Best Resources for Community Managers

Brand evangelist? Forum moderator? Company strategist? Team cheerleader? PR guru?

As a community manager, you are many things to many people. How do you manage all those expectations while juggling the many hats that come with your job description? Where do you turn for advice?

The good news is that community managers are self-selected to be connective, friendly, collaborative and empathic. So whether you are just starting your first online community or you are a seasoned CM looking for inspiration and fresh ideas, you will find an astounding variety of resources to fit any budget or answer any query.

Below we’ve put together a list to get you started. Leave a comment with your own favorite resources.

• The Community Roundtable. Start here if you’re looking for advisory services, research and documentation of trends and best practices, or education and training. TheCR’s stated mission is to “advance the business of community.” They do this through TheCR Network, a membership-based service providing reports, templates, worksheets, education and support to community professionals looking to build skills and broaden their professional networks.
   

• WOMMA. Want a hip place to hang out with other CMs, virtually and in person?  Try the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Research shows that communities hosting regular offline and online events have smaller lurker rates. WOMMA has perfected this trade secret with its Wine Wednesday networking and educational events hosted across the country. WOMMA has also recently joined forces with TheCR and ComBlu to offer a Community Management Certificate Program featuring courses such as the “Content Marketing Crash Course” and “Social Customer Care Essentials.”
   

• ComBlu. This group focuses on the trifecta of content strategy, community building and thought leadership in the global marketplace, and the number of Fortune 500 company logos prominently displayed on their website is truly impressive. The ComBlu website is a great place to start if you’re looking for big-picture strategies. And yet, these ideas are universal and scalable from the top-grossing multinational corporation down to the smallest non-profit or start-up.
   

Social Media Resources

This is the place to play for community managers. The resources are virtually unlimited, and if you don’t find what you’re looking for, it’s easy to start your own group or reach out for advice. A recent surfing session uncovered some impressive results.
 

• Pinterest Visual learners can try typing the phrase “community management” into the search bar to find a plethora of infographics on topics such as, “How to Build and Manage Awesome Communities” and “Six Clever Tricks for Social Media Managers.” Pinterest not only offers visual inspiration. It is also a great place to find statistics on communities and community building. 
   

• Twitter Come here if you’re interested in watching community trends, stalking superstar community builders, or discovering community experts to follow such as @TheCMgr (The Community Manager). Twitter gives you the flexibility and control to follow people, news, videos, and even curated lists.
   

• LinkedIn This is a strong platform for building your professional network and interacting with other professional community managers. Searching groups is especially helpful. In my first query I easily found a group called Online Community Management Best Practices. With over 814 members, OCMBP offers hundreds of articles targeting topics of interest to community managers.