The 2012 Community Manager Report [INFOGRAPHIC]

by Jason Keath on Jan 23, 2012 Follow @jasonkeath

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Every 4th Monday of January social media professionals gather around their warm, cozy monitors to toast Starbucks and sing viral video carols — all to celebrate Community Manager Appreciation Day. Today marks the third annual celebration of the day, started in 2010 by Jeremiah Owyang.

The community manager is the most popular role among social media teams (according to Altimeter). It has emerged as the main public face of the social media efforts for most companies. Some companies choose to use junior level employees to manage their online communities, while others commit large teams with hierarchies to the task.

Last year, Social Fresh launched our first Community Manager report. And this year we have gathered even more data from twice as many community managers.

We put together the below infographic to give you a taste of where the community manager role stands. And for an even deeper dive into the data keep scrolling for the white paper.

Infographic and white paper can be shared anywhere with a link back to this page.

Thanks to The Community Roundtable, The Community Manager, and all those who helped distribute the Community Manager Report survey.

We had a lot more data this year than we knew what to do with in an infographic. To share all the great data, we put together the below white paper. Here are some of the highlights from the data that is included:

Content is the most time intensive task for community managers
Male community managers make more than female community managers
Software companies were the most likely to have a community manager
The average age of a community manager was 30 years old
Community managers age 31-40 made the most money
More community managers see success on Facebook (52%) than any other platform
Community managers, surprisingly, spend more time on content creation than any other task
New York City is the top city for community managers, almost 1 in 5
1 out of every 3 community managers works on the agency side

Dive into the white paper for much more detail.

Higher resolution images are available on the Social Fresh Flickr account here.

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The Community Manager Report 2012

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Jason Keath

Jason Keath is the founder of Social Fresh, a social media education company. He is a social media speaker and analyst. He also consults with corporations and agencies on building community and influencer outreach.

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http://www.commandpartners.com/ BrandonUttley

Outstanding report! Thanks for compiling this information.
http://noteasytoforget.com/2012/01/happy-community-manager-appreciation-day-an-infographic-in-your-honor/ Happy Community Manager Appreciation Day…An Infographic In Your Honor!

[...] Infographic below from Social Fresh is very succint and quite telling. Social Fresh has also published The 2012 Community Manager [...]
http://roymorejon.com/ Roy Morejon

Nice work on this Jason.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=667279403 Olivier Guillou

Thank U jason … i RT and translate on my blog (in french!) http://olivierguillou.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=667279403 Olivier Guillou

Just a question ? Male or Female ? the slide show indicates different figure than the infography ? Who is the good one ?
http://olivierguillou.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/le-point-sur-les-community-mmanager/ Le point sur les Community Mmanager | olivierguillou

[...] Depuis 2010, le 4ème Lundi de janvier, une étude sur le métier de community manager est poussée par Jason Keath. Vous trouverez ici l’intégralité de l’article : ICI [...]
http://twitter.com/KateMcCaffery Kate McCaffery

Jason, do you guys delve into WHY men make more than women in this role? I understand how it happens in certain industries and circumstances, but it seems to me there’s absolutely no excuse for it in low-mid level roles that are still relatively new in the communications realm. Thoughts? (Honestly, that little factoid inspired a little bit of fury this morning!)
http://www.sarahkayhoffman.com/2012/01/23/3-things-i-learned-about-community-management-from-church/ 3 Things I Learned About Community Management from Church

[...] your Community Manager Appreciation Day with this awesome 2012 Community Manager Report Infographic from Social Fresh (and yes, I did contribute to [...]
http://www.castcoverz.com/ Annette

Great report. In next year’s report, it would be helpful to view comparisons between the size of company (in revenues/employees) and employee/agency/part-time contractor designations. Otherwise, this is great information to determine success criteria for my part-time independent contractor Community Champion.
http://socialfreshacademy.com/ Jason Keath

That was an error. It is now corrected in the slideshare and flickr images. The infographic had it right the first time around, females make up the majority of community managers.
http://socialfreshacademy.com/ Jason Keath

Not sure why Kate. I suspect it is just a reflection of the same things that cause overall pay inequities between men and women. No excuses for it, agreed.
http://socialfreshacademy.com/ Jason Keath

So you want to know if larger companies use agencies or freelancers more often than not? Those breakouts could take a little time, but I will see if we can get them from this year’s data. We will continue to blog about a few other insights that we just did not have time to get to yet.
http://twitter.com/JeromePineau Jerome Pineau

