Community Managers are the super heroes in the shade who shadow brand pages and twitter accounts, embodying those brands and speaking to us with their voices. They are the ones who create amazing content that makes us like and share and ultimately welcome the brand to our daily offline lives. If you have been curious to know who those superheroes are, you are in luck! Every month we will be interviewing a Community Manager, to not only showcase their talents and wits, but also let you know the real people behind the brands.
This time around we are interviewing Joe. Online you may know him as the guy behind the Joe's Box blog. But not many people know that Joe is the voice behind several great brands that makes us drool over food-shots all day long, or make us rush out to buy a great pair of shoes or an item of clothing. He describes himself as a person “Living and Loving LEBANON!” and his personal accounts reflect a deeply rooted love for food, photography, travel and all things related to social media. You can follow Joe on Twitter and Instagram as @joesbox, as for the brands that Joe manages, he prefers to keep them a secret, but you would surely make a good guess if you follow him back. Let’s see how he sees the social media scene in Lebanon.
What is the funniest thing you’ve seen while you were on social media watch?
Reading the same post or seeing the same photo on different business pages, who may sometimes even be competitors.
How did working in social media affect your personal social media presence?
At first, my personal social media presence got me a job in social media. Now that I am managing different accounts, I’ve been a lot less active on my own social media channels.
Share one tip you would give to other brands on social media.
I would tell them: “Don’t buy Facebook Fans or Twitter followers!” Bought fans never buy your product. The numbers of fans don’t really matter – having 25000 fans doesn’t mean your brand is powerful or loved if no one is engaging with you. All of these non-targeted fans will be irrelevant for your business, they may be from India or Pakistan or may not even be real people.
What is your favorite social media network at the moment and why?
I am an Instagram addict. I post new pictures on a daily basis. Instagram has become the most popular – and most famous – app for sharing and viewing photos. It allows and even encourages people to take and share photos that would otherwise not have been taken. it is quite fun to see the world from the different people’s eyes! I see it as a major addition to social networking life.
What do you think makes a community manager successful?
Research, passion and creativity .
Content creation is probably the hardest thing in social media. How do you approach this? What are your tricks? How do you deal with content creator’s block and not being repetitive?
Depending on the industry , I read on daily basis. I read different international blogs and news sites. I use feedly to access them all from one place I always find interesting articles on these various topics. I monitor the web for fresh content using Google Alerts. I also always check what is trending on different social media channels and share it on my pages.
If you could work with any brand in Lebanon what would it be?
I’ve worked with different Lebanese companies and brands including restaurants, NGOs, fashion brands and an art center. I would like to work with automobile company.
Tell us about the things that you are most proud of:
Well, one of the brands that I am managing was nominated for a Social Media Award. What I am proud of this year is creating a series of small and nice unusual competitions and challenges for a restaurant that people liked and which drove a lot of offline foot traffic to the restaurant and got it featured on different Lebanese blogs. What makes me even prouder is the success of a project with a very small budget .
What do you say when your bosses/clients ask you “Is social media getting us clients? Prove it!
Social media can give your company many benefits – it can increase awareness, introduce you to new people and help with real time customer service. People don’t go to Facebook and Twitter to buy stuff. They go there to chat with friends, discover interesting content, check photos etc… They don’t go there to buy.
People buy from companies and brands that they recognize and trust companies that they have some kind of relationship with them. I personally don’t use social media to direct sales but to get attention, promote good relevant content, run contests, and of course create a brand identity .Once people recognize that you don’t just spam them but share stuff they like, they will follow and like your activities and after that will definitely buy your product.
It is easy to prove it :
– Engagement,
– Number of comments and share of different posts,
– Number of check-ins using Facebook or Foursquare,
– And most importantly testimonials which include user reviews , blog posts, Instagram photos, and even video. All of these are a fantastic form of user social proof.
The way people use social media is always changing. What are the latest trends that you have spotted?
Google Plus is taking off, with more people perceiving it as a social network. Each month, data indicates significant increases in the number of new users, including businesses, who are starting to use Google Plus. Small businesses should really be taking notice of the many benefits awaiting them on this platform.