Best Practices for Community Management on Social Media

In the real world, it takes energy to engage with different friends, family and colleagues, growing your relationships with them through intentional interactions. In the digital world, that same effort is necessary to create relationships with your audiences. Authenticity doesn’t just happen by chance — you must work for it with purposeful actions over time. 

It might seem obvious that online relationships take work, but what does this actually look like in practice? Like any great business outcome, nothing positive happens without a strategic plan and execution. Assuming you’ll build a strong digital community by happenstance is like presuming you’ll hit all your fitness goals while curled up on the couch. 

This is where social media community management is key. Ready to learn how to create this plan and stick with it? Let’s jump into some community management best practices and tips for long-term success. 

Community Management Matters, But Why?

Before speaking on its importance, you should probably understand what community management actually is. At a 30,000-foot view, social media community management is how brands engage with audiences across several social media platforms to grow authentic connections and increase brand loyalty. There are many different levels of digital management and ways to implement it into your daily practices, but it’s ultimately how you’ll make and keep customers interested in your company. 

Almost every social media network — think Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn — has features that enable you to engage with active community members. When you use these tools and platforms with a cross-network approach, you can better manage conversations with your followers — and bring in new ones. 

Now, why is it important? If you feel you’re doing alright with digital marketing, why worry about community management? When it comes to social media marketing, you can never have too much of a good thing. If you’re finding success online, why not further that success by nailing down a specific action plan? And if you’re not, creating the “why” and “how” behind your social media interactions is a great place to start. 

With community engagement on social media, you can enjoy the following benefits:

Brand Loyalty and Engagement

Fostering brand loyalty and engagement is one of the most significant benefits of effective community management. By actively engaging with your audience on socials, you’re not just promoting your products or services; you’re building relationships. These relationships lead to a loyal customer base that’s more likely to stick with your brand through thick and thin. 

Customers generally become repeat buyers and even advocates for your brand when they feel appreciated and heard. This kind of organic promotion is invaluable and can significantly boost your brand awareness and credibility. 

Reputation Management

With how long-lasting the internet makes information, your brand’s reputation can be made or broken online. Online community management plays a crucial role in maintaining and enhancing your company’s image. By closely monitoring social media, you can quickly address customer concerns, respond to feedback and manage potential crises before they become bigger issues. 

Prompt, thoughtful responses resolve problems and demonstrate to your audience that you care about their experience. This proactive approach to crisis management helps build a positive social media presence and can turn negative situations into opportunities for growth and improvement.

Content Creation and Feedback

Your online community isn’t just an audience; it’s a valuable resource for content inspiration and feedback. By actively interacting with your followers, you can gain insights into what resonates with them, what they’re interested in and what content they’d like to see more of. This feedback loop allows you to create engaging content that’s more targeted and relevant, ultimately leading to higher engagement rates. 

Additionally, user-generated content, such as reviews, testimonials and social media mentions, can be repurposed to enhance your brand’s content strategy, providing authentic, relatable material that speaks directly to your audience.

Increased Reach and Growth

Effective community management can significantly expand your brand’s reach and contribute to its growth. Engaging with your audience on social media platforms helps to amplify your message, as interactions often lead to shares, comments and likes that extend your content’s visibility beyond your immediate followers.

Well-managed community members can attract new followers drawn to the active and positive environment you’ve cultivated. Over time, this increased visibility and engagement can translate into a growing customer base and higher conversion rates. 

Improved Authenticity

In a world where consumers are bombarded with social media marketing messages, authenticity stands out and speaks volumes. Community management allows your brand to show its human side, engaging with followers in a genuine and relatable manner. Whether you’re responding to comments, sharing behind-the-scenes content or participating in discussions, these interactions help build trust and credibility with your audience. 

When they perceive your brand as authentic, customers are more likely to connect with it on a deeper level, leading to stronger relationships and higher levels of brand loyalty.

