Season 2 Ep. 3: Monina Wagner Talks Community Building

“I am a big believer in a social media playbook so that you can define not only what your intentions are, but you can say who you are and who you aren't. Because I think it's really important to know your voice on social media and that it aligns with who you are.” — Monina Wagner

On this episode of the Brand X Cleveland Podcast, host, Tyler Freeland and co-host Charlene Coughlin, President of TWIST Creative, Inc., sit down with Monina Wagner, Community Manager at the Content Marketing Institute. What does a community manager do? Monina is the bridge between brand and audience. She’s the voice, tone, and moderator of the brand through community building, content distribution, digital engagement and in-person activations. To put it in Monina’s terms, she’s a “magician," “juggler” and “zookeeper” all wrapped into one.

“I think social media is a channel where you don't have to pay much in order to get just a small glimpse into what your audience is thinking—what your customers want.” — Monina Wagner

One of the big topics in this episode is centered around social media: How can brands and organizations benefit from it? What are the dos and don’ts? How can people, both professionally and personally benefit from it? And where is social media headed in terms of community and for brands overall? As an individual who has gained remarkable relationships through social media, as well as career opportunities, Monina answers the tough questions with optimism and hope.

“Passionate about her work and her work product, she’s one of the most authentic people I know—what you see is what you get, whether it's online or in-person. And that’s hard to find sometimes.” — Charlene Coughlin

As the episode comes to a close, Monina and Charlene delve into their friendship, their work, and deeper into the social media world, as they provide key advice for brands looking to expand their online presence and activate their audience. One of the key take-aways from their conversation is understanding your audience and having a comprehensive social media strategy.

“That's the beauty of social media, right? Is that there is someone who's going to be your twinsie when it comes to work or the same person when it comes to sports or whatever it is. There's always someone there who's going to be able to relate to you. And you know, social media makes the world that much smaller that you can find them.” — Monina Wagner

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