I started out as a Community Manager when I was a teenager growing up in North Carolina for an online music bulletin board. I was a moderator on the bulletin board for a year or so, and then I became an administrator. Back then, we weren’t called “Community Manager,” but that’s certainly what I was up to! There has been a thread of community management that has run through just about every job I’ve had since then.
Now, having done this for over a decade, I run my own business as a Social Media Strategist, and I’ve got a group of Community Manager friends that come in and help me with certain projects when they fit their subject matter expertise.
I live in Brooklyn, so I work with brands and companies that have, at least, some portion of their business working from NYC. But I currently work with brands who have their headquarters in Brazil and one with their main business in Minneapolis. So, as long as someone comes to NYC to meet with my team regularly or we can go to them, the relationship works out just fine. Thank goodness for Skype!
My business focuses on fashion and beauty brands, for the most part. But I’ve also worked with clients in the mobile industry, hospitality industry, and restaurant and food industry. We specialize in influencer outreach to plus size fashion blogs, beauty and makeup bloggers, and we also create content for our clients.
I also love working with local businesses who have employees internally who are excited about the possibilities of social media and want to learn how to take everything on themselves, eventually.
I love two things about social strategy and community management:
1. It has always been about the relationships that develop between customers and the relationship that I develop as a brand representative. I still remember people’s distinct personalities and characteristics and needs, years after having interacted with them. That’s what a dream job is made of – talking to people and helping them solve problems or feel better about life.
2. I love seeing all the data in one place and telling the story that data tells. Nothing makes my heart sing more than telling a client why something is happening, how to go about changing it, and what we’re going to do to make it work better for them. That … is thrilling. It’s the same thread though – talking to people and helping them solve a problem.
I took dance classes for many, many years, and I’m still known to cut a rug when given the chance. A lot of people sort of nod their heads when you tell them that, but it never fails that if I go out dancing with people who have not been out with me before that at least 2 or 3 of them exclaim, “I knew you said you liked to dance, but I didn’t realize you meant you could dance like THAT.” Dancing is another great way to connect with people and make them smile and laugh.
Well it would depend on what project they were writing about, of course. But I think if they were to sum it all up it would go something like this: “If she doesn’t know … she’ll find out!”
In addition to being a Social Media Strategist and Community Manager, I’m also a Content Creator. I blog regularly and produce videos at least once a week for my YouTube channel, which has over 600 subscribers.
Business Website: http://www.pleasedproductions.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nettaPFacebook for Pleased Productions: http://www.facebook.com/pleasedproductions.com Google+ Page for Pleased Productions: https://plus.google.com/b/ 101930834118625465675/ 101930834118625465675/posts Blog on Plus Size Fashion: http://www.xoxonettaP.comYouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/jernet
Share a little about yourself, and how you came to be a Community Manager
Well, I majored in Communication & Culture at Indiana University (IU), but I really had no idea what I wanted to do – even by the time I graduated. I always thought I’d do something with marketing, but I didn’t know WHAT.
Let me backtrack a few years…I first began entrepreneurial “internet marketing” (as it was called) in highschool. This was long before social media was considered a marketing tool. I was always into discovering fun, new ways of making money. One day, a friend told me about eBay. After cleaning out my closet by selling old video games and toys on eBay, I was hooked. During the summer of my junior year in highschool, I got serious about eBay and found a reliable electric toothbrush supplier. To make a long story short, I netted over $4,000 in two months, becoming a power-seller at age 16. This success prompted me to write an eBook, “How to make big money on eBay”.
I created my own website to sell the book, and dabbled in joint ventures and email marketing along the way. Eventually, I sought new challenges. After graduation, I found an event production company in Chicago seeking a “social media intern”. This was in 2008, when Twitter and Facebook Groups were getting more popular. I learned the social media marketing ropes there, reaching out to healthcare professionals through social media – primarily Twitter. This is where I got my first taste of community management. On my first major campaign, I helped the company bring in over $34,000 in conference attendee revenues.
For the last few years, I’ve been doing all types of freelance, social media and digital strategy work for a wide variety of clients in all kinds of fields including healthcare, insurance, marketing/PR, digital media services, and more. It wasn’t until I worked on my own, independent project this summer though, that I finally realized I wanted to focus exclusively on community management.
