The profession of community manager is recent since it was born with social networks. Training courses are multiplying everywhere in France and the opportunities are numerous. What is the role of a community manager? What are his skills, training, compensation? Here's everything you need to know about this job.
The community manager is a function that is sometimes called community animator. This profession is said to be emerging because it is very recent and is constantly evolving. The role of a community manager is to manage, expand and animate online communities. To achieve this, it works with major social networks that offer chat rooms like:
A community manager is a real expert in social networks. He can work within a company or in a communication agency. There are also independent community managers. In this case, it intervenes with companies as an external service provider. The community manager can be attached to one site or to several. He can even work for a brand, a community, an association or even a personality. The community manager is sometimes an ambassador!
The community manager is therefore a community leader and sometimes an ambassador for the brand image of his employer. He is very close to the webmaster and plays the intermediary between a person, a company, a brand or an association, and Internet users.
Here are the tasks of the community manager:
Of course, depending on the company or the person for whom the community manager works, the nature of the missions may vary. The community manager works mainly with the communication department and the marketing department. He can approach other services according to his needs, such as the sales department to promote an offer or the technical department to inform a user about the use of a product.
Certain skills are essential to exercise the profession of community manager. Of course, you have to have a perfect command of social networks and more generally of Internet codes. He must also be comfortable with digital marketing tools.
The community manager must be organized, creative and versatile. If he works for several accounts, he must be able to adapt quickly to the needs of his clients. In addition, his excellent knowledge of the Internet allows him to monitor competition and new developments in terms of digital communication.
Here is a list of community manager skills:
In addition to these fundamental skills, it is advisable for community managers to have knowledge of design and programming.
Many diplomas and other training are suitable for exercising the profession of community manager. The profession is accessible with a bac +2 level as with a bac +5 level. Most often, the longest courses are more complete and allow students to specialize. The salary depends on the level of study. Here are the training courses that allow access to the profession of community manager.
Bac + 2 level training:
Bac + 3 level training:
Bac + 5 level training:
As we have just seen, there are several ways to access the profession of community manager. The higher the degree, the higher the salary or the more easily negotiable. The salary of the community manager also depends on the structure that employs him. Companies and communication agencies offer fairly similar salary scales. Sometimes bonuses are offered if the objectives are achieved. Experience has a positive impact on salary. This is why it is wise to do internships during your studies. The salary of a community manager is between 23 and 35K€ gross per year.
To find the right community manager, you have to analyze their needs. To do this, you have to ask yourself several questions:
Once you have your answers, you will know more about the preferred manager profile but also if you should call on an external service provider, via a communication agency, or if you should hire a new employee.
In any case, you must provide an office for your community manager but also tools and resources. It is imperative to communicate well on the identity of your company but also on the image you want to broadcast.
