When social networks were born at the end of the 20th century, it was difficult to imagine the level of influence they would reach. One of the consequences of the level of popularity of these networks is that they are not only linked to individual use, but have also acquired a professional aspect.
One of the consequences of this is the creation of job profiles linked to social networks, the community manager (also known as CM) being the most obvious example. A profession that has acquired such magnitude that it even has a specific day.
When is Community Manager Day?
World Community Manager’s Day is celebrated on the fourth Monday of January with the aim of focusing on those people who are professionally dedicated to the management of social networks.
Therefore, in 2025 Community Manager’s Day will be celebrated on Monday 27 January.
Since when has the international day of the community manager been celebrated?
The origin of this day is to be found in a proposal by Jeremiah Owyang, expert and web analyst, who in his blog pointed out the need to celebrate a world community manager’s day.
Under the hashtag #CMAD – a concept that, like CM, also has a specific day, specifically 23 August – Owyang encouraged thanks to these workers with the premise that ‘a genuine “thank you” can mean more than an annual customer satisfaction survey’.
As such, the Silicon Valley veteran explained in his post, which would go on to become the founding statement of the day, the importance of taking the time ‘to acknowledge and thank the community manager who may have helped you in your time of need’.
Owyang added that ‘it’s not just about one role, it’s about a broader trend of making products and services more efficient and therefore making our world a little more efficient and sustainable. Comments are open if you want to share your experience working with a community manager, or as one of them, feel free to thank them below’.
A paragraph from which we can extract what the task of a CM consists of, functions that we are going to analyse in depth below.
What does a community manager do?
The CM’s job is usually linked to the most widely used social networks, although there may be exceptions. From the most obvious and visible content management and responding to users to analysing data and metrics, the tasks of community managers revolve around brand consolidation.
To this end, these professionals carry out a series of functions.
SSR management
As we mentioned earlier, the most visible of the functions of these social network professionals is the management of social networks, a task that includes programming and publishing relevant content, maintaining consistency with the tone of the brand (which can change from one social network to another, even if it is the same company or organisation) or keeping up to date with new trends that can be integrated into the management.
Crisis management
Part of this management includes behaviour in critical moments or situations. Beyond possible negative comments -something that can be part of the day-to-day work of the profession-, in specific cases of special incidence and danger for the reputation of the brand, CMs must take certain decisions.
Acting quickly and professionally, designing response strategies or monitoring how the crisis evolves are some of the responsibilities of the community manager when dealing with this type of risk scenario.
Community interaction and maintenance
Creating and maintaining a community is another of the CM’s functions, responding to messages and comments received in real time, which may also include resolving problems or doubts that users may raise through social networks.
Likewise, these social media professionals must encourage the community to participate actively through different resources such as surveys, contests or sweepstakes or even interactive dynamics, such as encouraging people to answer questions that may be posed.
Analysis
A part that is not visible to the users as a whole is the development of reports and analytics with which to measure the main data and indicators of the different networks in which the corresponding brand has a presence.
Measuring issues such as growth, reach or interaction, whether of publications in particular or the community in general.
These reports can be useful both to know the specific situation in which the company is in social networks and to be able to make adjustments to the strategy in the future.
Content creation
The creation of content can involve the participation of different profiles, such as design professionals as well as copywriters.
As mentioned above, the content of the same brand can differ significantly depending on the social network on which it is to be published.
It is therefore the responsibility of CMs to create posts that appeal to the community (or that can help grow it), check that the text of the post is in line with the brand, that the post can be persuasive for its intended purpose, and that it will also serve to increase both user loyalty and engagement rates.
Identifying opportunities
In order to improve the presence and notoriety of the brand in the social networks in which it is present, the CM must also be aware of new ones with growth potential or profiles in which the company can fit.
Likewise, detecting profiles that help to increase the visualisations of publications – such as brand ambassadors, employees who act as opinion leaders or influencers -, participating in a measured and strategic way in viral trends or proposing new campaigns are other tasks that the community manager can undertake to increase the visibility of their work.
