community-management — Claude Code skill: build a real community

---
name: community-management
description: >-
  Use to build a genuine community — turning an audience into people who interact with each
  other, not just with the brand. Run when the user asks how to build community, foster
  belonging/loyalty, create superfans, start a group/Discord channel, get members talking to each
  other, or move beyond chasing followers/virality. Reads
  brand-profile/social-strategy/audience-research. Community outperforms virality, measured by
  relationship depth/retention, not follower count. Covers the audience-to-community distinction
  (member-to-member interaction), choosing the space (in-feed -> semi-owned -> owned
  groups/Discord), recurring rituals, building belonging, and nurturing superfans into advocates.
  KPIs read natively, never fabricated. Advisory: WoopSocial schedules the content but does NOT
  run Discord/Slack or show analytics — the human runs the community, the agent drafts. Never
  fake community; get consent before spotlighting. Pairs with reply-and-comment-writer and
  crisis-and-moderation.
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
---

# Community Management

Turn an **audience into a community** — the strategy layer of the engagement cluster. The tactical
skills handle the brand talking *to* people (`reply-and-comment-writer` = craft, `engagement-routine` =
cadence, `crisis-and-moderation` = when it goes wrong). This skill builds the space where members talk
*to each other.*

The 2026 shift is **broadcasting → belonging**: community **outperforms virality**, it's
**algorithm-proof** (closed spaces aren't suppressed by feed changes), and it's measured by
**relationship depth, not follower count.** A real community is a moat; an audience is rented.

## Step 0 — Read the context

Load `brand-profile.md`, `social-strategy.md`, `audience-research.md`: who these people are, what they
care about, and where they already gather.

## Step 1 — Diagnose: audience or community?

**The marker is member-to-member.** Diagnostic: is your comment section all *brand replies*, or are
**members talking to each other**? The goal is a **self-sustaining** space where members help each
other. Then define the **purpose** — the clear reason this community exists (no purpose → it plateaus).
See `references/audience-to-community.md`.

## Step 2 — Choose the space (by audience + purpose, not hype)

Pick along the spectrum — **in-feed comment culture → semi-owned (broadcast channels/DMs) → owned
(groups/Discord/Substack/newsletter)** — by **where the audience already is** and **whether there's a
clear promise to join.** Don't launch a Discord because a competitor did. **Max out in-feed first**;
graduate the engaged into an owned space you can **commit to** (it needs moderation from day one →
`crisis-and-moderation`). See `references/where-community-lives.md`.

## Step 3 — Build belonging with rituals

Run the **seven moves** (initiate conversations, exclusive spaces, shared identity/inside language,
respond personally, feature members, surprise-and-delight, **facilitate member-to-member connections**)
on a backbone of **recurring rituals** (weekly thread, AMA, challenge, member spotlight, resource drop)
— **consistency over scattered activity.** Schedule the ritual content via `scheduling-and-queue`. See
`references/building-belonging.md`.

## Step 4 — Nurture superfans

Find the devoted core, **nurture them** (recognition, access, status/roles, collaboration), and
**elevate them into advocates** (lurker → regular → advocate). A small core beats broad reach. See
`references/superfans-and-honest-scope.md`.

## Measure community, not vanity

**Active members, returning members/retention, member-to-member interaction, response time, advocacy** —
**not follower count.** Read **natively** (no WoopSocial analytics); **never fabricate a number.**
Community is a **long game** — judged over months.

## Honest scope (always)

- **WoopSocial schedules the community content** (rituals, prompts, spotlights, announcements) via
  `scheduling-and-queue` — that's its real role. It does **not** run Discord/Slack/groups, manage a
  broadcast channel or inbox, identify superfans from data, or show analytics. **The human runs the
  space in-platform; the agent advises + drafts/schedules.**
- **No fake community** — no bought members, pods, or astroturfing (fake, detected, trust-destroying).
- **Consent & privacy** — get permission before spotlighting a member; don't expose member data.
- **Sustainable** — don't open a space you can't keep tending (boundaries → `engagement-routine`).

## Quality bar — self-check

- Did I diagnose **audience vs community** (member-to-member marker) and define a **purpose**?
- Did I choose the space by **audience + purpose, not hype**, and max out in-feed before an owned space?
- Did I design **recurring rituals** + belonging moves that get **members connecting with each other**?
- Did I plan to **nurture superfans into advocates**, and measure by **community signals (not vanity,
  not fabricated)**?
- Did I keep it **advisory + genuine** (WoopSocial schedules content; human runs the space; no fake
  community; consent)?

## Edge cases & pushback

- **"Big following = community?"** → no; the marker is member-to-member, self-sustaining interaction.
- **"Competitor has a Discord, should we?"** → purpose gate + where the audience is; commitment/moderation.
- **"How do I measure it?"** → community signals read natively; no vanity, no fabricated numbers.
- **"Buy members / run a pod to look active"** → refuse; genuine belonging only; consent for spotlights.
- **"Run our Discord / find my top members via WoopSocial"** → WoopSocial schedules content, doesn't run
  spaces/inbox or show analytics; human runs it, agent drafts.

## Related

- `reply-and-comment-writer` — the personal replies that build belonging; `engagement-routine` — the cadence + boundaries.
- `crisis-and-moderation` — protecting/moderating the community; `content-pillars` — a "community" pillar.
- `scheduling-and-queue` — schedule the ritual/spotlight content; `profile-optimization` — the community's front door.
- `audience-research`, `social-strategy`, `brand-profile` — who the community is for and why.

## References

- `references/audience-to-community.md` — the core distinction, why it matters, purpose, and community KPIs.
- `references/where-community-lives.md` — the in-feed → semi-owned → owned spectrum and choosing by audience + purpose.
- `references/building-belonging.md` — the seven moves, the rituals engine, UGC/live, and how WoopSocial helps.
- `references/superfans-and-honest-scope.md` — finding/nurturing/elevating superfans, and the genuine-only honest scope.