The average salary, if true, is still an aberration since 2009! I stand by what I wrote last year:
http://www.socialmediayousay.com/2011/02/social-medias-little-image-problem-or.html
http://twitter.com/WaynetteTubbs Waynette Tubbs

Love the report and the infographic. I’m astounded that so many companies would trust the community manager role to younger, inexperienced employees. I once heard Angela Connor from Capstrat speak on the Community Manager role saying that you don’t want to trust your brand’s integrity and social reputation to a summer intern. I totally agree. I think you get what you plan for and train for.
http://twitter.com/WaynetteTubbs Waynette Tubbs

Completely agree with you Kate. I don’t understand why there hasn’t been a second suffrage. :) How could there be a disparity in earnings in 2011 in low- to mid-level jobs?
http://socialfreshacademy.com/ Jason Keath

You are saying our salary number is not consistent with a 2009 number?
http://socialfreshacademy.com/ Jason Keath

It is interesting. Keep in mind some younger CMs are on teams, managed by strategists and directors, etc. Still, plenty of younger professionals fill the CM roll, for better or worse.
http://twitter.com/LinkYeah Joel Windels

Amazing compilation of data, really interesting to see.
http://www.castcoverz.com/ Annette

Exactly. That information would be helpful. Thank you!
Steven

Great infographic!

Thanks!

Steven
Voice123.com
Community Manager
Male and living in NYC haha
http://www.brandwatch.com/2012/01/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-community-managers-infographic/ Everything You Wanted To Know About Community Managers [infographic] | Brandwatch

[...] wonderfully, Social Fresh also produced a great infographic to accompany the report, so feast your eyes on [...]
http://de.brandwatch.com/2012/01/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-community-managers-infographic/ Everything You Wanted To Know About Community Managers [infographic] | Brandwatch DE

[...] wonderfully, Social Fresh also produced a great infographic to accompany the report, so feast your eyes on [...]
http://twitter.com/papayamaya Maya Grinberg

Hey Waynette, there’s a difference between a summer intern, a temporary role that students are thrown into during a break from school, and a younger employee. If you assume the company hires smart, intelligent folks on to their team to work full time, it doesn’t matter whether they’re young and inexperienced or (gasp!) the opposite of young, old. Community Management, especially in this time of social media dominance, takes a fresh thinker and a smart worker. How old they are shouldn’t play a part.
Anonymous

curious as to where those salary numbers come from. agencies? brands? freelancers? have you verified them? $51K seems very high for this position, from what I’ve seen.
http://twitter.com/MikeGRad6 MikeGRad6

Really fun report and infographic Jason. It’s interesting to see the gender and geographic break down. Definitely sharing this one.

Michael Girard
Community Engagement, Radian6
Marcy Massura

Well done Jason. Love to see this kind of data around my profession and the profession I work hard to help elevate whenever possible. It is a tough gig, not easy to get it right- but if you work for the right agency/brand it can be beyond fun and fulfilling!
http://cruisesource.us Rich Tucker

Great work!

The emphasis that companies put on social media and community is so wide ranging that the pay has to be all over the board. Year over year did you see the range get a little tighter?

Is there a link to where you define the role of Director of Community vs. Community Manager?
Thank you!
http://communitiesblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/community-manager-appreciation-day-is-here/ Community Manager Appreciation Day is Here! « Communities Conceptualized

[...] -Social Fresh release the results of their Community Manager Report [...]
http://www.yourmembership.com/blog/2012/01/community-manager-appreciation-day/ Community Manager Appreciation Day | Membership Software by YourMembership.com

[...] honor of Community Managers Appreciation Day, we’re sharing this report on Community Managers compiled by SocialFresh. There’s so much value brought to an online community with a [...]
http://marketingland.com/marketing-day-january-23-2012-4168 Marketing Day: January 23, 2012

[...] The 2012 Community Manager Report [INFOGRAPHIC], socialfresh.com [...]
http://www.pulp-and-fiber.com/community-manager-appreciation-day/ Community Manager Appreciation Day! : Pulp & Fiber

[...] Seriously. This is a real holiday. [...]
http://rhondada.com/?p=268 The 2012 Community Manager Report – INFOGRAPHIC – rhondada

[...] Visit the Social Fresh Infographic: The Social Media Lifecycle > [...]
http://blog.thibautparent.com/24-01-2012/community-manager-management-rapport-2011 TiPi's blog | Community management en 2011

[...] infographie a été réalisée pour l’occasion par Social Fresh et dévoile les grandes lignes de [...]
http://vansnick.net/community-manager-enquete-sur-le-metier/ Community Management : L’engagement est facteur de succès | R. Vansnick blog

