I like the distinction you make between done-with-you and done-for-you. When I work with clients, I usually stay behind the scenes helping and providing advice while making sure that the client stays front and center in the interactions with their community. As a consultant, I can help in many different ways without ever becoming the face of the community.

I agree that interns will usually be very enthusiastic and will work hard during their time at the company. I’m a huge fan of intern programs and have managed many interns over the years at various companies. The issue I’m talking about is the turmoil in the community after you leave and go back to school. People get accustomed to interacting with you and then you leave and someone else comes in to manage the community, usually with a slightly different approach or different ways of doing things. This transition is what makes it difficult for the community. It will be made more difficult if they have a series of temporary community managers changing every 3-6 months. Communities are about people, and community loyalty is often as much about the people as it is about the organization behind the community.

We use a “done-with-you” approach to community management by partnering with key stakeholders at each company and walking WITH them on the journey. We build trusting relationships with these individuals and help THEM be the online face of their company. We manage the technical aspects of the community, provide customer support, moderate discussions, provide education on social media, and continually optimize the site so our customers can focus on the business goals of the site and spend more time in the community. It’s a creative way to have a top-notch community manager on board without all of the associated costs. Plus, in my experience, may companies, at least in the caring professions, would be lost in the world of social media without a helping hand to guide them.

I agree that companies should not just place a paid consultant, PR firm, or other outsider in charge of their social media campaigns. This “done-for-you” approach is foolish and defeats the true purpose of company-sponsored online community and social media. The right partner, however, can bring a company’s social media campaign to a whole new level and significantly increase the likelihood of optimal outcomes.

The goal I have is to get departments like sales & customer service involved in the process so that we all have a clear picture of how the public perceives us. Luckily, our upper management is behind the efforts.

It is completely possible that you hire an intern/consultant/other to fill your community manager position and it works out perfectly but I don’t think that is normally the case.

I am interning at a place as a Community Evangelist and because I currently have a limited role, it sometimes is hard to figure out what to say to users while you are trying to be the voice of reason. But I love interacting with my users and listening to what they have to say. And I am grooming myself to be an actual Community Manager someday so my company is probably slightly better off than other companies that have interns who are more interested in other things.