I would say approx 70-80% of a community managers time is "behind the scenes" stuff. For example, I always try and connect with as many of our members behind the scenes as much as possible. It's that one-to-one connection that builds relationships and respect, and lets the other person know that you care about their opinions and their experiences.
As we are all discovering, the role of a Community Manger is still changing and evolving. For many it's not just about the managing of our static communities but also reaching out to our "community" elsewhere. I for one, tweet (on behalf of the community I manage) on Twitter in order to pass along useful info, and keep our Twitter follows updated with news from our forum. However, community building is not solely about what you are "seen" doing. Posting and commenting all over the place in public places is all well and good (and of course that's part of community building) but it's not the be all and end all. Connecting with people in private is just as important.
So remember, using social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and FriendFeed, to broadcast your message is fine, but connecting with people is a two-way street. You can't stand on the corner blasting out your message with a megaphone and expect people to stop, stand still, and listen to you.
A recent Tweet on Twitter really summed this up for me when cc_chapman wrote, "Fact: Social media allows assholes to just be bigger, louder assholes." So take heed, there is no point blowing your trumpet as loud as you can if no one is listening. After a while people will just tune you out!
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