Community management goes way beyond game nights and ambassador programs.

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of community managers default to tools like Zealy, Galxe, or launching ambassador programs as their go-to growth strategy. But here’s the truth:

Not every stage of a project needs ambassadors. Not every community needs weekly tasks.

There are many ways to build and engage a community and if you limit yourself to just a few strategies, you’re missing the bigger picture.

Before you roll out a community strategy, ask yourself:

✔️ What stage is this project currently in?
✔️ What does the community actually need right now?
✔️ What are the brand’s short-term and long-term goals?
✔️ Does my strategy align with those goals?

If a product team is focused on rolling out a new feature and you’re running engagement tasks that don’t support or amplify that focus, then you’re working against the brand not with it.

Tools like Zealy and Galxe can be powerful, but they need strong moderation and clear intention. If not used well, they become noise. I’ll talk more about this in a separate post.

For now, just remember:
Effective community management is about timing, alignment, and intentionality.
And yes, great community management requires marketing knowledge too.