My friend raised several hundred dollars from grassroots fundraising, but the rest (roughly over $1,600) was generated from my social media campaign. I singlehandedly created and ran our Twitter account, Facebook page and Blog from the ground up. I would get up at 6 am to get in a few hours before work, work until well past midnight, and put in long hours through the weekends as well. Sure, it was a TON of work, but I loved it!
After having a blast managing a community for something I loved, I’ve decided to take a slightly different direction in my work. Now, instead of doing smaller consulting sessions here and there, I’m only pursuing major accounts I can zero-in on. I’d like to work full time for one company, or manage only 3-4 different accounts on a daily basis.
Where are you located, and would you be willing to relocate?
What are you looking for in a Community Manager job and are there specific areas you would like to concentrate on, (e.g. gaming etc, etc)?
Now that the social media work for my kayaking film project is finished, I’ve recently been doing some consulting for game companies. I’ve always enjoyed playing games as a hobby, so it made sense to pursue that industry professionally. In addition to gaming, I would also consider working for a tech business, a cool startup, or just about any company that catches my interest.
What would you say are the best things about being a Community Manager? Eg What do you enjoy most about the role?
I’d break this into 2 parts:
#1 Being Social — I enjoy meeting new people, chatting with them, and hearing what they have to say.
#2 Using my Creativity – I love using the consumer’s opinions to streamline products, services, and communication tactics. In the end, it’s win-win. The consumer gets what they want, and the brand can deliver their product/service better.
#1 + #2 = what a community manager is all about!
Following on from that, what is the worst thing about being a Community Manager, and how do you deal with that?
Instead of the “worst thing”, I’d rather call it a challenge. But I LIKE challenges J
One of the most challenging aspects is that our field goes through more frequent changes than almost any other. If you want to be the best, you have to constantly stay up to date. To quote the current issue of Fast Company,
“Today the platforms you ‘need to be on’ change every few weeks. Facebook groups are out and pages are in. No, pages are out and subscriptions are in. Tumblr is the new black, and email is actually the best social network. And what on earth is your Pinterest strategy? Oh, you don’t have one? Congratulations, you just unlocked the Irrelevant Businessperson Badge on Foursquare.”
At first, staying up on things might seem daunting. But it’s something I’m truly passionate about, so I enjoy reading industry blogs, articles, and chatting with community manager colleagues at Tweetups like #TheCRLiveChi.
Share something about yourself that only a few people know about you, but you wish MORE people could know.
Since I’m living in the social media world 24/7, I actually LOVE talking to people on the phone or face to face to keep things fresh. When I ever need to decide between emailing or calling someone, I almost always pick up the phone.
This is also means I’m extra outgoing and talkative whenever I’m out. If you ever see me on the street –better watchout!
If you were written about on the front page of a newspaper or magazine, what would the headline say?
Social Media Mastermind Jordan Sanders and his Meteoric Rise to Success
Anything else you would like to share?
- Mindy Kaling is my new social media idol.
- I have two rabbits: Mina (pronounced “Mee-nah”) and one that still needs to be named. If you have any brilliant ideas, tweet me @JordanOnSocial
Where can people contact you?
Share a little about yourself, and how you came to be a Community Manager.
Funny story. I got my CM job at @SocialNicole when I was pursuing my MA in Leadership and Management at York St. John University. I decided I wanted to do my dissertation on social media and leadership. One method I used to conduct my research was through surveys I tweeted to business professionals and social media consultants. To make a long story short Nicole filled out my survey – said hey when you come back to the USA let’s talk about job opportunities – and that is how I got my job. I tell all my friends the job sorta found me – I never thought I could have a job like this but its been really cool networking with so many professionals in this field.
What part of the world would you prefer to work?
I would ideally love a job in England because that is where I am living at the moment – but I know the world is also my oyster and I have a huge passion for living in other countries as well so I am OPEN.
What are you looking for in a Community Manager job and are there specific areas you would like to concentrate on, (e.g. gaming etc, etc)?
I am quite flexible when looking for a CM role – big or small brand. Ideally I would like to find a job that has a passion for animals or traveling. My mom always said you need to have a job where you are excited every day and I agree with her. I would like to be able to work with coworkers if possible, and also for a CM its very important to have constant contact/feedback with your supervisor/employer if you have any questions on the job etc. I have been in Corporate America where I get thrown into the deep end and my boss is nowhere to be seen to help me.
What would you say are the best things about being a Community Manager?
