management is not a nice-to-have; it is critical to the success of any brand

A business must take advantage of opportunities to interact with its audience in order to establish a network where people can connect, share and grow. Companies that invest in this have the potential to transform themselves from generic brands into ones that show they genuinely care about their customers, employees and other stakeholders.

According to research by academic scholar Otilia Elena Platon from the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, “a brand becomes a brand as soon as it comes into contact with consumers”. Therefore, a brand must be maintained and managed with the understanding that its true value and future prospects are dependent on consumers.

It is only through their interactions with customers that brands can become consistent and grow.

Case study: effective community management can change lives

George Mokwena
George Mokwena posted a picture of a painting he had done of an Elegant Fuel petrol station on Twitter.

Kerry says a good example of the kind of impact that community management can have is found in the story of artist and student George Mokwena and one of our clients, Elegant Fuel.

It all began when George posted a picture of a painting he had done of an Elegant Fuel petrol station on Twitter. Kerry (while doing community management) found this post and immediately thought, “We need to engage George because he is a talented artist who is shining a light on the Elegant brand using his art.”

She adds, “The post quickly gained momentum and soon there was stiff competition to buy the beautiful artwork. What started out as a Twitter tag led to Elegant Fuel assisting George in enrolling for a three-year diploma in printmaking at the Artist Proof Studio in Houghton, Johannesburg. In addition to paying his tuition and art-supply costs for the duration of his studies, Elegant Fuel is also covering his accommodation in Johannesburg and providing him with a stipend for living expenses.”

Kerry says this illustrates the power of community management.

“When you engage with your audience, you discover the most wonderful things. I have found that it has the power to change people’s lives. When I tackle community management across various brands, I always take it seriously and respond to every comment because you never know the impact a brand can have on people until you listen and pay attention to them,” she says.

Flow social media guru and community manager Melanie Feris says that managing communities on social media is a form of reputation management for brands. It allows them to speak directly to customers and engage with them, regardless of whether they have concerns or compliments about the brand.

“We’re given a unique opportunity as community managers to convert customers into lasting ambassadors for the brands we work with. It’s not about brands singing their own praises all the time; we have to let the customers speak on their behalf – let them be ambassadors. That’s how the brands win,” she adds.

Here’s how to be effective at community management

Listen, engage and monitor trends
Create lasting ambassadors by engaging with your audience. (Image: Brett Jordan, Unsplash)

Listen, engage and monitor trends, news and hashtags

DataReportal’s latest Digital 2022 July Global Statshot Report – published in partnership with We Are Social and Hootsuite – shows that “social media users grew by 227-million over the past year, reaching 4.7-billion by the start of July 2022. The global social media user base has increased by more than 5% over the past 12 months, with the latest global total now equivalent to 59% of the world’s total population.” 

This market penetration presents an opportunity for brands to tap into a captured audience and create lasting ambassadors by engaging with them.

Draft an FAQ document

Draft a document that will guide you in answering frequently asked questions. It’s important to ensure that the responses you compile are smart, specific and clear. 

Humanise your brand

Communities are looking to connect with brands that are “human” and show they care. Automated responses don’t always pick up on the sensitivities required in dealing with online communities. It’s important to ask questions and genuinely show concern for the issues raised.

Take feedback without being defensive

To echo the words stated by LinkedIn, brands can become better at what they do when they accept constructive criticism as helpful feedback. They can effect changes that can lead to business results, increase their own self-awareness and earn the trust of their community because they know they can approach them with issues or concerns and overall become more effective at understanding the needs of each of your team members.

After all, feedback provides us with a window into understanding how our actions and behaviours affect others.

Measure your engagement as part of your community management
Measure your engagement as part of your community management. (Image: Unsplash)

Measure your engagement

It is important to track, measure and report on social media metrics such as the number of followers, likes, comments and shares, among many others. Metrics are the building blocks for ongoing improvement and growth, helping you understand everything from how many people see your content to how much money you earn from marketing your product or service on social media.

In conclusion, if you want your customers to engage with you, make them feel like they’re heard! Community management will take your brand to the next level – it requires time, effort and a can-do attitude but in the end, it will be worth it.

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