NickWhat does a Community Manager do from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed?
For every Community Manager, the answer to that question is quite varied. A Community Manager is usually one who wears many hats — or, performs many different tasks each day.
Some days we might be writing web content, the next highlighting some work from within our community, and the next dealing with a crisis, probably started by a pesky troll.
Even though every day is different for everyone Community Manager, the question always gets asked what we do each day. So instead of dodging the question, I put together a typical “hour-by-hour” list of my day below.
8:30 AM — Roll out of bed, make breakfast and get ready for the day.
9:15 AM — Check emails from other staff to see if anything major happened overnight. Move onto support and fan emails and get issues cleared up.
10:00 AM — Casual Skype meeting with boss or team. Briefly discussing future strategies and reporting on community interaction and highlights or issues from within our community.
10:45 AM — Schedule any social media updates that aren’t already scheduled for the day. Make note of times to check on them later when they’re posted.
11:00 AM — Interact with our fans over social media. Check for any mentions of our products, give support if needed and share content from our community.
12:00 PM — Phew. It’s already lunch time and I haven’t even done any real work. Grab a quick bite to eat, read up on industry news and social media updates, and take a few minutes to read /r/aww.
1:00 PM — Start writing and revising a blog post and a newsletter for the end of the week.
1:25 PM — Just as you get “in the zone” a few urgent support emails come in and take priority. Immediately hop in and get them sorted out.
2:30 PM — Well, those support requests took a while to handle. You noted any “repro steps” and created documentation incase someone else has the same issue.
3:00 PM — What?! It’s already 3PM? You put on your headphones, crank up the tunes, and get back to crafting your blog posts and newsletters.
4:30 PM — Your finished a draft of your blog post and made a dent into the newsletter. Time to browse the community pages and get back to fans, and share anything you find interesting from your community.
5:15 PM — Worked a little bit into your dinner time. Oops. Sit down for dinner with the family and chat about the day.
7:00 PM — After a much needed break, your sitting on the couch watching Wheel of Fortune, while occasionally checking your products/company’s social media/forums.
8:30 PM — A small idea for a community event pops into your head and you write it down and do a little bit of work on it.
9:30 PM — You finished jotting down some ideas that kept popping in your head and finally have some time to yourself. Turn on the Xbox and play a little bit, or practice a bit of guitar.
Occasionally a fan sends in a support email, or Tweets to either your or the company’s account. You reply and help them out in-between matches or songs.
10:30 PM — You’re tired, but not yet ready for bed. You browse the internet, chat with friends online and are occasionally answering emails and Tweets.
12:00 AM — It’s somehow midnight. You should get to bed so you can get up early tomorrow and repeat a similar process.
There you have it. My typical day as a Community Manager, day in and day out.
As you can notice, being a Community Manager isn’t a 9-5 job. You’re always thinking about and interacting with your community, and frequently, new tasks and issues arise.
As a Community Manager, you’re never “off the clock.” There’s always something that can and will come up.
It may seem like a very easy job, and let me tell you, it isn’t.
With that being said, being a Community Manager is something I’d never give up as it is probably one the most fun and best jobs out there.