I really liked being a Community Manager because it gave me so much flexibility to balance with my daily life activities. Another one of my Favorited things about being a CM is I develop relationships with people from all walks of life – who might not know me personally (as I am speaking on behalf of the client) – but I feel like I am their friend or part of their family when they create conversations with me. I would say being able to work remote has been quite fun for me – but I also would like to work in an office setting as I like seeing people.
What three things can you bring to an organization?
- Responsible – I am responsible for my own actions and decisions.
- Respectful – I am respectful to my boss, coworkers, clients etc.
- Reliable – I am reliable as I always go the extra mile – if that means extra hours of work or weekends etc.
Share something about yourself that only a few people know about you, but you wish MORE people could know.
In high school I lettered in Community Service – it’s just not for athletes anymore! Throughout my whole life I have been volunteering in various non-profits and I love giving back. When I was a student at Augsburg College I started my own clothing and canned food collection drive for a homeless center in Mpls. I believe everyone should volunteer – it makes me feel great and really appreciated that I am making a difference in someones life.
If you were written about on front page of a newspaper or magazine, what would the headline say?
Bright American seeks Community Manager Role and adventure.
Where can you be contacted?
You can view all my social networks and blogs on my Gravatar at http://en.gravatar.com/
Share a little about yourself, and how you came to be a Community Manager.
I discovered community management a couple of years ago while studying communications in Berlin. I was offered a translation job at Young Internet, at that time Europe’s leading developer of online social worlds for kids. My tasks there would also include customer support, moderation and something pretty cute called community management that sounded more like fun than an actual job. I was lucky to have a great boss who schooled me on all the nitty-gritty of community management and that was truly love at first sight. I would spend almost all awake hours on the platform with our users and the result was a huge community success. So, I was caught for life.
Because of my Swedish boyfriend I ended up here in Stockholm, where I now work as a full-time English teacher and a freelance community manager and strategist. I’ve worked with a couple of other online communities and developed a complex community strategy for Frendingo, a Swedish social network for children. I am always on the lookout though for a full-time community management job which I can plant my heart in.
Where are you located, and would you be willing to relocate?
I am looking for something in Stockholm but I am more than open to a remote position.
What are you looking for in a Community Manager job and are there specific areas you would like to concentrate on, (e.g. gaming etc, etc)?
It’s very important for me to work in close coordination with all departments in a company, having well-functioning cross-team feedback loops . I am open to all sorts of B2C communities; my best choice would be a community for children and parents again, but I have a wide range of interests, such as dance, games, art, literature, science, travelling, journalism, IT, so I would also love to work within those areas.
What would you say are the best things about being a Community Manager? Eg What do you (or would you) enjoy most about the role?
Non-stop communication with people. It brings out the best in you.
what is the worst thing about being a Community Manager, and how do you deal with that?
I love all parts of it, even the toughest and most boring ones. Honestly.
Share something about yourself that only a few people know about you, but you wish more people could know.
I am an expert in British literature and I read Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ in three days. I speak 5 languages, 3 of them fluently.
If you were written about on front page of a newspaper or magazine, what would the headline say?
Community of the Heart
Anything else you would like to share?
Living in Scandinavia, being a Russian native speaker and looking to work as an English community manager is pretty tough, but I do love challenging adventures and trust in myself.
Are you on FB/Twitter/LinkedIn/a blog etc. If so do you want to share those links so that people can contact you?
On Twitter: @Alenrybi
If you a Community Manager looking for a new job, or challenge, and you would like to be featured in this section please give me a shout.
Please share a little about yourself, and how you came to be a Community Manager.
Most of my back story can be found here: We Are NY Tech. I’ve picked up substantial training chops since then, as well as further developed my collaboration side.
Where are you located, and would you be willing to relocate?
I’m interested in opportunities in NYC, DC, Boston, Seattle, Portland or remote.
What are you looking for in a Community Manager position and are there specific areas you would like to concentrate on?
I’d love to have metrics play a bigger role in my job. I’d also like to master the art of storytelling (and getting stories to drive people to action!). I’m most passionate about: the arts, education and health care, and I have a soft spot for technology.
What would you say are the best things about being a Community Manager? Eg What do you (or would you) enjoy most about the role?
Community managers make the world a better place everyday.
Following on from that, what is the worst thing about being a Community Manager, and how do you deal with that?
