A Beginner’s Guide to Social Community Management in 2024
Learn best practices and real-life examples to learn from and apply to your social community management efforts.
Posted 4 months ago
Written by
Mackenzie TaylorPosted 4 months ago
Are you struggling to create a genuinely engaged online community supporting your brand? This guide will help you navigate these challenges and master the art of effective community management.
In this article, you will learn best practices and real-life examples to learn from and apply to your efforts. You’ll be equipped with actionable insights and tools to foster a loyal, engaged, and supportive online community that not only grows but thrives.
Let’s get started.
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- I. Map Out Precise Goals
- II. Get To Know Your Target Audience
- II.I Analyze Existing Data
- II.II Create Audience Personas
- II.III Conduct Surveys & Interviews
- II.IV Monitor Social Media Conversations
- II.V Research Competitors
- III. Match Your Strategy To The Best Platforms
- IV. Set Up Your Community Guidelines
- V. Keep An Eye On Your Metrics
- V.I Set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- V.II Use Analytics Tools
- V.III Use Third-Party Tools
4 Social Community Management Best Practices
As you go through each practice, brainstorm how you can apply it to your strategy and identify any adjustments you need to make.
1. Keep Your Audience Hooked With Consistent Posts
Regular posts, ideally 3-5 times a week, keep your audience coming back for more and maintain their interest in your brand. They also increase your visibility in social media algorithms to make your content more likely to be seen.
Start by planning your posts to make sure you cover all important topics and maintain a consistent posting schedule. Flick offers content calendars to help you stay organized and it automates your posts where you set them to go live at the best times. For example, Flick decides the best times to post based on when your audience is most active.
Lastly, make sure to mix up your content with articles, videos, and user-generated posts to keep things interesting.
2. Get Members Chatting & Cheering
Host themed discussion days or weekly challenges that get everyone involved. For example, you can create “Motivation Monday” posts where members share their goals for the week.
Another great way to engage your audience is by hosting giveaways. DialMyCalls, a church-texting app, does this remarkably with its “Free T-Shirt Tuesday” campaign on Instagram. They encourage followers to participate by visiting their Facebook page for a chance to win a free t-shirt.
Here’s how to do it:
- Post open-ended questions that prompt members to share their thoughts and experiences. For example, “What’s your favorite way to use our product?”
- Use polls and surveys to invite opinions and make members feel involved in decision-making processes.
- Organize live Q&A sessions, webinars, or workshops where members can interact in real time.
- Run contests and challenges that encourage members to participate and share their entries.
- Share visually appealing content like images, videos, and infographics that prompt reactions and comments.
3. Celebrate & Spotlight Your Active Audience
To understand the concept better, visit Tailored Athlete’s official Facebook group where they highlight top contributors on their weekly engagement list so that they feel motivated to continue participating and encourage others to get involved.
Here are 6 more community management techniques to recognize your social community members:
- Offer rewards or incentives like discounts, exclusive content, or merchandise giveaways such as custom sweatshirts, hoodies, and t-shirts, for active participation.
- Feature a member each week or month, sharing their story or achievements.
- Create leaderboards to showcase top contributors and their engagement levels.
- Provide access to exclusive content like behind-the-scenes videos, webinars, or early product releases, as a reward for active participation.
- Send personalized thank you notes or messages to members who go above and beyond in their contributions.
- Assign special roles or responsibilities to dedicated members like community ambassadors or moderators.
4. Be A Swift Reply Ninja
79% of consumers expect a response from brands within 24 hours of reaching out on social media, and 40% expect a response within the first hour.
Find out common issues, develop clear key messages, and train your team to respond confidently. The real challenge comes when your team has to tackle negative feedback. Don’t shy away from addressing it.
Make sure you acknowledge negative comments with a concerning and empathetic tone. For example, say, “We are sorry to hear about your experience. Let’s work together to resolve this.” Give honest, direct answers.
Similarly, respond to positive comments to show your gratitude and encourage future engagement. Here’s a great example from Andar, a leather goods brand, commenting in a friendly and approachable manner.
When a customer praised their bag, they responded with: “Love to hear it!” It’s short, concise, warm, and in a conversational tone, often adding emojis, to make customers feel valued and heard.
To implement prompt responses effectively:
- Set notifications for comments and messages on all social media platforms to make sure you don’t miss any interactions.
- Allocate 15 minutes every morning, afternoon, and evening to respond to comments and messages.
- Create templates for FAQs like “Thank you for your question! We’re looking into it and will get back to you shortly.” Use these only for initial responses to be quick, but follow up with a personal message for more engagement.