Why Brands Should Engage in Community Management

While COVID-19 is largely in the past, it has continued to impact how people look at brand loyalty and purchasing habits. In fact, McKinsey found that 65% of people tried new shopping behaviors during that time and had intended to maintain those behaviors after the pandemic ended. This change shows that brands can’t take consumer allegiance for granted. 

Companies across different industries can benefit from engaging in social media community management, allowing them to connect with their audience, gather insights and build stronger relationships:

• Technology: Tech brands can collect immediate feedback on software updates, gadgets and services. 
• Health care: Health care brands can use social media to provide educational content, respond to health-related inquiries and offer support. 
• Retail and e-commerce: Retail brands can interact with customers directly on social media, collecting feedback on products and shopping experiences.
• Fashion and beauty: Social media is a hub for fashion and beauty trends. By engaging with influencers and customers, brands can stay ahead of trends and create content that resonates with their audience.

Kick Starting Your Community Management

Yes, community management on social media is critical. But that doesn’t mean a few likes and comments will suffice. Here’s how you can implement this practice while getting the most bang for your buck — and time spent: 

1. Define Your Objectives for Social Media

Before diving into community social media management, it’s essential to define what you want to achieve on social media. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, generate leads or foster customer loyalty? Your objectives will guide your strategy and help you focus your efforts where they matter most.

Clear goals provide direction and allow you to measure success more effectively. By establishing specific, measurable objectives, you’ll ensure that your community management efforts align with your broader business goals. 

Additionally, you should create community guidelines that act as your social media policy — a way to govern how social media managers, employees and other team members behave on social media. Having community rules ensures everyone posts things that are appropriate and use consistent branding. 

2. Identify Who Your Audience Is

You can’t speak to people without first understanding what’s important to them and what they’re hoping to get out of their relationship with you. Take the time to research and understand who your followers are — their demographics, interests, pain points and online behavior. You can do this by social listening and researching where your people spend the most time. This insight will allow you to tailor your content and engagement strategies to resonate with them on a deeper level. 

When you speak directly to your audience’s needs and preferences, you create a more meaningful connection, which in turn fosters loyalty and encourages ongoing interaction. 

3. Choose the Right Social Media Platforms

Not all social media platforms are created equal, and not all will be the right fit for your brand. The average person uses about 6.7 different social networks per month. However, it’s crucial to choose the platforms that align with your objectives and where your audience is most active. Whether it’s the visual appeal of Instagram, the professional network of LinkedIn or the conversational nature of X, each platform offers unique opportunities for relationship building. 

By focusing your efforts on the social media channel that best suits your brand and audience, you can maximize your impact and ensure that your community management strategy is both effective and efficient. The same is true for your social media planning and posting tools. Platforms like Sprout Social can help you create content marketing calendars and stay organized throughout the month. This enables you to be proactive and take the stress out of putting out a social media post. 

4. Quantify Your Objectives

Setting measurable goals allows you to track progress and adjust your strategy as you go along. This could include increasing follower count by a certain percentage, boosting engagement rates or achieving a specific number of leads. Implementing your community management plan involves regularly revisiting these metrics to determine what’s working and where there’s room for improvement.

5. Post Regularly and Engage With Your Audience

People love consistency. Regular posting keeps your brand top of mind and ensures that your audience stays engaged. But it’s not just about posting social media content — you must actively participate in the conversation. 

Respond to comments, answer questions and engage with your followers in real time. This level of interaction shows that you value your audience’s input and are committed to fostering a dynamic, two-way relationship. Over time, this ongoing engagement builds trust and strengthens the bond between your brand and its community, making your followers more likely to become your cheerleaders.

6. Measure Your Results With Relevant Metrics

Track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as engagement rate, reach, follower growth and conversion rates. These metrics provide valuable insights into how well your strategy is working and where adjustments may be needed. Having social media analytics can help you make informed decisions, optimize your approach and make sure your community management efforts are paying off. 

Remember, the goal of community management isn’t just to collect data to get your audiences to like you better; it’s about playing the long game to build a thriving community with relevant consumers — a win-win for everyone involved.