None, but I love to be the uncle for everyone else's pets!

I began with social media with an internship in 2014 where my role was determining engagement sentiment for a machine learning tool! Following this, I knew I enjoyed social media and bounced around all avenues, from social media management at an agency to consulting brands on their paid engagement at a start-up. Three years ago I was lucky enough to receive my first "Community Manager" role at a home-fitness brand and felt like I found my fit. It has only been up from there!

After finishing university, having the confidence in myself to stick with social media and pass up other avenues that I saw in front of me was a huge challenge. It still is to this day since, similar to social media in the 2010's era, Community is a newer industry that brands and leaders (and managers!) don't fully understand yet. Another challenge, specifically to do with Community, has been proving how Community links to various company goals. This feels parallel to social media as well, as it has taken quite a while for reporting (and the tools that help with it) to catch up to what leaders generally expect. The challenge now is finding creative ways to tangibly link a community initiative with goals like retention and sales.

First and foremost are the resources available by leading community organizations and thought leaders. Joining webinars, connecting with others and actually reaching out, reading newsletters (have to plug Evan Hamilton here!), and experimenting on my own with reporting have all helped with this development. There are some strategies like networking and using available resources that could help with any role, but for those new to community I would highly encourage exploring all of your ideas about reporting and initiatives! This is a new space for almost everyone, it's the perfect time to test what works and what doesn't, then share it with the rest of us.

Facebook Groups is great and covers almost every base that you're looking for. Generally speaking, your brand's customers and potential customers are already on there, so you're meeting them where they are. For personal use, I love Discord and Slack for different reasons. The flow of conversation and ability for separate channels are great for communities that grow beyond a certain point.

Set the precedent and lead by example! If you don't have many members in your community then make sure to respond to any applicable engagement in a personalized way. Ask questions, put yourself out there, and show others that it's cool to do the same!If you have a large community with low engagement don't be discouraged! Maybe the current conversations aren't what that community really want to see. Switch it up, and show by example that it's okay for your community to dig in and explore its purpose.

Community is an opportunity for people of different backgrounds, ideas, and perspectives, to set any differences aside to work for a common goal. Whether it is for a brand, hobby, or other community, fostering an environment where people come together over a single cause and can enhance their relationships afterwards is an incredible thing. Community is what can make our world the best place possible.

At a brand, internal community is just as important as the external community you're managing! Make sure to collaborate with others as much as possible, over communicate, find out what leadership values and work to report on that. Put yourself out there internally and then show the value of what you're doing externally as quickly as possible to get the buy-in you need.