[...] Source Related Articles Share About Author R.Vansnick [...]
http://www.davemadethat.com Dave Delaney

Great job Jason!
http://socialfreshacademy.com/ Jason Keath

thanks Dave. We want to do more of this.
http://socialfreshacademy.com/ Jason Keath

Thanks rich. the pay is still all over the place but for full time CMs focused on the task it is tightening. Pay for other roles is increasing a little. Director of Community is usually leading a team of CMs.
http://socialfreshacademy.com/ Jason Keath

Thanks Mike. Glad it was helpful.
http://socialfreshacademy.com/ Jason Keath

The salaries come straight from the 300+ community managers we surveyed. It is consistent with the 150 CMs we surveyed last year. We also conducted several conversations with large CM employers off the record to confirm similar findings. The agency/brand breakdown is in the white paper.
http://itsgettingridiculous.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/happy-community-manager-appreciation-day/ Happy Community Manager Appreciation Day | It's Getting Ridiculous

[...] Social Fresh has created a handy little infographic based on their 2012 Community Manager Report: [...]
http://blog.edelman.com.au/2012/01/25/lessons-from-a-community-manager/ Lessons from a Community Manager | Edelman Australia Blog

[...] the third annual Community Manager Appreciation Day with tweets, online gatherings and a new report outlining everything you need to know about your local community manager. Last year, we celebrated [...]
Dan J Mckee

It’s time to put an end to the myth that community managers aren’t responsible for content development and inbound marketing. When I talk to companies, specifically consumer facing web startups, a large majority of them want community managers who can create, not just moderate.

While there will certainly be occasional exceptions, I think that moving forward those who are serious about community management should also be heavily focused on content. Rarely do they not go hand in hand.
http://antyweb.pl/ile-zarabia-sie-na-social-media-w-usa-duzo/ Ile zarabia się na social media? W USA dużo…

[...] Badania na temat pracy Social Media Managerów przeprowadził i opublikował w formie raportu serwis SocialFresh. Dowiedzieliśmy się z niego, że zdecydowana większość osób pracujących na stanowisku [...]
http://www.davemadethat.com Dave Delaney

Let me know how I can help. I’m excited to see the great content coming from you and Social Fresh. Cheers.
http://www.franzrusso.it/condividere-comunicare/la-figura-del-community-manager-per-il-2012-infografica/ La figura del Community Manager per il 2012 [Infografica] |

[...] simpatica, quanto interessante infografica, che sintetizza uno studio realizzato negli Usa da Socialfresh, vediamo insieme chi è e chi sarà il Community Manager per il [...]
http://www.creario.org/infografia-community-managers-en-el-2012/ » Infografía: Community Managers en el 2012 / Creario: Ideas Calidas

[...] Visto en: Social Fresh [...]
http://www.webershandwickseattle.com/2012/01/highlights-from-cmad-2012/ Highlights from Community Manager Appreciation Day 2012

[...] media education company Social Fresh created this fascinating infographic profiling the typical community manager and their job [...]
http://twitter.com/JanetAronica Janet Aronica

This is really great stuff. I’ve seen a few others with similar sentiments in the comments… the salary difference really stands out to me. I can see when it’s across different industries. This sounds like stereotyping but sometimes there are salary reports among recent college grads and the guys make more, but more of them choose high-paying fields like finance or software engineering…(in which case we should probably think about why more women don’t choose those fields.) But when it’s in the same industry, it’s really concerning.
http://blog.sysomos.com/2012/01/26/was-your-community-manager-appreciated/ Was Your Community Manager Appreciated? « Sysomos Blog

[...] For some more information on community managers and a nice infograph, check out Social Fresh’s 2012 Community Manager Report. [...]
Carolinem1984

could you explain me how you measure “engagement”? Thanks.
http://socialfreshacademy.com/ Jason Keath

comments, likes, replies, retweets, mentions, shares, etc. Facebook has nice built in metrics for this, as do many of the professional tools in the industry.
http://socialfreshacademy.com/ Jason Keath

Thanks Janet. Agreed, it is never pleasant to see that kind of separation.
http://www.thestrategyweb.com/the-social-media-rockstars-community-managers-report-2012 The Social Media Rockstars – Community Managers (Report 2012)

