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Along with pointing out many of the trends I had observed, the article includes short interviews with various Community Managers in Spain. The most interesting points are anecdotal evidence from those Community Managers as well as some informative statistics from Infojobs.com, one of the largest jobs websites in Spain.
Demand = HIGH | Offer = LOW
At the end of 2010, 164 Community Manager positions had been listed on Infojobs. Jordi Escalé of Infojobs points out that, while the Community Manager role accounts for 0.4% of all offers, there is a huge opportunity for qualified job candidates.
Escalé believes that any company that cares about its brand reputation must have a Community Manager on board to manage the company's social media presence. He notes that, being a new position, there are very few people in the job market with the appropriate profile.
Companies looking for a Community Manager usually have over 200 employees and are located in Madrid (54%) and Barcelona (33%). Of those companies, 19% of the companies are in the technology sector, 9% are in publicity/advertising and 6% operate within information technology.
What Community Managers Say
Xavi Menós is a Community Manager for the American comapny, Nexus Management Group, he is responsible for managing online reputations, including that of Shakira. Menós believes that spending time online and reading Tweets and Facebook posts are the best ways to learn what is required in this role.
This is in contrary to those who believe courses and 'degrees' are the best option. El Pais's article points out that the University of Barcelona now offers the first official postgraduate course in Community Management and Social Media.
Menós recommends that college students study courses in design or photography; that they can learn all they need to know online and with a bit of HTML added on, as well as top writing skills, they'll have all they need to fill a Community Manager role.
Sira Coll, Community Manager at Grupo Planeta, says that in role, she handles the same responsibilities as she did before the role emerged, but now Facebook has been added to her list of tasks. She says that today, only large companies can afford to have a media / comms manager and a community manager on staff.
Idaira Vega, Community Manager for Sony and Heineken, among other companies, believes that the rise in Community Manager positions highlights the existence of a social media bubble around this position - one that always existed but is now being renamed and called 'innovative'.
This may come from the fact that there is no one definition of Community Manager. Even the Asociación Española de Responsables de Comunidades Online (AERCO) [Association of Spanish Online Communities] cannot come up with one difinitive definition.
Community Managers also point out that this position requires them to work at all hours, to ensure that a conversation is maintained between the 'brand' and customers who are now online 24/7.
Coll says that it's very important that companies know what they're doing. She cites the David Bisbal social media fiasco as a warning to all businesses.
What does it pay?
Another point made in the article is that there is no salary range yet defined for this position. Some potisions are unpaid, others offer low-paid internships, while others are true positions in the Marketing or Communications department.
The article says that, when the typical responsibilities of a Community Manager are handled alongside other tasks, this is the arrangement that is most beneficial for the company.
This article is yet another indication that brand management through social media is an area that is rapidly growing in Spain. It has yet to be determined, however, if this is another bubble produced by the social media boom, or if it's a role that's here to stay.
The full article in Spanish can be found on the El Pais website here: http://www.elpais.com/articulo/Pantallas/necesita/community/manager/elpepirtv/20110327elpepirtv_1/Tes
Posted from 30,000 feed above Nebraska using Delta Airlines' WiFi from GoGoInFlight.com
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