Community Managers? Or Community Participants?

Econsultancy has a look at what makes a good community manager that’s well worth the read.

Given my experiences of the last couple weeks (details here , here , here , and here ) dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and the response — or lack thereof — from people serving my community, one point in particular stood out:

“ Passion.Community managers should know the brand and community inside out so they can openly communicate their own brand’s passion and values.” [Emphasis mine]

Community consists of people. And, as I’ve said many times before, social is people . I’ve seen examples of businesses in my community over the last couple of weeks who actually shared my interests (or at least seemed to enough that I couldn’t tell the difference — you’ll hear more about them in the next few days). And, sadly, I’ve seen examples of businesses focused only on their interests.

Guess which businesses I — and others within my community — are going to buy from in the future.

The fact is, you’re not looking for a community manager. You’re looking for a community participant.

If your “community manager” doesn’t care about the community, isn’t passionate about the community, its people, its values and its long-term well-being, your social media efforts won’t succeed. Period. And if you don’t support your community manager’s passion, your social media efforts also won’t succeed.

Being part of a community isn’t a marketing exercise. It’s something you commit to. If you’re interested in being part of the community, find people who share a passion for that community. And if you’re not, don’t waste your time. Or your customer’s.

---

If you can help those dealing with the after-effects of Hurricane Sandy, please visit the American Red Cross .

Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local , mobile , social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your business via the web, every day. Get more than just news. Get understanding. Add thinks to your feed reader today .

Or subscribe via email .

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Tim on Twitter .

Tim Peter & Associates helps companies from startups to the Fortune 500 use the web to reach more customers, more effectively every day. Take a look and see how we can help you.

Technorati Tags: social , social commerce , social marketing , social media , social strategy