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Details of the occupational standard
Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) are designed to be delivered within a course of education. Some Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours may be more safely and reliably delivered in workplace settings, so may not be fully covered by the HTQ. Some qualifications will deliver additional content or added depth and breadth through, for example, use of specialist learning environments, work placements or innovative teaching methods. Check with the qualification provider if you require further information on coverage.
Occupation summary
This occupation is found in industries and organisations that interact and communicate with their customers and end user online. It is a key role for employers, from small to medium sized enterprises to large organisations.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to facilitate and instigate direct communication online between the end user or customer and the organisation. The customers who are communicating with the organisation are referred to as ‘the community'. Digital Community Managers are the ‘public face’ online for an organisation, helping to increase brand awareness of products, services and or organisations by implementing communication strategy to achieve organisational objectives. Achieved through the management of online media channels and responding to questions from the community.
Digital Community Managers cultivate a healthy online community to facilitate the delivery of information and useful ideas from the community to their organisation and are the ‘eyes and ears’ of the organisation online. Responding to customer feedback and dealing with online abusive behaviour.
In their daily work an employee in this occupation routinely works with multiple communities online. Activities include managing social media channels including creating content and moderating online forums. Information has to be delivered in the unique tone and voice of each community. The community can run from hundreds to many thousands of customers dependent on the size of the product, service, or organisation. As they talk to a considerable number of customers with each interaction they have a huge responsibility to accurately and appropriately represent the organisation, a mis-step or badly handled communication can have a detrimental impact on an organisations reputation or revenue.
Digital Community Managers work within an office environment, at home or a mix of both through hybrid working. They will work as part of a team developing and implementing an overall communication strategy. They work autonomously but will interact with other departments in an organisation including public relations, marketing, production and communications.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for analysing and interpreting data from the community. Their evaluation of customers' behaviour and data is reported upwards in the organisation, feeding into future communication strategies and product or service direction. Digital Community Managers are responsible for reviewing their own work and understanding the impact of their communication in order to better inform future interactions. The nature of the work is autonomous as online communication is fast moving and needs to be timely without requiring supervision. Therefore they have a high degree of responsibility and need to exercise good judgement for their own work within the parameters defined by their organisation.
Digital Community Managers report to Senior Digital Community Managers, Communications Managers and Communication Directors.
Typical job titles include:
Occupation duties
| Duty | KSBs |
|---|---|
| Duty 1 Engage support and enable the community by responding to call to actions and contributing to conversation and debate. |
K1
S1
|
| Duty 2 Deliver the communication strategy adapting the tone and voice to suit the particular audience of the different online media channels and stay within the platform holder’s policies and guidelines. |
K3
K7
K10
K11
S2
S6
S7
|
| Duty 3 Review and analyse forums and community sites to identify threats and opportunities, create reports and escalate data and or information. |
K2
K4
K6
S3
S12
|
| Duty 4 Take an active role in their communities, participating and leading forum discussions and engaging interest through creating or contributing to assets, offering support and answering questions. |
K2
K4
S4
S5
|
| Duty 5 Use custom or internal forum software and content management systems to manage and schedule posts. Delivery of assets as per a communication strategy, plan or schedule. |
K5
S6
|
| Duty 6 React and respond to a wide range of topics pertinent to an organisation's product, service or brand and the wider industry community. |
K1
K2
K4
S5
S8
S9
S10
S11
B1
|
| Duty 7 Review the effectiveness of their actions online in order to report and inform an organisation's or their own future behaviour. |
K6
K12
S12
S15
B1
|
| Duty 8 Manage inappropriate comments positively by escalation and enforcing conduct standards. |
K7
K8
K9
K15
K17
S13
S14
|
| Duty 9 Implement communication strategies to support business and communication objectives whilst delivering both positive and unwelcome information to the community. |
K1
K13
K16
S8
S14
|
| Duty 10 Drive customer loyalty and a positive experience for the community. |
K1
K2
K14
K18
S1
S2
|
| Duty 11 Adhere to organisational policies and procedures. |
K7
K8
K9
K13
K16
B2
B3
B4
|
KSBs
Knowledge
K1: The organisation’s values, mission, and business objectives, to support communication and strategic goals.
