“A Community Manager is the face of a company, managing communications in both directions. It’s a Web 2.0 communications role, incorporating online tools and in-person networking to create relationships and ultimately build a company’s brand, both online and off.” 

Erin Bury, Director of Content and Communications, Sprouter

Later this week, I will be volunteering as part of a team to help support the aspirations of high school students from under-represented backgrounds for college degree programs in environmental and related science fields.

Volunteering in our community is a core value for the brand my team represents. As volunteers, we are the face of the brand to the people we serve.  By initiating and managing a 2-way conversation with the students, we bring the brand to life. Their experience with us and the relationships we build in the course of our service to these students will ultimately frame their perceptions of our brand and its reputation.

What if we were to add Web 2.0 to the communications mix? Offline interactions with the people we serve would happen online. Community managers would give the brand its voice, managing the flow of 2-way communications. How the students experience us and the relationships we build as a result of those online interactions would shape their perceptions of our brand and its reputation – for years to come.

Volunteers and community managers are the face of your brand -- they create relationships within the communities they serve. It’s how brand reputations are made.