- Tackle urgent queries and issues first, followed by general comments and messages. For example, if a customer reports a problem with their order, address that immediately before responding to general comments on your latest post.
- Use chatbots for initial responses to common queries before a team member follows up. Make sure to include links to helpful articles, tools, and guides to offer instant resources.
5 Steps To Build A Social Community Management Strategy For Beginners
As you read through each step, think about questions like, “Which metrics should I track to measure my community’s success?” and “What tools will help me achieve my goals?”
I. Map Out Precise Goals
Clear objectives make sure that all your efforts align with your overall business goals and that you can measure success effectively. Ask yourself: What are my overall business goals?
These might include:
- Better customer support
- Increased sales or sign-ups
- More likes, comments, and shares
- More people joining your community
- Stronger brand loyalty and more fans advocating for your brand
Once you’re clear on your main goal, ask yourself: How can a social media community help achieve these goals?
Understand the specific role that a social media community will play in your strategy. For instance, it might be a platform for customer support, a space for brand advocacy, or a channel for gathering customer feedback.
To be more specific, If your goal is to improve customer support, focus on providing real-time assistance through social media.
II. Get To Know Your Target Audience
Know your audience so you can tailor your content, and engagement tactics to meet their needs and interests. Ask yourself:
- Who are your current customers or followers?
- What are their demographics?
- What are their interests and behaviors?
- How do they interact with brands on social media?
- What are their pain points and needs?
- Which social media platforms do they use the most?
You can get answers to these key questions by following these 6 steps:
II.I Analyze Existing Data
Use data from your current customer base and social media analytics to gather insights about who is already interacting with your brand. Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and Twitter Analytics can provide valuable demographic and behavioral data.
II.II Create Audience Personas
Develop detailed audience personas that represent different segments of your target audience. Each persona should include:
- Demographic data (age, gender, location, etc.)
- Interests & behaviors
- Pain points & needs
- Preferred social media platforms
II.III Conduct Surveys & Interviews
Reach out to your existing customers, brand ambassadors, and social media followers to gather direct feedback. Here is a list of 7 questions that you can ask your audience to get their feedback:
- How satisfied are you with our products/services?
- Do you have any suggestions for new features or products?
- How can we improve your overall experience with our brand?
- What type of content do you enjoy seeing from us on social media?
- What improvements or changes would you like to see in our products/services?
- Are there any features you particularly like or dislike in our product/service?
Ask these questions on different platforms to reach your audience effectively. Start with email surveys to get detailed feedback from your loyal customers. Utilizing the best survey tools can help streamline the process and gather valuable insights efficiently. Then, post polls on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for quick opinions. If you want deeper insights, send direct messages to active followers and brand ambassadors.
Lastly, engage with your community on Facebook groups, Reddit, or LinkedIn for open discussions.
II.IV Monitor Social Media Conversations
Use Flick to monitor conversations about your brand, industry, and competitors. This can help you understand what your audience is talking about, what they care about, and how they feel about your brand.
For example, if you notice a lot of positive feedback about a particular product feature, you can highlight that feature more in your marketing. If there are common concerns or complaints, you can address them directly and improve your offerings.
II.V Research Competitors
Analyze your competitors’ social media communities to see who they are targeting and how they are engaging their audience. This will help identify gaps or opportunities for your strategy.
III. Match Your Strategy To The Best Platforms
Find out the demographics of social media platforms to see which ones match your audience.
If you’re selling physical products, use Instagram and Facebook because of their eCommerce features. This way your customers can directly purchase from these social platforms.
For service-based businesses like coaching programs, use LinkedIn and Facebook as they will help build professional connections. LinkedIn is particularly beneficial for connecting with professionals looking for personal development.
This table provides a quick reference to help you pick the most suitable social media platforms based on your target audience, content type, engagement features, and business goals.
| Platform | Audience Demographics | Content Types | Engagement Features | Best For |
| Broad user base; all age groups | Text, images, videos | Groups, Pages, Messenger, Live | Community building, customer support, brand awareness | |
| Younger audience (18-34), highly visual | Images, short videos | Stories, Reels, IGTV, Direct Messaging | Visual storytelling, influencer collaborations, boosting brand engagement | |
| Broad audience; popular among professionals | Text, images, short videos | Threads, Direct Messages, Twitter Chats | Real-time updates, customer support, news sharing | |
| Professionals, B2B focus | Text, articles, images, videos | Groups, Articles, Messaging | Professional networking, B2B marketing, industry insights | |
| YouTube | All age groups; high video consumption | Long-form videos, shorts | Comments, Live Streaming, Community Posts | Video content, tutorials, product demos |
| Predominantly female audience, DIY enthusiasts | Images, infographics | Pins, Boards, Direct Messaging | Visual content, traffic to website, DIY and lifestyle content |
IV. Set Up Your Community Guidelines
If you have a team managing your social media channels, set clear ground rules for them to follow. To understand better, have a look at Chisos’s community guidelines for their Facebook group to ensure a positive environment.
