Community Managers span a broad swath of roles – from teams of one, to a specialized role on a larger community team. The average age of survey respondents – 39 – suggests a seasoned business professional, perhaps moving from an established career into community management. The average salary is also aligned with that narrative.
Community Manager can be a career-spanning role for many, as areas of specialization within community teams are attractive options for particularly technical, creative, and operationally-minded professionals. Often those that gravitate toward more strategic activities follow a career path to Director of Community.
Download the Community Careers and Compensation report to get detailed salary info for online community manager roles.
Community Manager Skills
A Community Manager is a conductor, organizing the orchestra to hit all the right notes. This individual needs many different skills and the ability to delegate jobs to others to achieve their goals.
Primary skills: They engage product experts to chime in on customer discussions, encourage power-users to model behavior, and empower subject matter experts to create content that fuels conversations. Community Managers must communicate the business value of the community to ensure ongoing support. This includes influencing and evangelizing, budgeting and financial management, and overall program management.
Secondary skills: When a solo practitioner, a Community Manager is often required to make tool and user experience recommendations to ensure the community is aligned with business objectives. Once the community is active, they are involved in data collection and analysis and member database management. They also work closely with TI teams to help resolve technical issues and properly integrate the community with existing business systems.
Recommendations
- Curiosity Remains Key – Community manager roles largely deal with processes and tactics. A great community manager should be tuned into the larger organization, looking for ways for the community to add value.
- Great Community Managers Don’t Always Start in Community – Community is still an
emerging discipline – and a background in community management isn’t a prerequisite for success. Widen the scope of your search to focus on the skills you need – not just previous roles. - Community Managers are the Face and Voice of the Community – Hiring someone who understands your brand is critical. You want a passionate advocate on behalf of the organization – not a cult of personality.
More Community Careers Resources
- Community Manager Salaries in 2024
Did you see our new Community Manager Salary Match game? You can play below and see if you can match the community manager salaries to the correct US regions! (Not in the US? We’ve got you! Stay tuned for a global game, coming soon!) Sharing this on social media led to some surprised comments about… Read more: Community Manager Salaries in 2024 - New Community Careers and Compensation Research
We are excited to share our latest Community Careers and Compensation report! Based on a global survey of over 600 community professionals, the Community Careers and Compensation 2024 report highlights trends in the community management industry and provides salary data for four different community roles. You can download your free copy here. The 2024 Community… Read more: New Community Careers and Compensation Research - Pay Equity in Community Management
Pay equity is the concept of compensating employees with similar job functions with equal pay, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, race, marital status or other status factors. When we last conducted specific compensation-focused research (in 2019) we DID NOT ask gender. [Insert grimace face emoji here.] We do know, based on other research that there are… Read more: Pay Equity in Community Management - Community Role Profile: Community Specialist Role
OVERVIEW OF ROLE Community specialists are the experts and emerging experts on a community team. Unlike community manager roles, where generalists are prized, community specialists often have a focus in one of three disciplines: engagement, content, or technical initiatives. RESPONSIBILITIESCommunity Specialists focus on tactical initiatives and projects to support the community team in… Read more: Community Role Profile: Community Specialist Role - Critical Hiring Characteristics for Online Community Roles
Looking at community job descriptions (download our CCC 2020 report for 30+ online community management job descriptions), it’s clear there are some characteristics that are prized by hiring managers. While empathy, communication skills, and collaboration have always been a component of a community professional’s responsibilities, the growing recognition of the need for negotiation and strategic… Read more: Critical Hiring Characteristics for Online Community Roles
