FAQs About Community Management: Expert Answers and Advice

Social Media / April 12, 2023

Community management is an often-overlooked aspect of social media management, yet it is a crucial part of building a successful brand presence online. 

In this blog post, our social media experts answer some of the most frequently asked questions about community management and share expert advice about how to manage your online community effectively.

What is Community Management?

Community management refers to the process of building, nurturing, and engaging with an online community. In order to engage with their online communities, brands often use social media platforms. 

A community manager is responsible for developing a strategy to engage and grow the online community, moderate online conversations, and engage with other members.

How can I grow my community on social media?

Growing a community on social media takes time and effort, and can’t be done overnight. 

The key to growing your audience is to consistently post high-quality content that resonates with your audience, interact with your followers, and collaborate with others in your industry including other brands or influencers. Additionally, listening to your audience and modifying your content based on their feedback will help nurture the relationship, ensuring that what is published will resonate with them.

Knowing who your audience is is therefore key to building a relatable social media strategy that will get you where you want to be. 

Using social media advertising is also another way to reach a new audience quickly but make sure you’re targeting the right audience with the right message. Note that getting more followers shouldn’t be your main objective when advertising on social media. Instead, focus on raising awareness and spreading the word about your services or product. 

Also, remember that your number of followers shouldn’t be your main social media KPI. Follower count is often considered a vanity metric. Instead look into your reach, your engagement rate or website visits from social media, etc. 

Should I delete comments on my social media posts?

It depends on the situation. You may want to delete comments that are spam or contain offensive or inappropriate content. However, it’s important to approach this carefully to avoid any perception of censorship.

Ask yourself these questions before deciding to delete a comment: 

• Does it violate my community guidelines regarding hate speech, bullying, harassment, etc? If so, then yes delete it.
• Is the comment clearly spam or irrelevant to the post and my business? If so, then yes delete it.
• Is the comment negative but constructive? If so, don’t delete it, see question below.

How to respond to negative comments on social media?

When responding to negative feedback about your service or products on social media, it’s important to remain calm, professional, and empathetic, you should avoid getting defensive or engaging in arguments. Acknowledge the individual’s concerns, provide helpful information or support, and seek to resolve the issue in a positive way. If possible, you might want to ask the user to continue the conversation through a private conversation. 

How to deal with comments from fake accounts or trolls on social media?

Comments from fake accounts are fairly frequent on social media, especially for businesses with a large following. If you see a comment that is completely irrelevant to your post or that seems overly promotional, report the comment. Many social media platforms have policies against fake accounts, and will remove them if they are reported.

We would also suggest not engaging with “trolls” on social media. These people are often looking to provoke a reaction or spread negativity. Don’t engage with them or give them the attention they’re seeking. Again, if the comment is inappropriate or contains hate speech, report it to the platform and have it removed.

If you’re consistently receiving comments from fake accounts that are causing disruption, consider blocking those accounts. This can help prevent further negative engagement from those accounts.

How can I encourage user-generated content in my community?

User-generated content (UCG) proves to build trust and authenticity in your community. When users see their content being featured or acknowledged by your brand, they are likely to feel more connected and invested in your community. Here are a few tips to increase UCG for your brand:

• After a purchase, offer incentives such as prizes or recognition to motivate users to share UGC.
• Highlight and feature UGC on your social media platforms or website. Besides showing your appreciation for your community, this also encourages others to do the same.
• Create and promote a branded hashtag to encourage users to share their experiences or content related to your brand. This makes it easier for you to discover and share UGC across your social media platforms.
• Encourage your community to create and share UGC by giving them prompts or challenges.
• Invite members of the community to create UGC together by organizing events or meetups. For example, store openings, workshops, conferences, pop-up shops, conventions, festivals and more. 

While user-generated content (UGC) can be a valuable asset for your community, it’s important to find a balance in how much you share. Sharing too much UGC content can lead to a cluttered and disorganized feed, making it difficult for community members to find what they’re looking for or engage with your brand. Plus, UGC content can dilute your brand identity as it doesn’t always follow your brand guidelines. 

Do I need permission to share user-generated content?

Yes, you should always get permission from the user before sharing their user-generated content (UGC). UGC is created by individuals and may be protected by copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property laws. Therefore, sharing UGC without permission or attribution can lead to legal issues. 

Some businesses ask consumers to add a specific hashtag to their posts if they consent to their content being reshared. Others will reach out to users through direct messaging.

Also, note that you should always credit the creator by tagging them in the post, and the copy.

The only exception to this rule would be resharing an Instagram story where your business has been specifically tagged by the user. 

What tools and platforms can I use for community management?

There are several tools and platforms available to help with community management. Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social can help you manage multiple social media platforms, schedule posts, track engagement, and monitor conversations. It is also collaborative, so different members of your team can respond to questions and comments as appropriate. 

Another excellent community management platform that can prove incredibly useful is Gorgias. While it may not be as well-known as some other options, it offers a powerful feature that sets it apart. By integrating with your ecommerce platform, similarly to Shopify, Gorgias allows you to quickly access order information when a customer reaches out with a query. For instance, if a customer contacts you with concerns about a delayed order, Gorgias automatically displays the status of the order to you, provided they used the same email address across both platforms. This streamlined approach eliminates the need for back-and-forth communication and helps you address customer concerns promptly and efficiently.

Also look into social listening tools like Brandwatch or Meltwater. They are software applications that allow you to monitor and analyze social media conversations and online mentions of your brand, products, or competitors. They help monitor industry trends, measure sentiment towards your brand, monitor brand mention and identify community influencers. They also allow you to stay on top of customer feedback and engagement, and build a stronger and more loyal community.

How to improve engagement on social media?

Here are our best tips on how to improve engagement on social media, but keep in mind, something that might work for a brand, might not work for another. 

1. Jump on trends to tap into current conversations (but make sure the trend aligns with your brand).
2. Ask questions or use interactive assets like polls, Q&A boxes, etc.
3. Respond to comments and messages in a conversational and personalized manner.
4. Engage with other creators (brands, influencers, customers) online.
5. Experiment with different types of content
6. Create relatable content like memes
7. Collab with other brands
8. Show your face in stories and posts to make them more authentic and relatable
9. Host giveaways to create excitement

How to find your brand voice on social media and stick to it?

Finding your brand voice on social media is important because it helps you establish a consistent personality and tone that reflects your brand’s values, mission, and personality. 

Your brand voice should reflect your brand personality — Think about the personality traits that define your brand. Are you playful, serious, authoritative, or relatable? 

Your brand voice should also align with your target audience’s preferences and interests. Take some time to understand your audience’s demographics, interests, and behaviors, and tailor your voice to appeal to them.

Once you’ve established this information, we highly recommend creating a community management playbook to maintain consistency in your brand voice across all social media platforms. Include your brand voice, brand tone, do’s and don’ts, frequently asked questions from your audience and answers, specific vocabulary to use or avoid, etc. 

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We hope this article answers some of your questions about community management. If you’re in need of a social media agency, contact us today!