In short: Community management and social media management are different jobs with different work, measures and temperaments. Social media management is editorial: the company's voice on its accounts. Community management is hosting: members' voices in the company's spaces. Combining them by default sets one job up to be neglected.
Key points
- Social media is measured by reach, engagement, relevant follower growth, traffic and response times.
- Community is measured by returning active members, member-to-member interaction and unique contributors.
- When combined, which job gets done depends on the person's temperament, not the company's needs.
- Many small companies need strong social presence and support, not a member-led community.
- For a Web3 project community is usually primary; for an enterprise fintech, social usually is.
Job descriptions routinely ask for a "community and social media manager," as though the two were one skill with two channels. They are different jobs, with different daily work, different measures, and different temperaments. A person good at one is frequently poor at the other.
Social media management
The job: represent the company on its own social accounts. Plan and publish content, adapt the company's messages to each platform's format, respond to public comments and mentions, monitor conversation about the brand, coordinate with founders and executives on their accounts, report on reach and engagement.
The measures: reach, engagement, follower growth in relevant audiences, traffic and sign-ups from social, share of voice, and response times to public mentions.
The temperament: editorial. Good social managers are writers and editors who understand format, timing, and platform behavior. They are producing a publication.
Community management
The job: build and maintain a group of people who participate with one another, in spaces the company hosts or convenes: a Discord, a forum, a customer group, an ambassador program, working sessions, events. Welcome new members, design the ways people can contribute, moderate, resolve conflicts, surface what members are saying to the company, and recognize contribution.
The measures: returning active members, member-to-member interaction versus staff-to-member, unique contributors, time to first useful response, movement up the participation ladder, and knowledge or value created by members.
The temperament: hosting. Good community managers are facilitators who are comfortable letting others speak, who notice individuals, and who can hold a room. They are running an institution, not a publication.
Why combining them fails
The daily work competes. Publishing schedules and community presence both demand attention at the same hours. The measures pull in different directions: a social manager is rewarded for the company's voice being heard; a community manager is rewarded for members' voices being heard. And the skills rarely coincide: the editor who writes a sharp thread is not automatically the host who makes a quiet member feel welcome.
The usual result is that one job gets done and the other is neglected, and which one depends on the person's temperament rather than on the company's needs.
What each requires from the company
Social media management requires a point of view, a voice guide, access to the people whose thinking the content represents, and a decision about which platforms matter. Without those, the manager produces generic content on every platform.
Community management requires a reason for people to participate with one another, a decision about what the community is for, consequential roles for members, and patience measured in quarters. Without those, the manager runs an announcement channel with a member count.
How to staff
For most small companies: one editorial person for social, part-time or shared with content, and a decision about whether a community is warranted at all. Many companies need excellent social presence and customer support and do not need a member-led community, and forcing one wastes a hire.
Where a community is warranted, hire for hosting, not for writing, and give the role a measurable purpose. Where both are needed, they are two roles, or one role with a clear primary and an honest acknowledgment of what will be secondary.
For a founder with a following, the social job is partly the founder's, with support. For a Web3 project, community is usually primary and social secondary. For an enterprise fintech, the reverse. Decide which before writing the job description.
lowob takeaway: Social media management is editorial: the company's voice on its accounts. Community management is hosting: members' voices in the company's spaces. They need different people and different measures, and combining them by default sets one job up to be neglected.
Common questions
What is the difference between a community manager and a social media manager?
A social media manager represents the company on its own accounts and is editorial. A community manager builds a group of people who participate with one another in company-hosted spaces and is a host.
Should one person handle both community and social media?
Usually not. The daily work competes for the same hours, the measures pull in different directions, and the skills rarely coincide, so one job tends to be neglected.
Does every startup need a community manager?
No. Many companies need excellent social presence and customer support and do not need a member-led community; forcing one wastes a hire.
What should I hire for in a community manager?
Hire for hosting, not writing, and give the role a measurable purpose.