Essential community manager skills: A complete guide for 2025
It’s estimated that there are 70,000 AI SaaS startups in the world today.
As one of those thousands of AI SaaS startups, Jasper.ai needed to stand out in a big way.
One of their big bets, according to their previous VP of Marketing, Meghan Keaney Anderson, was their community.
They grew to more than 70,000 members on their Facebook group before they invested in the community as a marketing, education, and retention strategy–and moved to Circle.
Before launching the new community, Anderson said there were signals that indicated prospects and users were interested in a dedicated space.
“We saw people publicly sharing their amazement with the tool. That was a good signal we were ready for a community,” Anderson says. Not only that, but people were literally tattooing the Jasper (previously Jarvis) logo on themselves–signaling that there was a uniting factor of being a Jasper user.
Now, Jasper’s 17k+ strong brand community is a massive differentiator–but it wouldn’t have been possible if they didn’t invest in strong, strategic community management.
This is where so many companies go wrong. They try to stack community on top of marketing’s responsibilities, or get customer success to add another task to their to-dos, instead of hiring a dedicated community manager to strategize, organize, and engage their community.
💡77% of consumers use communities to make purchase decisions–and 76% wish their favorite brands had a community.
Whether you're scaling a thriving community or building one from scratch, you need more than just good intentions–you need a strategic approach and a dedicated community manager.
So, let's talk about the crucial community management skills you’ll need in order to break into the field, up your game, and transform your favorite brands and companies from lagging to leaping into the future of business.
What does a community manager do?
❤️ Think of a community manager as the heart of your community.
They're not just moderating posts–they're the architect of engagement, the guardian of culture, and the bridge between members and your organization’s business strategy.
“Customer-obsessed organizations outperform their peers in growth, retention, and profitability… and to find, keep, and grow your customers, you must know your customers. Part of the arsenal of tools that can help you accomplish this: online communities.”
Manage the foundations of a healthy community: daily operations
At its core, community management is about showing up consistently for your members and making them feel seen, heard, valued, and connected.
Every morning starts with checking in on your community's pulse: moderating discussions, welcoming new faces, and making sure no question goes unanswered for too long. You're keeping an eye on all your communication channels, whether that's your main community platform or emails.
Build community through connections
This is where the magic happens. Community building is about creating those moments where members think "Yup, this is exactly where I belong."
You're crafting discussions that get people talking, organizing events that bring people together, and spotting those natural leaders who make your community thrive.
“I'm not only saying hello to new members, but also connecting them to other folks that are either on the same journey or in similar industries," explains Pedro Hernandes, Circle's Community Manager.
The best community builders (see Pedro, above) have a knack for making meaningful connections happen naturally. They celebrate wins, both big and small, and create programs that recognize members who go above and beyond.
Create content and programming
Here's where you get to be both strategic and creative.
You're not just filling a content calendar–you're creating experiences that bring your community to life. This means planning events that members actually want to attend, crafting newsletters that get opened and read, and organizing AMAs that spark real conversations.
The secret sauce? Listening to what your community actually wants.
"You don't need content to start a community. Maybe your members want to just actually build together with you, not start something that's already done where they cannot give their opinions and feedback," says Pedro.
The best programming often comes from paying attention to those recurring questions and interests that keep popping up in discussions. Maybe you notice several members talking about productivity challenges–that could become your next workshop or challenge series.
Build foundational and growth strategies
Here's a truth about community management: what works for 100 members won't work for 1,000, and what works for 1,000 won't work for 10,000. You need systems that can scale with your growth.
Great community managers are always thinking ahead. They're not just solving today's challenges – they're building systems that'll support their community as it grows. They're keeping an eye on engagement metrics, testing new growth strategies, and making sure their community's goals align perfectly with their organization's mission.
Here’s an example: Take Marie, a community manager for a growing tech community.
- When she started, she could personally welcome every new member.
- At 500 members, she created a welcome workflow that automatically connected new members with relevant resources and people.
- By 2,000 members, she had a thriving ambassador program where experienced members helped onboard newcomers.
Handle crises
Even the most well-run communities face challenges. The key is being prepared and responding with clarity and care.
Whether it's mediating a heated discussion between members or handling a platform outage, great community managers know how to keep their cool and guide their community through rough patches.
Become the feedback loop
As a community manager, you're the bridge between your members and your organization. You're hearing the day-to-day feedback, suggestions, and sometimes frustrations from your community. But more importantly, you're turning that feedback into action.
Great community managers don't just collect feedback–they champion their community's needs. They know how to (and have processes for) translating member suggestions into feature suggestions that make sense for the business. They keep their community informed about changes and improvements, and they make sure members feel heard, even when every request can't be implemented.
