Expert relationship managers. Savvy digital minds who are up on the latest tools and trends. Brand ambassadors. Corporate advocates who can stir up interest in the latest initiatives.

Sounds like a great group of people, folks you’d want on your side, right? In most cases, we’re talking about a single person: The online Community Manager.

Today’s the day to celebrate them. It’s Community Manager Appreciation Day, and what better time to highlight the five essential traits that help you identify superstar Community Managers in your midst? No better time than the present, we say, so let’s begin.

A passion for the brand.
Community Managers spend all day, every day, talking, chatting, typing, texting, Skyping, maybe even sky-writing about one thing, whether it be a product, organization, or cause. People know true passion when they see it. They sense when you’re a true enthusiast who lives and breathes the subject matter. That passion is going to set the best CMs apart. This passion just happens to be a primary tenet here at ModSquad: We staff projects with those who have a sincere passion for the brand or product in question. From our CMs to our support team, our Mods just plain lurve what they’re supporting.

Mad customer-support skillz.
Speaking of support, at its heart, the role of the community manager is built upon the foundation of helping out the members of their organization’s community. Whether it be moderating discussions, coordinating online events, providing info and updates and answering FAQs, or making posters and lurkers alike feel all warm and fuzzy, CMs have to give great customer support. It should be second nature to them. At ModSquad, we’ve got award-winning customer support teams providing real-time help in 50+ languages and dialects to audiences around the world.

Analytics and measurement abilities out the wazoo.
CMs, being in constant touch with the community, will soon have a solid understanding of the group’s wants and dislikes. And they can provide some anecdotal evidence to support many takeaways. But what about the things a community isn’t telling you? There’s a lot of key data available to CMs, if they know where — and how — to look. This essential info can be used to develop marketing plans, communications guidelines, or even new-product releases. We have Mods who have expert-level ability to analyze and report on analytics for the communities they manage. That’s why they’re the best.

The flexibility to wear many hats.
Being a community manager requires many skill sets, as we detailed at the beginning of this post. They’re serving as the voice of the community but also the voice of the company, and need to walk that fine line. They’re doing market research with their audience, writing content to share with their readers, and putting out fires if a PR crisis rears its ugly head. Flexibility is essential. And when we say flexible, well, the Mods certainly come to mind. With 10,000+ experienced professionals in our network, we provide the appropriate resources for whatever hats you need your CM (or social-media hotshot or customer-service expert) to wear that day. (We’re also flexible in our staffing models, the amount of hours in which you need support, and the level of support you need, but we don’t want this article to be too self-serving. Heaven forbid.)

24/7 availability.
Some have described the role of the Community Manager as being a lifestyle, and not a job. The internet doesn’t close up shop at sundown and on weekends and holidays. News can break at any time, and your company may need someone paying attention to your community throughout the day and night. The most dedicated CMs understand that they’re really always on call, and need to be able to respond at a moment’s notice, given the fast pace and unpredictable nature of the web. But let’s get real; who can actually be available 24/7/365? No one person can. But a squad of people? Well, you get the idea…

Happy Community Manager Appreciation Day!

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