[...] Socialfresh published an infographic and report data that illustrates the work, the tasks and capabilities that a community managers need to be able to cover. And these are some of the findings they provide. [...]
http://socialmediaecuador.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/el-retrato-robot-de-un-community-manager-mujer-30-anos-e-ingresos-anuales-de-mas-de-50-000-dolares/ El retrato robot de un community manager: mujer, 30 años e ingresos anuales de más de 50.000 dólares « SocialMedia Ecuador

[...] de las marcas en estas nuevas plataformas. Para descubrir más sobre esta profesión,Social Fresh ha elaborado unainfografía acompañada de un informe, en el que destacan los siguientes [...]
http://blog.zoomlabs.es/2012/01/el-perfil-mas-demandado-community-manager/ El perfil más demandado: Community Manager | Zoomoteca

[...] muy poco sabemos sobre las personas que están detrás de esta gestión de las redes sociales. Social Fresh ha querido acercarnos más a la figura del Community Manager y proporcionarnos una completa [...]
http://blog.us.cision.com/2012/01/pr-news-roundup-12712-5-pr-blog-posts-you-may-have-missed/ PR News Roundup 1/27/12: 5 PR Blog posts You May Have Missed | Cision Blog

[...] The 2012 Community Manager Report [Infographic] via Social Fresh [...]
http://notengomiedoalapaginaenblanco.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/el-community-manager-se-hizo-carne-y-habito-entre-nosotros/ El community manager se hizo carne y habitó entre nosotros « no tengo miedo a la pagina en blanco

[...] Social Fresh ha elaborado una infografía acompañada de un informe, en el que destacan los siguientes datos, cuanto menos curiosos: [...]
http://michaelheipel.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/was-macht-eigentlich-ein-social-media-manager/ Was macht eigentlich ein “Social Media Manager”? | MICHAEL HEIPEL EVENT MARKETING BLOG

[...] Manager weiblich – diese und einige weitere Infos über das Jobprofil findet Ihr im aktuellen 2012 Community Manager Report von socialfresh. 50.121670 8.663980 Advertisement GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); [...]
http://mc352.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/link-roundup-12912/ Link roundup 1/29/12 « MC 352: Social media for advertising & PR

[...] Are any of you hoping to become community managers after you graduate? Some new info on the role of community managers. [...]
http://www.juanmarketing.com/ juanmarketing

I founded interesting the fact Content creation is the task that takes longer for CM.
http://michaelheipel.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/what-is-the-job-of-a-social-media-manager-for-events/ What is the job of a “Social Media Manager” for events? | MICHAEL HEIPEL EVENT MARKETING BLOG

[...] Managers are female – you‘ll find this and other facts about the general job profile in the 2012 Community Manager Report by socialfresh. 50.121670 8.663980 Advertisement GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); [...]
http://updownacross.net/2012/01/30/reader-jan-30-2012/ Reader: Jan 30, 2012 | updownacross

[...] Community Managers SHOULD be making an average of $50k a [...]
Heather

white paper link directs back to original article? or is it my mac?
http://angelbc.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/community-managers-una-definicion-algunas-cifras-y-varias-entrevistas/ Community Managers: Una Definición, Algunas Cifras y Varias Entrevistas | El Ornitorrinco en Linea

[...] los números apoyan esto. Hace una semana la empresa Social Fresh publicó su reporte Community Managers 2012 y los números son interesantes. Algunos de los datos mas [...]
http://thefuturebuzz.com AdamSinger

“Community managers, surprisingly, spend more time on content creation than any other task”

Why is this “surprising” to you guys? :)
http://paidtobeonfacebook.it/community-manager-anatomia-di-una-professione/ Community Manager: anatomia di una professione | Paid To Be On Facebook

[...] tal proposito, una bella infografica realizzata da SocialFresh (ripresa anche da Franz Russo) profila il CM del 2012: sarà donna nel 65% dei casi, con un [...]
http://elena.eldestino.es/blog/?p=589 Community QueenCommunity Manager

[...] aumenta cada día más. Para descubrir más sobre esta profesión, Social Fresh ha elaborado una infografía acompañada de un informe, en el que [...]
http://ritaferrer.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/community-manager-una-profesion-de-moda/ Community Manager ¿Una profesión de moda? « RitaFerrer's Blog

[...] de las marcas en estas nuevas plataformas. Para descubrir más sobre esta profesión,Social Fresh ha elaborado una infografía acompañada de un informe, en el que destacan los siguientes [...]
http://www.socialmediainstitute.nl/index.php/social-media/getting-the-most-out-of-great-content-in-social-media.html/ Getting The Most Out of Great Content in Social Media » Social Media Institute