Changing the world is hard, but you do it as you would tie your shoes or put on your pants. Which is to say, one day at a time.
Share something about yourself that only a few people know about you, but you wish MORE people could know.
I’m an INFJ
If you were written about on front page of a newspaper or magazine, what would the headline say?
I’ll let you know once I make it into publications 
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I’m thankful for my friends, family and peers for supporting me.
Where can you be contacted?
I blog at:
http://judihuck.com/
http://nycreativeinterns.com/author/judi-huck/
http://thecommunitymanager.com/author/jhuck
and other info can be found at flavors.me/judimae_h
… and last but by no means less, what tips do you have for other Community Managers?
“Three SEO Commandments”
Don’t let my students know, but the majority of what I teach in my Basics of SEO course can be taken away from the follow two websites: Search Engine Land’s Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors
In addition to those sources, the three SEO commandments below are useful when going over your search engine optimization strategy.
Know thyself
Know thy neighbor
Know thy customer
- Know thyself. Can you tell your brand story on a single page? How about a paragraph? How about 300 characters, as the following NY Times journalist proposes? David Pogue The more succinct and standardized your main messaging, the more narrow and concentrated your SEO strategy.
- Know thy neighbor. You should be looking at the competition. Not to copy them, but to learn from them. What can you do better? What *do* you do better? Convey that in your website copy, particularly on your home and about pages. Make sure your HTML is a match.
- Know thy customer. SEO is an audience game. When you’re ready to optimize on other websites (not just your domain), get your information in the right hands. Ultimately, SEO as much about PR as it is about SEO.
For folks in NYC, I’m teaching my SEO class tonight in FiDi. Tweet me, and I’ll hook you up with a discount code.
If you a Community Manager looking for a new job, or challenge, and you would like to be featured in this section please give me a shout.
Please share a little about yourself, and how you came to be (or interested in working as) a Community Manager.
My interest in the online communities stems from the first experience I had as an active gaming community user in my early teenage years. I have been online ever since the creation of Prodigy and quickly moved onto AOL message boards. Since then the environments in which I participate have changed dramatically and my ability to engage a community has evolved. Currently, I am actively involved with several communities via Facebook, WordPress, and Twitter, which include topics such as travel, literature, and racing.
Where are you located, and would you be willing to relocate?
I am located in Atlanta, Georgia. I am completely open to relocating anywhere and welcome the opportunity.
What are you looking for in a Community Manager position and are there specific areas you would like to concentrate on?
I love writing and developing relationships with my followers through ANY online community. Whether it’s travel, racing, running or literature, I have always been gregarious and looking to make new friendships through common interests. However, I am not looking for one specific niche professionally.
What would you say are the best things about being a Community Manager? Eg What do you (or would you) enjoy most about the role?
As a community manager, I’m allowed to utilize my strongest skills by engaging an audience via creative content and outreach. I’ve always enjoyed customer service, thank-you marketing, and PR, which seem to blend as one as a community manager.
Following on from that, what is the worst thing about being a Community Manager, and how do you deal with that?
I would have to say the worst thing is dealing with “trolls” or troublemakers. These are the type of people online that are not adding anything of value to the community, but trying to create an annoyance in order to evoke negative responses within the group. I usually delete the comment immediately and ban the user if his/her post contains vulgar language or hatred towards another user. However tight moderation is a negative in some communities, so having the help of an active community member calling out this troublemaker has been effective in the past.
Share something about yourself that only a few people know about you, but you wish MORE people could know.
I have a quiet and reserved type of personality but it hides my intense passion to do a task above and beyond what is expected.
If you were written about on front page of a newspaper or magazine, what would the headline say?
How the Traveling Introverted Writer became a Social Media Extrovert
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I have a heart for helping and informing people both in my personal life and professionally. I get a kick out of making others happy.
Where can you be contacted?
About me: http://about.me/JonathanLuehrs
Twitter: @JonathanLuehrs
If you would like to be featured in this section please get in touch.
It can sometimes be pretty hard “putting yourself out there” and making yourself known to prospective employers, so I’ve decided to create a new section in my jobs blog in order to feature Community Managers who are looking for Online Community Manager positions. I figured, we post loads of jobs in this space, so why not give a platform for those looking for work to highlight their skills and ”Blow their own Trumpet” so to speak.
If you would like to be featured in this section please give me a shout.
I’m not going to do a preamble to introduce each person, as I feel that they will do a terrific job of doing that themselves. So to that end here is my first Featured Community Manager.
Michael Hahn
Ok, to start how about a bit of background. Share a little about yourself, and how you came to be a Community Manager.
I have over 13 years of experience working on the internet building sites, managing communities, e-sports, site marketing, and customer service. I love to build things and I am always working on something. In the past, I have built the Clan World Network and I helped found Game Trust.
What started out as a hobby, ignited into a passion.
I was one of the lucky few to be selected to be trained by Microsoft back in 1998, when it was a privilege to be sought out and offered the position to become a “Systems Operator” or “Sysop” for the Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone. I had to train in online classroom classes, take a test, and have the required experience before I passed and was promoted.
While I was on the Microsoft Gaming Zone, I played the game Jedi Knight Dark Forces 2 which was one of the best games ever at the time and a huge hit for games industry. I started a tournament site called the Clan World Tournament on a free hosting site called Tripod to host tournaments for the game. I was good at it and the site took off in popularity with in the community. For the next 8 months or so, I steadily hosted weekend events for Jedi Knight offering tournaments on the weekend. I offered achievements and trophies as rewards to the winners to put on their clan and personal sites.
As my site grew, I quickly moved to JediNights.com which was a Star Wars fan site hosting network for any content Star Wars related. I also partnered with Michael Lindley from Adrenaline-Rush Rb6 ladder for Rainbow Six. He had the ladder system I wanted and I offered the tournament systems. I grew too big for the site to handle. I expanded to other games such as Half-Life, Tribes, Shogo, Quake 2 and was offered a chance by Sierra Interactive to become an affiliate under their umbrella of WON.net. I launched the Clan World Network upon moving. The CWN was a full service network that catered to clans with multiple domains for each service.
The Clan World Network was one of the first gaming sites on the web that featured tournaments, leagues, ladders and contests in retail PC games. Clanladder.com for gaming ladders for all types of games and genres, clanleague.com for gaming leagues with season style competitions, Clan Database was a profile site like MySpace for player sites and clan sites. ClanEmail.com offered free email for anyone who wanted their own branded clanemail email. The site known as the CWT became ClanTourney.com for online tournaments. All these sites fell under Clan Network.com brand.
Under the Clan World Network, the ladder site achieved over 3 million matches, the CWT offered the largest scale online tournaments in any game, and more then a half a million clans and players registered over the years on the Clan Database. The network of sites survived multiple dot com bombs and relied on the community itself to sustain it self at times due to the high price of bandwidth at times. I have traveled all over the US hosting LAN parties, tournaments, and attending industry events. I hosted numerous launch tournaments for multiple titles across many platforms for multiple publishers and developers.
I was almost sold multiple times to companies but it never exactly worked out. My last stop was working with Game Trust.
Game Trust was a skill gaming platform where they provided the way to take a percentage of a deposit in a games of skill. They used web games such as checkers, chess, 8ball pool, etc. As a founder, I wrote a lot of the design documents for building the lobby features and administration tools. I also educated and recruited the volunteers to administrate the forums and lobbies of the games by writing handbooks and guidelines to follow. I successfully programmed the first tournament system that was integrated in the game lobby system.
While helping Game Trust launch, I needed to find full time work and I became a 911 EMS/Fire Dispatcher for the City of Philadelphia. I transitioned well due to my community management experience and my knowledge how to handle high stress situations with people. Game Trust was eventually sold to Real Networks.
The recession has hit me really hard. I have been unable to find work. I continue to network, blog, and learn new things. Everyday is a new day it is important to keep positive and take a breathe when you need too. I continue to manage my social media influence online via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other mediums. I keep a positive Kred and Klout score for reference.
I have a popular blog located at www.mbhahn.com that has my resume, media kits of the Clan World Network and articles on my experiences. I frequent many twitter chats as a participant and host.
Where are you located, and would you be willing to relocate?
I am located in Philadelphia, PA and if offered a position I would be relocate anywhere in the world.
What are you looking for in a new Community Manager role and are there specific areas you would like to concentrate on (e.g. gaming etc,)?
While I do have a background in casual and hardcore gaming communities and e-sports, I am willing to work as a community manager for any type of product or service. While offering services for clans and players in different games, I learned that each game was a different community with different rules. It was important to pay attention and accommodate their needs if needed.