Here are additional community guidelines you can follow:
- Use a consistent, friendly, and professional brand voice.
- Respond to comments and messages within 24 hours.
- Keep a courteous and professional demeanor at all times.
- Follow the content approval process before posting.
- Make sure all content is accurate, relevant, and error-free.
- Monitor interactions and remove inappropriate content promptly.
- Handle conflicts calmly and use pre-approved responses.
- Protect personal and confidential information.
- Gather community feedback regularly and use it to improve.
- Train team members on how to handle crises and provide timely updates during crises.
- Provide ongoing training for best practices and platform updates.
V. Keep An Eye On Your Metrics
Track how your social media content is doing to see what your audience likes. Make sure you analyze your paid campaigns, gather audience feedback, and monitor competitors to identify what works best. Then, implement changes based on what you learn and share it with your team for improvement.
For example, if video ads with testimonials outperform static ads, allocate more budget to video content and collaborate with influencers for wider reach.
A great example is how Funky Fresh, a food business, collaborated with Ben Askren, a well-known martial artist, to promote their products. They created engaging video content featuring Ben eating his favorite Funky Fresh products and sharing his personal experiences.
This collaboration leveraged Ben’s extensive follower base, making Funky Fresh’s brand more authentic and credible.
Here’s how to effectively monitor and analyze performance:
V.I Set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Determine which metrics are most important for your goals. For example, if your goal is to increase engagement, focus on likes, comments, and shares. If your goal is to drive traffic to your website, focus on click-through rates (CTR) and conversions.
Make sure your KPIs align with your broader business and community objectives. This alignment helps you track progress and measure success accurately.
V.II Use Analytics Tools
Analytics tools help you track important metrics like engagement, reach, impressions, and conversion rates. This helps you see how well your content and campaigns are performing. Use built-in analytics tools on social media platforms like:
| Tool | Key Features | Best For |
| Facebook Insights | Page performance, audience demographics, post reach, engagement metrics | Businesses needing detailed page and post performance data |
| Twitter Analytics | Tweet impressions, engagement rates, follower growth, audience insights | Brands focusing on real-time updates and engagement analysis |
| Instagram Insights | Post reach, impressions, engagement, follower demographics, story performance | Brands focusing on visual content and story performance |
| LinkedIn Analytics | Page views, unique visitors, post engagement, follower demographics, company page interactions | B2B companies and professionals tracking industry engagement |
| YouTube Analytics | Video views, watch time, audience retention, traffic sources, subscriber growth | Content creators and businesses focusing on video content |
| Pinterest Analytics | Pin performance, audience demographics, website traffic, overall engagement | Brands focusing on visual content and driving website traffic |
V.III Use Third-Party Tools
Use third-party analytics tools to get a single view of your performance across all platforms to save time and effort. These tools offer deeper insights, advanced metrics, and customizable reports that built-in tools often lack. They also make data visualization easier and improve team collaboration.
This table will help you choose the best third-party analytics tool based on key features, pricing, and use cases.
| Tool | Key Features | Pricing | Best For |
| Flick | AI-powered scheduling, hashtag optimization, caption writing, in-depth analytics | Starting at $10/month | Social media managers seeking to optimize content strategy and engagement |
| Sprout Social | Advanced analytics, sentiment analysis, competitor analysis, customizable reports | Starting at $99/month | Companies looking for detailed analytics and comprehensive reporting |
| Buffer | Cross-platform analytics, post scheduling, advanced data visualization, automated reports | Free for basic, paid plans start at $15/month | Small to medium businesses focusing on content performance and scheduling |
| Brandwatch | Sentiment analysis, trend analysis, influencer tracking, competitive benchmarking | Contact for pricing | Large enterprises needing in-depth social listening and market insights |
| Hootsuite | Unified dashboard, automated reporting, team collaboration, social media scheduling | Starting at $19/month | Businesses needing an all-in-one social media management tool |
Conclusion
As you implement these practices, think about the long-term relationships you’re building with your audience. Reflect on this constant thought: “How can I make my community feel valued and heard every day?”
Are you equipped with the right tools to manage and grow your community? Flick can help. We are an AI-powered social marketing platform that simplifies content creation, scheduling, optimizes hashtags, and provides in-depth analytics. Start your free trial now and discover how Flick can streamline your social media management for a more engaged and loyal community.
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