"Your community members aren't expecting you to be perfect. They're not expecting you to have all of the answers. They're really just looking to you to kind of facilitate connection and help guide them closer to their goals," - Pedro Hernandes, Circle's Community Manager
3 Essential skills for a community manager
Being a great community manager isn't just about being friendly and organized (though those things definitely help!). It's about developing a specific set of skills that help you serve your community better–and they may not be the sort of hard skills you expect in a job description.
1. Empathy and emotional intelligence
This is your superpower. Great community managers can read between the lines in conversations, understanding what members really need–even when they're not saying it directly. You'll need to:
- Spot when a heated discussion needs redirection
- Know when (and how, whether in a private DM or a community discussion) to enforce guidelines and when to show flexibility
- Support members through challenges while maintaining professional boundaries
"We hardly have to enforce guidelines. Whenever you see something happening in the space that's not following best practices, we see it more as something where we are not onboarding members correctly," explains Pedro.
2. Strong, clear communication
Your words set the tone for the entire community. Whether you're writing guidelines, making announcements, or handling a sensitive situation, clarity is key. The best community managers know how to:
- Keep their messaging consistent
- Break down complex ideas into simple terms
- Write in a way that builds trust and encourages engagement
Here’s some best practices about community communications.
3. Proactive problem-solving
The best time to solve a problem is before it becomes one. This means:
- Spotting potential issues early
- Creating systems that prevent common problems, like management guidelines and processes
- Finding solutions that scale with your community
Being able to think one step ahead of your community growth is a crucial part of being successful in a community management role. Whether that’s predicting tech limitations, forecasting seasonal changes in engagement, or exploring opportunities for growth (like ambassador programs–all of these are incredible assets in community managers.
How can a community manager help a business scale?
A skilled community manager is often the secret ingredient in a business's growth strategy. They're not just maintaining a community–they're building a scalable engine for business growth.
Leadership and delegation
As your community grows, you can't (and shouldn't) do everything yourself. Great community managers know how to build and empower teams that help the community thrive. Think of it as creating a multiplier effect–every empowered moderator or volunteer leader amplifies your community's potential.
The key is creating systems that set everyone up for success:
- Building clear decision-making frameworks that give moderators confidence
- Providing the right balance of guidance and autonomy
- Identifying and nurturing natural leaders within your community
- Creating recognition systems that celebrate volunteer contributions
- Developing training programs that help team members grow
The best community managers know when to step back and let others shine. They're constantly looking for opportunities to distribute leadership, whether that's through special interest groups, mentorship programs, or community-led initiatives.
Systems thinking
Community managers that help companies thrive, think in systems and processes, not just day-to-day tasks. They're architects of scalable community frameworks. This means:
- Creating processes that work for both 100 and 1,000 members
- Documenting everything clearly for future reference (with SOPs or otherwise)
- Identifying opportunities for thoughtful automation
- Understanding how each decision impacts different community segments
- Building frameworks that can evolve with the community
The goal isn't to create rigid structures, but to build flexible systems that support organic community growth while maintaining quality and consistency.
Growth-oriented community leaders are always asking themselves and their teams:
- How can we make this work for 10x more members?
- What processes need to be documented?
- Where can we automate without losing the human touch?
- How will our decisions impact different customer segments?
Data-driven decision making
While community building is fundamentally about human connections, data helps you make better decisions. Smart community managers blend quantitative insights with qualitative understanding:
- Tracking meaningful metrics that align with community goals
- Using analytics to identify patterns and opportunities
- Making informed decisions about resource allocation (like your event strategy)
- Testing and measuring the impact of new initiatives
- Translating data into actionable community improvements
The key is finding the right balance–using data to inform decisions while never losing sight of the human element that makes communities special.
For example, Pedro shares a monthly report in our internal #community Slack channel sharing key stats, changes in metrics, and popular posts.
The fine balance of great community management
“My favorite thing about being Circle’s community manager? It's a bit cheesy, but it's actually just learning with you all. I love a question that I don't know the answer to. I love trying to find solutions to help you and see you succeed in solving it."
- Pedro Hernandes, Community Manager at Circle
Great community management is both an art and a science. It's about finding that sweet spot between structure and flexibility, automation and personal touch, guidelines and organic growth. Whether you're just starting out or scaling an existing community, remember that your goal is to create a space where members feel they truly belong.
The most successful community managers never stop learning and adapting. They stay curious about their members' needs, keep experimenting with new approaches, and always keep their community's best interests at heart.
And if you’re ready to take your community management to the next level?
You’re in the right place.
Circle brings together your members, discussions, events, courses, and content—all in one place, under your own brand. Plus, you get access to our customer community full of handy resources and over 12,000 community builders on the same journey as you.
