Managing engagement: A digital dialogue between a brand and its community

Unsure about which type of paint you need for the nursery? Has the milk you just bought already gone sour? Have questions about the menu at the restaurant you’re dining at this evening? You want answers quickly and more likely than not, your first instinct is turning to social media, whether that’s commenting on a post or DMing a brand, to get them.

Community management: At the heart of online exchanges

If this sounds familiar, just know you’re not alone. In fact, recent data indicates that one in every five Gen Z, millennial, or Gen X users has contacted a brand via DM in the past three months. At Substance, we specialize in sharpening your digital dialogue and community management skills. Keep reading because, in this article, we’ll discuss everything you ever wanted to know about community management, from its importance, the tools you need to be successful, and what potential opportunities and benefits await when done properly. 

 The importance of digital dialogue

If you’re looking to build a strong connection with your followers, community management is an essential piece of the puzzle. Trust turns regular followers into loyal, diehard fans. In turn, you benefit from valuable insights for market development. This results in increased engagement and retention, which increases your brand’s visibility and lifetime value. In short, effective community management contributes to the long-term sustainability of your business.

The 7 principles of successful community management

Now that we’ve outlined the importance of effectively managing your community, let's look at the 7 key principles to success:

1. Understanding your audience, brand tone, and voice

2. Identifying and creating relevant content that boosts engagement

3. Establishing standards for handling potential issues

4. Encouraging engagement among your community

5. Practising active listening and taking feedback into consideration

6. Analyzing data and optimizing strategies based on results

7. Managing issues with organizational processes

Powerful tools at your disposal

Optimizing resources, strategies, and time is crucial. To achieve this, we make sure to equip ourselves with powerful tools. We’ve adopted several platforms designed to help us with community management, tools like eClincher, Meta, or Sprout. Leveraging these software solutions enables us to:

• Create, schedule, and publish content

• Manage interactions and engagement

• Listen to the community and monitor social media trends

• Generate reports and performance analyses

Using cutting-edge platforms for community management lets you be more efficient, implement governance plans, provide real-time visibility with tracking and reporting, and lets you standardize processes. Optimization is the name of the game, letting you respond to customers quickly while enabling us to gain valuable insights from these interactions.

At the end of the day, community management is so much more than just exchanging messages. It's a valuable step that establishes trust, provides essential market research information, and enables cost-saving across the board. Are you thinking about developing a community strategy of your own for your brand? Reach out, our specialists and their expertise are ready and waiting for you!