What would you say are the best things about being a Community Manager? E.g. What do you enjoy most about the role?
The best things that I like about community management is the relationships I forged. Some of my best friends today are people I met from my communities. It is important to listen, engage, and respect one another s opinion whether you disagree or not.
It is also fun to watch your body of work grow. Using tools from social media and community management to see all the happy community members bring their friends in a community to share the experiences they have. It makes the job rewarding.
Following on from that, what are the worst things about being a Community Manager, and how do you deal with that?
The worst part for me was the popularity. I found it hard to get away online or offline without some sort of interruption. When your successful you have to realize it is part of the territory. The community members wanted instant and quick resolution for everything. I had one of the best staffs of volunteers any community would want. In order to provide some of the best services, I had to sacrifice some of my “Me” time for the good of the community.
If you would like, share something about yourself that only a few people know about you, but you wish more people could know.
Not many know this but I started out in chef school and working at restaurants. I started as a bus boy and dishwasher. I worked my way up to line cook. I was able to learn how to work with customers there. While working as community owner if the CWN, I became a 911 dispatcher where I learned to save lives and deliver babies over the phone.
I also have a development/programming itch. I created a successful anti cheat patch for the game Jedi Knight Dark Forces 2, I designed over 50 levels and level packs for the game.
I am also a member of International Gaming Development Association (IGDA)
Being a Community Owner, it is important to understand web production too. I learned ASPNET MVC, SQL Server, JQuery, Javascript and other libraries for building and enhancing the web at various degrees of skill. I am building a twitter mash-up site in my spare time, I hope to share soon.
If you were written about on front page of a newspaper, or magazine, what would the headline say?
The Man with the Dream
I know this isn’t easy, but what three words would you use to describe yourself?
Passionate, Thinker, Jack-of-All Trades
Anything else you would like to share?
I hope I didn’t leave a lot of information out for sake of brevity. Your a sum of your experiences, just happen to figure out which ones are relevant and interesting. I am always thinking of new ways to do things. I love working as a brand advocate for my friends.
Your experiences get you so far.
Once you stop learning your behind already.
The world changes around you if you don’t keep up with it.
Where can you be contacted?
I can be found on the @theCMGR #cmgrchat every Wednesday at 2 pm EST on Twitter and on the @MyCmgr Google Hangout on G+ every Friday at 2pm EST.
My blog and resume can be found www.mbhahn.com. I can be found on Twitter @mbhahn
I’ve seen one question crop up a few times over the last couple of months, and that question is what type of hourly/monthly salary a freelance community manager should be looking for when they take on a new gig.
In itself these are difficult numbers to pigeon hole because duties vary according to the company, as do location and hours worked. However I thought it would be interesting if I ran a quick survey to get some basic numbers and then I will share those numbers with you all.
So….to that end, if you are a freelance, or contract, community manager I’d love it if you could spend one minute to answer the very basic questions below.
Thanks in advance and if you have questions you know where to find me 
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
Free Webinars are a great way to pick up tips and learn from others in Community Managerment. I just came across a post about one that is taking place next week (April 26th)
Pathable Webinar – Best practices in Online Community Management for Events, Conferences & Associations - Apr 26
You might have missed me around my blog and Twitter, (and elsewhere I usually hang out on the interwebs) or you might not. You might actually be thinking, “Thank goodness Sue is quiet for a change now I can hear myself think.” But in case you are one of those who likes to follow my ramblings and job tweets I just wanted to let you know I haven’t forgotten about you, I’m just taking a break in the UK to catch up with family and eat my body weight in good old British chocolate, biscuits and Cornish pasties (despite the “Pasty Tax”).
I am still working on my community as usual but I just don’t have the time to post as many jobs as I normally do. But don’t despair I’ll be back in a couple of weeks and keeping checking the board as I’ll still be adding the odd one or two, as time allows.
Be good while I am gone, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.
…these are not my rates, which vary by clients, they are just the average rate I think you should expect to invest if you are a) a serious business in Toronto b) want to experience minimum acceptable results from your investment.
Great article by Debbie Horovitch in which she gives an idea of how much of a salary an employer looking to hire a Social Media Community Manager for the first time should pay.
