Social media can be a powerful tool for nonprofits to build support, attract new donors and further their cause. A strong digital presence has become essential to developing social movements. This comes with a growing need for community managers — the people who manage a nonprofit’s social media channels — to oversee that presence.
A community manager is the voice of your organization. The content they create and the engagement work they do will set the tone for online interactions with your brand.
Nonprofits have important and inspiring stories to share. With the right person managing your channels, social media is an effective platform for telling those stories and connecting with audiences, with or without an advertising budget.
Here are some of the qualities to look for when hiring your next community manager.
Responsive
Timeliness is key. A community manager should be able to respond and adapt to things as they happen, whether they are sharing breaking news related to your campaign, providing live coverage of your events or responding to comments and questions from your audience. They should be monitoring your platforms on a daily basis to see what your audience is saying and adapting to keep your messaging current.
Strategic
It is important to be thoughtful about your nonprofit’s online presence. Social media should always go hand-in-hand with a larger digital strategy; maybe you want to convert one-time donors to monthly donors or spread awareness of a new fundraising deadline. A good community manager will ask, “what are my organization’s goals?” and “how are our social media channels serving those goals?”
Organized
Your social media channels should be consistently updated and well curated. The use of a social media scheduler, like Hootsuite or Buffer will help your community manager to keep your feeds activated and focused. They should also have a content strategy that balances promotion of current campaigns, evergreen content and relevant content shared from external sources.
Engaging
Look for someone who takes a creative approach to communications. They should be able to create eye-catching content with strong, concise copy and bold images. They may even have some design skills to create unique graphics that complement your messaging.
Your ideal community manager will also be constantly on the lookout for new ways to connect to your existing and potential supporters. They will be up-to-date on the latest social media innovations and looking to apply them in creative ways.
Analytical
Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook provide free analytics to help you refine your communications efforts for the best results. A community manager should be able to notice trends in your engagement to determine what works best for your chosen platforms. They will be able to gain insights from A/B tests that tell them what your audience responds to most.
More resources for nonprofit social media strategy:
