As the community manager for Kimberly-Clark’s U by Kotex brand, I’ve spent whole days talking about the different colors your period blood might be. In fact, I’m so desensitized to all things period/vagina that I’ve been known to whip out tampons in the middle of a restaurant in response to the question, “So, what do you do?” Not that I think that’s a bad thing. Break the cycle, right?

The title “community manager” has achieved buzzword-level notoriety. Most brands believe they need a community manager, though I’m guessing very few understand what exactly one does, or why they need one.

My hope is that by demystifying the day-to-day operations of a community manager, I can help people understand just why they’re so important – and even vital – to a brand. So without further ado, here’s a sample day in the life of a community manager:

7:00am: Alarm goes off. I reach for my laptop instinctively and navigate to Facebook, briefly scanning the U by Kotex Facebook page for any comments that need urgent responses.

8:30am: Arrive at Organic’s Detroit office. I fire up my work laptop and immediately open Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Tumblr. I know getting paid to play on Facebook and Twitter all day is pretty much living the dream, but part of that is also tackling questions other people and brands won’t even touch. (“Why is my discharge so chunky?!” for example.)

9:30am: Go through all of the questions submitted via Real Answers the previous evening/overnight. Questions range from, “How can I tell my dad I started my period?” to “Am I still a virgin if I use a tampon?” to “Do you have Justin Bieber’s phone number?” (a real question we’ve gotten more than once). Every question gets a response either on the U by Kotex site or via email.

10:30am: Comb through the U by Kotex site to find comments that need a response. There’s tons of content on the site to sift through, so I play traffic cop and direct people to the pages and info they’re seeking.

11:30am: Queue up a few Tumblr posts. You’d be amazed at how much period discussion goes on there. Or maybe you wouldn’t. I’m impressed at how open girls are about their periods on Tumblr, so there’s plenty to reblog/respond to. (Sidenote: Who knew there were so many pad and tampon craft projects?!) We also have plenty of content from the U by Kotex site to post there when things are slow.

1:00pm: Edit answers and articles from the U by Kotex panelists (peers, moms, and health experts) and advocates for the U by Kotex site. I love that our site is a constant stream of new content, and a big part of job is disseminating it in relevant ways all over the web.

2:00pm: Peruse mentions of U by Kotex and related search terms through a social listening tool (I use Sysomos). Since my job as a community manager isn’t about promoting the product, I’m never commenting on blogs to plug tampons. I’ll thank people for their feedback, direct them to Kimberly-Clark Consumer Services if they have product questions, or just generally let them know I’m listening. One thing I’ve learned as a community manager is that people just want to be heard.

3:30pm: Write a Facebook post. Where Twitter is forgiving with frequent or off-topic tweets, Facebook isn’t. I think about every post before it goes live. I’ve learned that the best Facebook posts 1) let people talk about themselves/their experiences; 2) don’t require a lot of effort to respond to; and 3) are relatable to the largest possible audience. That said, one of my favorite Facebook posts (presented as a poll) was: “If your period were a song, which song would it be?” One of the answer choices was “Bleeding Love,” by Leona Lewis.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4:00pm: Read and comment on a few blog posts about periods. Maybe you won’t be shocked to learn that people love to complain about their period, so I try to encourage people who think periods are something other than a monthly nuisance. Rock on, periods!

4:30pm: Peruse my Google reader full of social media blogs. I always have about 500 unread items, so it can be a daunting task. But I like to be the first to know when Facebook makes a small to change to their interface (and pisses off millions in the process).

5:15pm: Do a final sweep of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and YouTube. I’ll post links to new articles or Q&A from the U by Kotex site, reply to @UGetsReal mentions, “like” relevant posts on Tumblr, and chime in on the Facebook post thread.

5:30pm: Pack up and leave the office. The cliché thing to say about social media is that it never sleeps, but it’s so true. I’m constantly checking the U by Kotex Facebook page and website to make sure there aren’t urgent issues (those seem to be the most visible channels where people comment). Recently, Kotex had a product recall, so I had to be on the lookout for any backlash throughout the evening.

~~~

In any given day, this schedule could change dramatically. One week, someone posted a poor review of U by Kotex tampons on YouTube, and we spent a big chunk of the day crafting a response. Depending on the day, I might be dealing with spammers (one particularly feisty one kept posting about wanting to become a pad), contests, U by Kotex-sponsored Twitter chats, or a girl who just really wants to know when she might get her period.

From my perspective, deep in the trenches of the U by Kotex community, I feel like I have a pretty good grip on what our demographic wants and needs. I know the kind of language they respond to, what they find funny, what might push their boundaries of openness, and what they’re secretly hoping someone will ask them. I don’t think I could know all that if I wasn’t able to devote my whole day to it.

Leah Sipher-Mann is a Conversation Manager at Organic