I often get emails from people asking about how to transition from their current roles into Online Community Management roles. Here is a recent emailed I received and my response. I am sharing it here in case any of the info is useful to you, or maybe you are in the same position as the author, in which case it’s nice to know you aren’t alone.
I would just like to say thanks for creating the jobs board, it’s been great to see what jobs are available in one place.
I was just emailing to see if I could get some advice on a few things. I run my own gaming community and would love to do it as a real job, but everywhere I look the offers are open to people with professional experience and sometime you need to have a degree in a relevant subject. How can I gain proefssional experience to get a start in the industry? How important is a degree in your eyes?
Another thing that stands out is how many jobs exists in the USA. There are not many jobs going in this industry over here, and it seems that they are becoming incresingly popular. Gaming is my passion and it is the industry I would like to do Community Management in, but would applying for CM jobs outwith that industry give me a better insight into to be better at the job?
I was also wondering how flexible companies are. Are there many jobs for CMs that can be done from home? This would be great to get started in the industry with to see if I am cut out for it and to save me the costs of moving country if that were to happen.
My response:
I wouldn’t let the fact you don’t have any professional experience to stop you applying for jobs, because you DO have experience running your own community. I personally believe that’s the best way of learning this profession. It’s how I got started. I founded a community 12 years ago and still run it to this day (having sold it 4 years ago and I still run it for the current owners). I’ve also had 3 CM jobs over the past few years and all of those jobs were offered to me because of the fact that I had started and grown my own community, it’s exactly what the companies concerned were looking for. So my advice would be to highlight your experience in founding and growing your own community. Include that on your resume.
I’ve also seen a growing number of community manager jobs in the gaming industry, so as that’s your particular interest I would focus your attention there first. Many of the people hiring for gaming communities actually want someone like yourself who is a gamer at heart. That’s very important to them, because the gaming culture is very unique and you already live and breath that. However, it certainly won’t hurt to look for jobs in other areas too.
With regard to degrees, looking at the job descriptions I’ve been posting it seems to be more prevalent here in the US, and to be honest I feel in many instances this requirement is misplaced because it sometimes takes precedence over actual experience. However saying that I’ve also seen many employers who take into account related experience. So I wouldn’t get too hung up on degrees, or allow it to stop you applying for a job. I don’t have a degree and it hasn’t stood in my way, because I’ve been offered positions that have stipulated in the job requirments that applicants should have a degree.
I agree that currently, there does seem to be a dearth of community managers jobs outside London, but I am seeing a slow movement toward jobs in other areas, as more companies are looking to hiring Community Managers. Probably the majority are based in offices but some employers may be open to remote. Again you could always apply for a job and see if they will consider a remote employee, the worst they can say is no
To start out on the professional ladder, as it were you, might consider becoming a moderator. I know there is a need in the gaming community for moderators and many of those positions are work-from-home (remote) positions, and moderation is certainly a great way to get your foot in the door. I don’t know if you’ve seen it but I actually wrote a blog on this subject that you may find useful: http://sueontheweb.com/2012/01/how-to-get-started-as-an-online-community-manager.html
Social search recently released this great graphic that shows the top 20 areas in America for Social Media jobs and the salary range those positions are commanding.
The salary for Online Communities Managers ranges from $79,000 at the top end with $36,000 coming in at the bottom end. Of course the salary depends a lot on location, for example cost of living in New York is higher than Phoenix, Arizona. But the guide gives some idea of the salaries one can expect as a Community Manager in the US.
The graphic doesn’t mention years of experience however, so one would need to take that into account. A brand new Community Manager just starting out in their first gig couldn’t expect to command the same type of salary for a person with many more years of experience who has been in the role some time. Level of job needs to also be considered, e.g. Head of Community Management, etc.
© 2012 Onward Search
Social Fresh carried out it’s second annual Community Manager survey last month. The information collected included: salary range, location, most popular cities for Community Manager positions, and hours spent each week on CM duties.
More details and the full White Paper can be viewed here.
As a moderator, it is Kitchener’s job to sanitize internet discussion threads on topics ranging from car dealerships to current affairs. Her employer, a company called eModeration, offers this service to some of the world’s best-known brands, all of whom wish to join in with the social media revolution without exposing themselves to unwanted reputational damage.
Moderating discussion forums is about more than being an internet policeman, says Dawn Kitchener. There are dark times, but plenty of laughs too.
Article on the The Guardian’s website about how Dawn got started as a moderator. Read more here