Community Management vs Social Media Management: What's the Difference?

In the age of social media, most brand communities exist mainly online via social media platforms like Reddit, TikTok, Facebook, or X.

So, when you think of community management, you might think the person in charge of that is a social media manager.

However, that may not be the case. There are actually significant differences between social media and community management, though the two can go hand-in-hand. What are those differences? Well, keep reading to find out.

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Community Management vs Social Media Management

Here are some key differences between community management and social media management.

1. Different Goals

Community managers aim to boost brand visibility and engagement. They also work extensively toward a long-term goal of crafting a strong, supportive community around the brand—which can take years.

Conversely, social media managers often have sales-related goals and are concerned with social media ROI. They usually create or post content to redirect followers to the brand's website, where they can purchase or perform a specific action.

Social media managers often measure their success by tracking conversion and click-through rates.

2. Different Responsibilities

HubSpot's Principal Marketing Manager of Community, Erica Finley, says, “The biggest distinction between community management and social media management is that community is peer-to-peer and social media is one-to-many.”

She mentions how she used to work for a brand with an excellent social media presence.

“The rapport was great between the brand accounts and the fans, and it created a very positive brand affinity,” she explains.

There was just one problem.

“The drawback, however, was that the fans didn’t have a place to congregate without us — to share their enthusiasm, exchange best practices, ask their questions, and strengthen their networks,” Finley says.

“Giving them a dedicated community space with specific guardrails and special rituals that we developed over time allowed them to flourish personally and professionally.”

In other words, community managers don‘t just manage specific platforms; they create a culture around their brand that benefits the brand and its consumers.

On the other hand, social media managers are mainly concerned with growing a brand’s presence on digital platforms.

3. Different Skills

Social media managers must be knowledgeable about social media trends, strategies, and the current landscape.

They must also be able to track social media metrics as they apply to each platform and use their findings to create or improve a strategy.

Community managers require a different skill set. They must possess excellent interpersonal skills to build and facilitate relationships between the brand and its audience.

Community managers must also be problem solvers who can quickly, professionally, and seamlessly resolve conflict or issues in the brand's community.

4. Different Measures of Success

Social media managers measure their success concerning the company's overall yearly goals.

So, if a company wants to boost sales by the end of the year, a social media manager would check metrics to see if their social media posts convinced people to make a purchase.

If a company wants to boost web traffic, a social media manager will analyze data to see how many website visitors came from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok.

On the other hand, measuring success for a community manager can be less clear.

“Community efforts are not hard to quantify, but there will still be leadership teams who 'don’t get it,” Finley says. “Community isn’t new, but it’s newer and less strictly defined in business settings than sales or digital marketing.”

Community managers often focus less on how their work led to direct sales and more on brand awareness and how often people talk about the brand online (and if the chatter is positive).

Success is measured by how the brand's community grows in the long run and how users interact with the brand.

How Community Managers and Social Media Managers Can Work Together

Community and social media managers can work in tandem to build your brand's representation, bridge the gap between the organization and its target audience, and drive sales.

Social media managers ensure a fun and engaging line of communication via digital platforms, while community managers build rapport. Mix them both, and you have a dream team.

Social media managers can help keep community managers informed about what social media platforms work best when communicating with target consumers and what best practices on those platforms are.

From there, community managers can facilitate space for consumers to engage with the brand, network, and grow.