The hardest community managers to replace are the ones who care the most.
These are people who don’t just answer questions but go the extra mile to make sure the members feel respected, cared for, and appreciated for bringing issues to the community’s attention.
These are the people who realise they are a vessel for every member to feel like they have influence, support, and are important to the brand. Sure, your organization might not be able to adapt to the whim of every customer with a problem, but you certainly can.
These are the people who don’t just respond to the question but acknowledge the frustration, find a solution instead of just an answer and try to end the interaction on a positive note. Better yet, they follow up to check the answer work.
These are the people who realise you’re not just spending time crafting an answer to a single member but to the dozens, hundreds, possibly even thousands of people who will read the answer.
The best way to find these people isn’t by asking them if they care in a job interview, but by seeing how they participated in their last community.
If you’re not sure if you’re one of these people, you can test yourself. Take your last 5 community posts and see how you would fit into the community standards below.
Next month repeat the process and see if you improved. Caring might be free but the community managers who really care are rare and worth the premium you should pay for them. Anyone who goes the extra mile often enough is going to cover a lot of distance.
