- [Megan] Community managers are responsible
for the success of a community.
And along with this pressure, they often wear many hats.
They typically have numerous jobs, but undefined roles.
As a community manager,
or if you're looking to evaluate one that you've hired,
there's some things to look at
in order to get a clear picture of how they,
or you, are performing.
We're going to look at defining expectations,
measuring returning members, talking to the community,
focusing on the value.
First defining expectations.
This is one of the most important ways
to determine your impact,
because if you don't have clarity on your expectations,
you don't know if you've met your goals.
Get clear on what you expect from your community manager,
and what success for you looks like.
If you are the community manager,
make sure that you work with your brand
to get this information.
This role can include everything from customer service,
user engagement, marketing, content creation,
and even business development.
So a clear definition will help you define
your responsibilities and metrics for success.
An interesting measurement
is looking at your returning members.
Part of the community manager's job
is creating an exceptional experience,
and this will lead to more returning members.
Measuring returning members and the trends of this metric
will provide insight into how well
your community manager is performing.
Talk to the community.
These are the people that deal day-to-day
with your community manager.
So survey these existing members.
Ask them how happy they are,
and what they think can be done to improve their experience.
Your community members are directly in touch
and effected by the community manager,
so their input is key.
They'll also appreciate being heard.
Also, don't be afraid to capture a quote or anecdotes.
A lot of this might be anecdotal.
It might be the community manager did such a phenomenal job
welcoming me to the community, I felt safe, supported,
that I introduced 10 of my friends
and they became members too.
Focus on the value not on the checklist.
This is a tough one.
But let's keep in mind,
community managers wear a lot of hats.
At the end of the day, though,
is a checklist as important as a community thriving?
If the community is healthy, growing and thriving,
then the community manager is doing something right.
You might not be able to put that into a nice, neat box.
'Cause often their actions are qualitative
and hard to measure.
Community means a sense of belonging.
So applying too many metrics and expectations
can actually hamper your community manager's ability
to provide value and support.
At the end of the day,
your community manager is a lifeblood of your community.
Make sure that you are supporting them
as much as they require.
And if you're a community manager,
make sure that you have a really clear definition
of what is expected from you.
Oftentimes your impact is going to be qualitative.
So don't be afraid to get referrals, to get quotes,
to get stories from your members,
to really show and illustrate
the powerful job you're doing for the community.