28 Jan 10 Social Media Tips to Help You Celebrate Community Manager Appreciation Day

Posted at 14:00h in Social Media Strategy by

Happy Community Manager Appreciation Day! Yes, this is a real holiday created in 2010 by Jeremiah Owyang. And no, we’re not shocked that you’ve never heard of it. Sure, it might be a holiday created by a profession comprised mainly of Millennials that are used to getting a trophy just for showing up, but at Ignite Social Media, we decided to celebrate them by putting our community managers to work. We asked them to share one insider tip that they’ve learned while managing communities. Oh, and just for fun, we let them pretend they were getting gifts too. Here are some of their answers:

Ashlie Lanning: Senior Community Manager

Twitter Handle: @MarketingAshlie

  • Pro Tip: My day wouldn’t go well if I didn’t have Skitch for taking and sharing screengrabs and Evernote to capture inspiration whenever it strikes.
  • Dream Gift: The world’s largest set of poms poms. I am a huge cheerleader for the brands and fans I represent. I could really use the accessories to make it official.

Meghan Hardy: Community Manager

Twitter Handle: @Meg22UF

  • Pro Tip: Ask your users to share about when they started using your product. We find that we uncover multiple generations of consumers that have used our product.
  • Dream Gift: My very own Grumpy Cat

Mackenzie Bright

Mackenzie Bright: Community Manager

Twitter Handle: @MackenzieBright

  • Pro Tip: Don’t use a Promoted Facebook Post for an offer, sweepstakes, promotion, etc. that ends before the Promoted Post does. Also, note that Promoted Facebook Posts run for 72 hours so be aware of when you first promoted the post.
  • Dream Gift: The ability to travel through my computer and talk to the community members one-on-one.

Thea Neal

Thea Neal: Community Manager

Twitter Handle: @NealThea

  • Pro Tip: Only post a video if it is AMAZING or BRIEF. As Sweet Brown said, “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”
  • Dream Gift: Access to all Fashion Week shows (especially Dior), globally, for life.

Settie Amini

Settie Amini: Community Manager

Twitter Handle: @SettieSpaghetti

  • Pro Tip: Make your photos more engaging using ThingLink – a tool that adds interactive elements like music, video and informational text to photos.
  • Dream Gift: A pass to power nap with Stevie (my pug) in the office whenever I want.

John Patterson

John Patterson: Senior Community Manager

Twitter Handle: @JohnPatterson85

  • Pro Tip: If you are looking to generate user generated content, try creating a weekly or monthly featured post or tweet. This gives users time to prepare their content to share the next time you post.
  • Dream Gift: A magic tweet machine that would make anything I say magically fit into 140 characters

Keriann Maltby

Keriann Maltby: Community Manager

Twitter Handle: @KeriannGriffin

  • Pro Tip: Be open-minded to other community managers’ thoughts and points of view. Also, all event photos are not created equal. Shoot every angle and look for the photo that best represents your brand.
  • Dream Gift: Diamond Medallion Status. They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend.

Kristen Marzonie

Kristen Marzonie: Community Manager

Twitter Handle: @Kris10_Elise

  • Pro Tip: Research how other brands are using the social space, and think of ways to use it better. 😉
  • Dream Gift: A team of minions to be my all-purpose assistants and little buddies.

Anne Brannon

Anne Brannon: Director of Community Management

Twitter Handle: @anneonymity

  • Pro Tip: Don’t mix business with pleasure. As in, don’t utilize the same social media management tool or app for your client accounts that you use for your personal accounts.
  • Dream Gift: Reliable, free, fiber-optic high-speed wireless Internet… everywhere.

Erin Ledbetter

Erin Ledbetter: Vice President of Community Management

Twitter Handle: @SocialSheek

  • Pro Tip: Know your audience and stay focused so that you properly balance what your brand needs you to talk about and what your audience wants to talk about. Don’t post without purpose, EVER!
  • Dream Gift: I would like these please because they will help me do my job better. True story. Everyone works better in a pair of sky-high heels. Oh, and because pink and orange is the best color combination that ever existed.

And with that, we wish you a very happy Community Manager Appreciation Day from the Community Management team at Ignite Social Media. We hope our tips help you increase engagement and promote fan growth in 2013. Don’t forget to thank your community managers today!



Ignite Social Media