This or That: Social Media Manager & Community Manager

​In recent years, the demand for digital marketing roles, especially within the social media space, has exploded. Businesses are leveraging social media as a major component of revenue growth and brand presence, making it a hot to hire position across industries. Two common titles that job seekers may come across in this space are Social Media Manager and Community Manager, but what’s the difference? And which job would be a better fit for you? We’re sharing more about these hot social media roles to help you determine the best job for you!

The Social Media Manager

The Social Media Manager is the person within an organization that lives and breathes all things social media for the brand and/or person they represent – they truly embody “the brand” in this role. Social Media Managers are often responsible for creating social copy, curating content for multi-channel posts, establishing a social calendar, engaging with comments, and more. Many Social Media Managers will also actively reach out to influencers to create relationships as an additional avenue to promote the brand

The Community Manager

In comparison to the Social Media Manager, the Community Manager is responsible for developing and building a loyal brand community. The Community Manager engages with the community by partaking in conversation, spreading brand awareness, and providing community support as needed to be a positive reflection of the brand they represent. Community Managers play a major role in the customer lifecycle to help answer questions, create a positive experience, and increase the likelihood of return customers and referrals.  

The Day-to-Day

Social Media Manager

The role of the Social Media Manager revolves around living and breathing the brand they represent. While every Social Media Manager job will be different depending on the company and industry, here is an idea of what your day as a Social Media Manager may entail:

• Content planning and calendar development
• Engaging in creative brainstorm and strategy conversations
• Creating and curating new content
• Posting current and future content to various cross-channel platforms (i.e., LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)
• Assessing analytics and metrics to determine performance  

Community Manager

Like the Social Media Manager, the Community Manager role will be based primarily on the needs of the organization you are working with. As a Community Manager, your daily workflow will most likely include the following tasks:

• Engaging in and having conversations with the brand community, oftentimes through social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc.
• Actively participating in conversations around the brand to help answer questions, identify areas of consumer interest, and drive general brand awareness
• Creating a strategy to increase reach and connect with potential new customers
• Working with cross-functional teams to identify areas of growth and interest and identify any feedback they may provide
• Analyzing data and metrics  

Coming Together

While the Social Media Manager and Community Manager are two separate positions, the two roles will often have common ground, which means working together will be key for overall brand success. The Social Media Manager and Community Manager can come together to work on things such as content strategy, planning, and user experience. Because these roles are both unique consumer facing positions, addressing firsthand feedback and recommendations from the consumer will lead to more purposeful content.  

Whether you feel your skillset and interests align more with the Social Media Manager or the Community Manager role, both positions are going to be crucial to any organization looking to build long-term success in the digital space. Now that you have a clear understanding of these essential social media roles, you’re ready to begin your job search – Check out all our current digital marketing jobs here!