Back to Duty
K2: The organisation’s products and services, their features, and how they meet customer needs.
Back to Duty
K3: Communication strategies and their role within organisational objectives.
Back to Duty
K4: Industry trends, emerging technologies, and wider topics that impact digital communities.
Back to Duty
K5: Competitor analysis, including how benchmarking and insights can inform community strategies.
Back to Duty
K6: Social media platforms, online forums, and content management systems, including their features and functions.
Back to Duty
K7: Audience demographics, including how factors such as age, interests, and behaviours influence engagement.
Back to Duty
K8: Community engagement strategies, including fostering discussions, encouraging participation, and maintaining brand voice.
Back to Duty
K9: Communication and copywriting principles for clear, and persuasive messaging.
Back to Duty
K10: Digital marketing principles and how they apply to community management, brand positioning, and audience engagement.
Back to Duty
K11: Strategies for community growth, relationship building, and audience advocacy.
Back to Duty
K12: Conflict resolution techniques and best practices for managing disputes and negative interactions.
Back to Duty
K13: Principles of crisis management, including how to handle public relations challenges and reputational risks.
Back to Duty
K14: Data analysis methods, including tracking engagement metrics and sentiment analysis to inform decision making.
Back to Duty
K15: Cyber security principles, including how to recognise risks, safeguard data, and follow security best practices.
Back to Duty
K16: Organisational policies and procedures related to data protection, compliance, and online conduct.
Back to Duty
K17: Sustainability considerations, including environmental impact and ethical practices in digital operations.
Back to Duty
K18: Internal collaboration processes and how community insights feed into organisational decision making.
Back to Duty
Skills
S1: Apply the organisation’s values, mission, products, and services to ensure aligned and informed communication with the community.
Back to Duty
S2: Implement communication strategies that align with organisational objectives and audience needs.
Back to Duty
S3: Monitor industry trends and competitor activity to identify opportunities and inform engagement strategies.
Back to Duty
S4: Manage and moderate online discussions across social media platforms, forums, and content management systems.
Back to Duty
S5: Create content using communication and copywriting techniques to engage audiences.
Back to Duty
S6: Adapt communication style and content to suit different audience demographics, platforms, and engagement preferences.
Back to Duty
S7: Apply community engagement techniques to foster discussions, encourage participation, and maintain a positive brand presence.
Back to Duty
S8: Proactively engage with community members to build relationships, encourage advocacy, and foster brand loyalty.
Back to Duty
S9: Manage conflicts using resolution techniques to handle disputes and maintain community standards.
Back to Duty
S10: Respond to and manage crisis situations, minimising reputational risk and ensuring brand protection.
Back to Duty
S11: Analyse engagement data and sentiment trends to assess effectiveness, identify insights and evaluate outcomes to inform community strategies.
Back to Duty
S12: Comply with organisational policies, data protection regulations, equity & diversity and cybersecurity requirements when managing community interactions.
Back to Duty
S13: Apply sustainability best practices to minimise environmental impact.
Back to Duty
S14: Collaborate with internal teams for example marketing, PR, product development to align community insights with organisational strategies.
Back to Duty
S15: Analyse and evaluate the information created by data analytics to review actions.
Back to Duty
Behaviours
B1: Demonstrates professionalism, integrity, resilience and ethical decision-making.
Back to Duty
B2: Commits to continuous professional development (CPD), seeking opportunities to improve skills and stay updated with industry trends.
Back to Duty
B3: Supports an inclusive and respectful community culture, treating colleagues and members fairly and without bias.
Back to Duty
B4: Takes an environmentally sustainable approach to working practices.
Back to Duty
Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Digital Technologies for England
Awarding body: Pearson
Certificate of Higher Education in Technical Practice in Digital Community Management
Awarding body: Sheffield Hallam University
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