How to build a community that's wholesome, hospitable & human

When it comes to building a social media presence, community management often ends up being an afterthought.

But the benefits that come from expanding connections, engaging with commenters and harnessing feedback make it a pretty significant part of brand building. I sat down with The Attention Seeker’s Head of Community Management Melinda Wong to see what’s often misunderstood about the job, what it takes to effectively manage a community, and why it’s one of the last refuges in marketing that AI can’t do better.

Sup Mel! You’re at the forefront of community management for several of our clients' businesses and personal brands. Where do you see people often falling short in this area?

Most brands want to build a community, but they just don't know what approach to take. Because when you think about marketing you think about tactics and hacks, right? But at the foundation of community, it's just listening and building and nurturing relationships. It’s an unscalable thing. But it's those moments, those interactions you have that create magic for your brand.

Does that mean listening to the feedback your audience gives and the kinds of conversations they’re having?

Yeah. It's just paying attention to what the audience is saying and what has made an impression, and knowing how to leverage those moments, because they come and go. You have to time it well and listen, and then you just lean into it. I think it's easier said than done, but I wouldn't go as far as to say it's super hard to learn. Like, at the end of day, you just listen and take intentional time to surface any themes that people show you.

So you have to be quite empathetic I imagine, like a professional listener?

Yeah, something like that! I saw the community manager role phrased somewhere online as a “digital landscape therapist” or something like that. It's a weird thing, because I do think to a certain extent you need to be an empath, like a community person. But at the same time, because you might be bombarded with 900 comments a day, it's so easy to take it personally when it's just feedback.

I once heard someone say these days brands lose trust by the bucketful and gain it in spoonfuls. And yeah it’s true. But at the same time if you're so focused on that, you're not gonna be able to see the hate for what it is. And sometimes negativity is just feedback, and that’s super valuable.

It’s one thing to retain existing audiences, but what can brands do to expand them?

We do a lot of brand interplay, which put brands in the right conversations they should be in, like anything topical or that matches their values. But we also do outreach to other creators to tap into their audiences. The way I see community is that it's not really from a demographic point of view, but more so from an interest kind of breakdown. Because the best marketing moves people’s emotions. And a strong emotional trigger would be anything that's an extension of someone’s identity and interests.

Let’s say you’re fostering a community from the ground up. How would you approach it?

I think a word that encapsulates everything is “presence”. If you don't know what your brand is, just be present in conversations that are happening around you and make those connections. A lot of people just put comments out there, then forget about it. But that’s like bringing someone to the dance floor and just leaving them there. It’s awkward.

So if someone is responding to your posts, get on it, respond straight away, and actively build those connections. Don't see it as just another task to do. Actually invest in maintaining at least some of those connections. If there’s someone’s profile picture sitting in your inbox and you're not doing anything with it, that’s a wasted opportunity. Because when you nurture those connections, they can become opportunities.

Any last pointers you’d like to share?

If you want to scale community management, scale the logistics part of it, but never take the human part of it out. Automate all the logistics, but never automate the care. There’s only so much that AI tools can help with, and they're really good with helping you be more efficient. But there’s still that human element to brand building, particularly within community management, that needs to be there. Because it’s a relationship first, and the best brands - at least the best rising brands - are doing it.

- Devin Pike, Copywriter