The Hottest Thing In Social Media: A Community Director

When I’m talking to companies about the creation of social media strategies and tactics, a key element is making sure they follow through on their commitment. After all, it makes no sense to spend time and money on a social media plan, and then not implement it properly.

While I’m more than happy to carry the social media “ball” after putting together a strategic and tactical plan, it’s crucial to hand off the ball at some point to someone within the company who can then run with it. After all, who better to do social media than someone who is drinking the corporate Kool-Aid, right?

This is where the director of community comes into play. These people are social media savvy, excellent communicators and writers, capable of dealing with a variety of responsibilities, able to multi-task, and have an appreciation for a company’s marketing, communications and sales strategies.

In other words, they need a well-rounded skill set, AND be given enough autonomy by senior management to do things on the fly given how quickly the social media landscape can change.

One of of the challenges is many companies don’t have enough of an appreciation of what’s involved in doing social media well. Rather than hiring someone with experience and a strong sets of skills, many companies think they can hire someone junior at a low cost, especially at a time when hiring a full-time employee is done with reluctance.

That can be a major mistake because a good director of community can be worth their weight in gold.

Of course, the directory of community is a relatively new position so finding someone with experience can be a challenge. As a result, there can be an element of risk, and companies have to accept that directors of community may have to learn on the job. Still, a good director of community needs to have a core set of skills if they’re going to be successful.

The bottom line is companies have to realize that hiring a directory of community is an important strategic decision. It means they need to hire the right person even if it means paying for quality.

For more thoughts on hiring a director of community, check out Hightalk.

More: Check out this Web Worker Daily presentation on what community managers do.

By Mark Evans | February 16, 2009