Everyone gets bogged down in the weeds of metrics and measurement when trying to measure success of their online communities. That’s necessary, of course, but here’s a simpler, higher level way to think about what success looks like. As yourself these questions. If you’re in the process of launching, add additional answers for the same questions but in six months, and in two years.
- How many members know about the community?
- How many members access the community?
- How many members are active in the community?
- What contributions are active members making to the community?
- Are members exhibiting “a sense of community” in the way they interact?
- How does staff use the community?
- How does the board use the community?
- How do other volunteer groups use the community?
- How do new members use the community?
- How do members perceive the community?
- How do prospective members perceive the community?
Some other considerations here:
What stage of maturity is your community in? The answers to these questions will and should look different if your community is new, is mature or is in decline.
Different stakeholders will define success differently. The Board and ED will want to see the ROI and tie the community to retention or recruitment numbers. The staff who “own” the community might value interactions and engagement highest. Other staff will value the community’s role in getting their jobs done better. Other volunteers will be thinking about ease of use and accessibility for their committees and project teams. And active members in general will want to feel that the community adequately reflects the value and engagement they feel when they participate in it. Your role as community manager may be to reconcile these different visions and tell the full story of your community’s progress.
There are many ways to define success. The first step is to imagine a future where the community is thriving. What does that mean? How do we know it’s thriving? Describe your thriving community using these questions as your guide.