Jared Chung
CareerVillage.org TeamDo I need to have a huge social media following to get a job in community management? How huge?
_This is part of a question series for CMX Summit to highlight exciting careers in community management. If you are interested in a career in community management, now would be a good time to ask a question of your own!_ #community-management
2 answers
Don Shell
Don’s Answer
A great community manager isn't the star of the show -- they're the producer. They help make the community a vibrant, inviting, friendly place, serving as part air traffic controller, part cheerleader, and part DJ.
Understanding the ins-and-outs of social media and having expertise as a content creator is a valuable skill, but the best Community Managers know it's not about you, it's about them.
Katherine Mancuso
Katherine’s Answer
Not at all. I'm a project manager with a large team.
I wouldn't hire a community manager who didn't have personal social accounts with some information I could see publicly, unless they had client work or volunteer work or substantial community engagement on a platform outside of social they could point to. So I think it's valuable to have social.
However, I'm not looking for a large following - I want to know that you can use social appropriately and fluently and you understand the medium.
If someone did have a large following I would see that as being an nice asset, but sometimes the types of personalities that have a large following are not suited to community roles, which aren't in the limelight.
On the other hand, there are other roles such as influencer marketing where having a large following might be more interesting.