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Before we tell you what a chief community officer is, consider this:
Over the past few years communities have become a powerful marketing tool for a growing number of modern companies.
In fact, according to a GWI study, almost 75% of big companies in the US have at least one internet community.
But here’s the thing—
Once the communities grow and attract more members, the companies need to hire a devoted professional leader to guide their way and show the direction to follow.
What they need is a chief community officer who’ll get the job done.
In this article, we’ll answer the following questions:
A chief community officer is someone who is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with a company's various communities. This includes customers, employees, partners, and other stakeholders. A CCO is typically responsible for creating and executing a community strategy that aligns with the company's business goals.
A chief community officer typically performs the following tasks:
A chief community officer should have excellent communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills. They should be able to build relationships easily and be comfortable engaging with people from all walks of life. They should also be strategic thinkers with the ability to develop and execute plans.
A CCO typically reports to the CEO or another senior executive on a regular basis.
To perform their job well a chief community officer needs a budget for community initiatives, access to company resources and data, and the support of senior leadership.
A strong chief community officer typically works with a multi-layer team of community managers, social media specialists, and content creators to account for every single aspect of their community . They may also collaborate with a number of external agencies or consultants.
The job is surely not suitable for everyone. To nail it you need both soft and hard skills. To be Jack of all trades in a way, you have to put on many hats.
This is what a typical job description for the position looks like:
Requirements
As you can see, the requirements aren’t very precise, which is exactly what you can expect given that the position is relatively new.
Candidates that land such jobs need to fit a particular company’s profile, including its culture, software stack, and other aspects.
What can be said for sure, though, is that the job involves a lot of cross-department communication and collaboration to make the communities run smoothly and in line with the entire company’s vision and mission.
In short—
To do their job effectively, community chief officers need to have the right set of skills.
Here’s a list of the most common skills that come in handy for the job.
OK—
Before we move on, let’s answer a burning question:
Do all companies need chief community officers?
No, not all companies need to hire chief community officers and some of them are simply better suited to do so.
Companies that are looking to build and maintain strong relationships with their various communities may benefit from having a chief community officer on staff.
So, what kinds of companies need a chief community officer?
Well—
It depends, but in general:
They need a CCO to manage and nurture customer relationships as well as identify opportunities for engagement and collaboration
These types of companies should hire a CCO to manage and engage with their various communities. A CCO can help identify opportunities for engagement and collaboration as well as facilitate community events.
Such companies need a CCO to identify and take advantage of opportunities for worldwide engagement and collaboration.
These types of companies should get a CCO on board to maximize the potential of social networking initiative to understand the brands community and obtain feedback
A chief community officer can help such companies identify and take advantage of community’s engagement and collaboration. The larger the structure, the larger the challenge.
If your brand sees the importance of community, and you want to maximize the potential it carries, it’s time to consider hiring a chief community officer to successfully develop your new products and services.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room—
What is the salary of a Chief Community Officer?
A Chief Community Officer in the United States can expect to make an average salary of $114,179 per year, with a median salary of $94,250 per year. Additional pay could include cash bonus, commission, tips, and profit sharing.
A company's chief community officer (CCO) is its most important asset for building and maintaining relationships with customers and other important stakeholders. The CCO is responsible for creating and maintaining a healthy community around the company's products and services.
This includes developing and executing strategy, community management, content creation and management, customer service, and public relations. To be successful, a CCO must be an excellent communicator and have superb people skills. They must also be able to think strategically and be able to execute on their vision.
A company can gain a lot by having a strong CCO, including increased customer loyalty, higher customer satisfaction, and lower customer churn.
