For more than 15 years, the profession of community manager has been on the front of the stage, alone embodying the perfect mediator between brands and Users on social networks.
However, in recent years le community management seems to be loss of speed. Although many training centers integrate into their program CM trainingjob offers have been in a clear drop for some time. Research is more diversified and goes more to profiles that are hybrid.
. If the role remains essential within many companies, the reality on the ground shows a decreasing interest in this position, as much on the side of recruiters as of professionals themselves.
The profession of community manager Does he live his last hours of glory or does he simply experience a deep transformation?
Community Manager: a profession that has become ungrateful and under-valued
The observation could be is bitter for many cm : Between constant pressure, offbeat schedules, often heavy moderation and wages that are struggling to follow, the profession no longer makes you dream as before. The role has become more and more a profession where performance takes over creativity without the salary following.
Just take a look at job offers to realize it: the proposed remuneration is always Between 24/26K € and 30/35K € gross/yearfor profiles that must be multitasking, creative, reactive and necessarily ultra-connected. Versatility is pushed to the extreme, to the point of making CM a real man-orchestra of digital, but without the recognition that goes with it.
In addition, each year he must acquire new skills, master new tools and constantly be on standby on all changes made in the world of digital. The days of 7/8 hours are no longer enough to form and keep pace.
Another of the realities encountered is Confusion around the postwhere the community manager often becomes a social media manager on offers without the salary going with. Stragégie mixes with skills that are not those of the CM at the base, although the title of the position remains Community Manager. Is it a voluntary way to underpay a profile at its fair value?
CM's job is no longer dreaming, between constant performance research, pressure and salary that does not follow!
AI growth in digital communication
The growing arrival of generative artificial intelligences quickly turned the digital landscape. In just a few months, major tools including the Chatgpt AI, made it possible to produce content very quickly and effortlessly on the part of “content creators”.
What make some recruiters think about hiring a cm When AI can generate publications in a few seconds and manage multiple tasks. Certainly! Nothing will replace humans But companies always see ease and speed depending on quality.
Even if human value remains irreplaceable for make a link, Understand communities et manage crisesit is clear that AI really competes with certain cm tasks. At this stage it is up to the CM to quickly evolve and train in AI, not just superficially.
However, it is still a rope to add to its bow, which does not make the CM expert, but always a Swiss knife which will never have the deserved remuneration.
Companies sometimes prefer to be towards profiles Independent CM And entrust the rest of the tasks to automated tools, or more specific profiles.
Roles sought after by companies
Today recruiters are no longer only looking for community managers, although the CM's profession remains flagship in digital. They want hybrid profiles, capable of juggling several expertise and quickly adapting to new technologies including AI.
Here are some professions that continue to gain strength in the digital sector:
Social media strategist ou social media manager
More than community managerthis profile is capable of having a real strategic vision Beyond the simple choice of social platforms. Whether it is actions to be implemented, editorial strategy and advertising on networks, the social media manager is above all a strategist.
He pilots the KPIS, coordinates campaigns and works in synergy with marketing and communication. He created the strategy to be deployed by the community manager as well as the content in certain cases. He is the direct guarantor of digital performance on social networks in particular. The community manager is not a strategist at the basealthough it can take on this role within small structures, to a small extent.
Content strategist ou content manager
Content creation becomes central in all trades linked directly or indirectly to the web. This role goes far beyond social networks: we are talking about SEO, blogging, creation of newsletters, YouTube videos … with a performance oriented vision and king.
The content has created is not only editorial, but incorporates all formats and types to meet needs and expectations from targeted audiences.
Growth hacker
This profile at the crossroads of marketing and tech is to master and use acquisition levers To grow an audience “quickly”. Automation, A/B testing, data, etc. He masters tools that conventional CMs do not necessarily know. It is a generally very curious, passionate profile and on the lookout for any form of novelty in his field.
He also has knowledge in certain computer languages, to code and create applications.
UX writer ou content designer
With the rise of conversational interfaces and mobile applications, UX oriented writing becomes a profession in itself. It is the art of guiding the user with the right words, in the right place. A profile that is also at the crossroads of copywriting, although the latter was quickly replaced by AI for some.
IA content curator or AI prompt engineer
AI has opened new vocations Orienting themselves towards specific expertise: namely to design the right prompt, use the right generation tools, organize, edit and know how to exploit the results, while keeping an editorial coherence.
However, the tools are still in an evolution phase and are only satisfied with the existing, in particular the data found on the web. Beyond that it necessarily lacks the human dimension, reflection and all that is to be compared to human behavior. So we cannot yet speak of an IA expert in my humble opinion, because we are far from having reached the full potential of AI.
This is only the beginning, but to train from the start and anticipate this AI will do in the future is what interests companies. SO The community manager is no longer a priority within companies in the face of this observation, Although it is still a role sought after by many stopping.
Should the community manager evolve or reinvent himself?
Difficult to say because we cannot constantly request community managers on all facets of digital professions. Either there are specializations recognized around the trade, or it may be preferable to turn to more promising roles.
Faced with this observation, two choices are therefore available to CM:
- Evolve to a more strategic positionby going up in skills on subjects such as data analysis, online advertising, SEO or specific content creation. The advantage is to sell better when you meet specific needs, with a salary that could be more attractive to it. Beware, however, of the experience won upstream, because beginners will always be at a low salary. The position could be the social media manager.
- Specializeby becoming for example a CM dedicated to a specific platform (Tiktok, Discord, Twitch, etc.), or by further reporting a sectoral expertise such as B2B, the field of finance, health, gaming, etc.
Community managers who will get out of the game are those who have understood that the profession can no longer be summed up with what it was in its early days and until a few years ago. AI has revolutionized many things among professionals;, especially in mentalities where leaders constantly seek the speed of execution and the king quickly.
In conclusion
The end of community management has not yet struckbut this role must necessarily evolve to last. The job as we knew it 15 years ago is no longer enough to meet the current expectations and needs of companies. With the rise of AI, expectations in terms of performance and the valuation of strategic skills, this pushes CM's profession to have to reinvent itself.
For companies, the challenge is not to replace humans in the face of automation systems. The link with communities, active listening and creativity will remain added values that neither the AI nor the current tools will fully replace.
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The future will tell us if the community manager will give in to the growth of new professions and/or AI which will become more efficient, but one thing is certain: it is essential to review and rethink the role of the community manager in the digital ecosystem.