[...] heels of Community Manager Appreciation Day, it’s worth noting that Social Fresh found “community managers, surprisingly, spend more time on content creation than any other task.” In his latest report on managing social media, Jeremiah Owyang lists developing a content [...]
Ammatenett

We are just beginning with this deal, thank you very much for this report. I hope we’ll incrase the number of women in the rule of community managment
Ammatenett

We are just beginning with this deal, thank you very much for this report. I hope we’ll incrase the number of women in the rule of community managment
http://astridsucipto.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/community-management-engage-converse-listen-respond/ Community Management: Engage, Converse, Listen, Respond « Astrid Sucipto

[...] discovery: according to the 2012 Community Manager report posted by Social Fresh, the majority of community managers are women. The infographic indicates [...]
http://www.facebook.com/people/Zachary-Chastain/1308655925 Zachary Chastain

Beyond just moderating the community and developing content, I also am responsible for tracking metrics in order to determine what’s going on with our client’s communities and developing/implementing experiments to determine how we can positively affect the community, what content works best, etc.

Really, it depends on where you work. It can vary from very basic responsibilities (moderating a community and posting relevant content) to being a very demanding position with a wide range of additional responsibilities.
http://www.reclutando.net/%c2%bfes-importante-la-reputacion-online/ ¿Es importante la reputación online?, en Reclutando.net

[...] Media Strategist estén cada vez más demandados. Aquí tenéis una infografía realizada por Social Fresh sobre la figura del Community Manager (perfil, intereses, preferencias…). El estudio se centra en [...]
http://danielfajardo.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/1185/ Daniel Fajardo

[...] unos días, Social Fresh sacó un excelente estudio denominado “The 2012 Community Manager Report“, que da varias luces acerca de esta actividad dentro del ámbito de Estados Unidos. Llaman [...]
http://yoevoluciono.com/2012/02/10/el-community-manager-se-hizo-carne-y-habito-entre-nosotros/ El community manager se hizo carne y habitó entre nosotros » Yo Evoluciono

[...] Social Fresh ha elaborado una infografía acompañada de un informe, en el que destacan los siguientes datos, cuanto menos curiosos: [...]
http://prosintraining.com/ssm/2012/02/february-12-2012-community-management/ February 12, 2012: Community Management | Strategic Social Media

[...] For more tips, statistics and details on the community manager profession, go here! [...]
http://www.qweb.es/noticias/como-diferenciar-a-un-community-manager-de-un-oportunista.html Diferenciar a un Community manager frente a un oportunista | Qweb Noticias

[...] informe elaborado por Social Fresh revelaba este año que el 67% de los Community Manager trabajan directamente para las marcas y el [...]
http://jobs.sueontheweb.com/social-fresh-2012-community-manager-report/ Social Fresh 2012 Community Manager Report

[...] More details and the full White Paper can be viewed here. [...]
http://www.concepto05.com/2012/02/%c2%bfquien-es-quien-desmontando-al-community-manager/ Community Manager. Funciones, rol y características | Concepto05

[...] qué está sucediendo con esta figura. Elaborado por Jason Keath para Social Fresh, el informe “The 2012 Community Manager Report” sobre una muestra de más de 300 CMs, localizados [...]
http://e1evation.com/2012/01/23/the-2012-community-manager-report/ The 2012 Community Manager Report | e1evation

[...] role stands. And for an even deeper dive into the data keep scrolling for the white paper.Source: The 2012 Community Manager Report [INFOGRAPHIC] Posted on January 23, 2012 by Todd Lohenry in Infographics, Just in caseAbout Todd Lohenry View my [...]
http://twitter.com/Artful_Roger Roger Beharry Lall

I wonder (and I’m just making this up… have no facts whatsoever) if the income disparity is related to various externalities. If women CM’ were found more in retail vs. tech, or in b2c vs. b2b, etc.
Although…. sadly… my guess is that Jason has it right and it’s just the same old inequities that inexcusably exist everywhere.
http://givesocialbiz.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/community_managers_influencial_customer/ Most Active and Influential Customers are Community Manager Possibilities | Giving Him The Social Business

[...] that night I happened across an infograph about community managers. I followed a link to Erin Bury, community manager of Sprouter, talking [...]
http://socialmediaecuador.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/como-diferenciar-a-un-verdadero-community-manager-de-un-oportunista/ Cómo diferenciar a un verdadero Community Manager de un oportunista « SocialMedia Ecuador

[...] informe elaborado por Social Fresh revelaba este año que el 67% de los Community Manager trabajan directamente para las marcas y el [...]

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