Measuring Community Engagement

A Practical Approach to Association Vibrancy

Summary

Metrics serve mission and can help lay the groundwork for a healthy community.

They are used to measure the behavior, activities, and performance of an association. Our timeless value proposition is not membership; it’s robust community designed for serial engagement and ongoing connection.

I recently wrote about developing a community engagement funnel (The Multiplier Effect of a Thriving Community), a practical tool to help us understand and build communities (of increasing depth) around shared interests and pursuits.

I go a step further in this article: provide a checklist of criteria for quality metrics and demonstrate how to compute a community engagement score. In doing so, I illustrate the importance of engagement in order to create a thriving community of connection. 

The Product Community is a product development learning community designed specifically for associations.

A Checklist for Quality Metrics

“To succeed once, focus on the outcome; to keep succeeding, focus on the process that makes the outcome.”

Kevin Kelly

My two recent articles laid the groundwork for investing in and adopting a strategically-focused metrics program. Measure What Matters provided an overview of metrics, key performance indicators (KPIs), and objectives and key results (OKRs). Outcomes for Impact introduced two frameworks to help practitioners employ performance measures of varying levels of impact. 

I’d like to build on these concepts by digging into one of our most important performance metrics: community engagement. First, however, I will present a checklist for creating (and/or identifying) quality metrics.  

Quality metrics are essential tools for assessing and managing association performance, progress, and outcomes. They should meet most, if not all, of the following criteria to ensure they are relevant, usable, and aligned with the objectives they are meant to measure. 

1. Clarity: A quality metric should be clear and unambiguous. It should be easy to understand, leaving little room for confusion. Ambiguity can lead to misinterpretation or faulty decision-making.

2. Relevance: The metric should be directly related to the specific objective it is intended to measure. It should provide meaningful insight into the performance or progress toward a particular outcome. 

3. Measurability: Metrics should be quantifiable, making it possible to collect data and consistently measure progress. Measurability often involves defining specific units of measurement and using quality data sources. 

4. Actionability: Quality metrics should be actionable, meaning they can influence behavior and drive improvement.

5. Consistency: Metrics should be consistent over time and across different contexts. Consistency enables meaningful comparisons and trend analysis, allowing for a better understanding of how performance changes over time.

6. Timeliness: Timely data is crucial for making informed decisions and taking corrective actions. Metrics should be updated frequently enough to provide up-to-date information without causing unnecessary delays.

7. Specificity: A metric should be specific, focusing on a single aspect of performance or a clearly defined goal. Overly broad metrics can lead to confusion and make it challenging to identify areas for improvement.

8. Ownership: Assigning responsibility for each metric is essential. Knowing who is accountable for the metric's performance helps ensure that action is taken to improve it.

9. Balance: A set of metrics should provide a balanced view of performance, covering various dimensions of the goal or objective. Avoid overemphasizing one metric at the expense of others, as it can lead to unintended consequences.

10. Stakeholder Alignment: Metrics should align with the interests and needs of members, volunteers, and staff. This helps ensure that the metric reflects what truly matters to those invested in the outcome.

11. Accessibility: Ensure that the data needed to calculate the metric is readily available and that it can be collected without excessive cost or effort.

12. Feedback Mechanism: Metrics should be integrated into a feedback loop that allows for continuous improvement. Regularly reviewing and analyzing the metric's performance and taking action based on the insights gained is crucial.

13. Adaptability: In a dynamic environment, metrics should be adaptable to changing circumstances and evolving goals. They should be able to reflect shifts in strategy and priorities.

Quality metrics provide valuable insights, encourage improvement, and facilitate informed decision-making. They are an essential part of performance management and goal attainment.

Calculating a Community Engagement Score 

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.”

Halford Luccock

Let's consider an association for software developers. In this context, let’s illustrate a quality metric by exploring a community engagement score (CES). A CES measures the level, diversity, and quality of community engagement in an association.

For example purposes only, here is what a simplified process to derive a CES might look like:

• Choose engagement activities. For the purposes of the example, I will choose these four activities: volunteering, event participation, thought leadership, social media. These aren’t the only activities in which to engage; I’m just using these four to illustrate how the metric works.

• Assign weights. For simplicity sake, I will assign the following weights to each activity. In essence, for this example, I argue that engaging in volunteering carries more weight than, say, participating in social media. 

  • Volunteering – 35

  • Event participation – 25

  • Thought leadership – 25

  • Social media – 15

• Calculate scores. I now distribute a percentage for each activity and the corresponding level of engagement. Typically, data for the community engagement score can be compiled and/or computing from an AMS, LMS, social media, sentiment analysis, etc. To illustrate how it works, here are two high-level examples:  

  • Highly-Engaged Harriet. She volunteers a lot, attends most conferences and regularly takes courses, writes the occasional paper, speaks regularly, and occasionally engages on social media. 

    • Calculation: 35(100%) + 25(100%) + 25(50%) + 15(50%) 

    • Community Engagement Score: 35 + 25 + 12.5 + 7.5 = 80

• Emerging Leader Emma. She is somewhat new to the association. She is just getting started in volunteering, but is otherwise very actively engaged: taking courses, attending events, writing an important newsletter and presenting regularly. She is also super active on social media. 

  • Calculation: 35(75%) + 25(100%) + 25(75%) + 15(100%) 

  • Community Engagement Score: 17.5 + 25 + 18.75 + 15 = 76.25

Using the Community Engagement Score

“The power of community to create health is far greater than any physician, clinic or hospital.”

Mark Hyman

Applying our criteria from above, here’s how associations can use the community engagement score:

1. Clarity: The community engagement score is easy to understand, as it directly measures the level of engagement among members.

2. Relevance: It is relevant to an association's primary goal of fostering a sense of community and providing value to its members.

3. Measurability: The metric can be calculated based on specific data, such as participation in events, online forum activity, committee involvement, and usage of association resources.

4. Actionability: The association can take various actions to improve member engagement based on the score, such as increasing the number of networking events, offering more educational resources, or creating new initiatives to involve members.

5. Consistency: The metric can be consistently tracked over time to monitor changes in member engagement.

6. Timeliness: It can be updated regularly, providing up-to-date information about member community engagement levels.

7. Specificity: The metric is specific to member community engagement, preventing confusion or dilution of focus.

8. Ownership: A specific committee or department within the association can be responsible for tracking and improving the community engagement score.

9. Balance: In conjunction with other metrics (e.g., membership growth, event attendance, and educational program effectiveness), the community engagement score provides a balanced view of association performance.

10. Stakeholder Alignment: The metric aligns with the interests of both leadership and the members who seek valuable engagement opportunities.

11. Accessibility: Data required for calculating the score, such as event attendance records and online engagement data, are readily accessible via the AMS, LMS, etc.

12. Feedback Mechanism: Regularly reviewing the CES allows us to gain insights into what is working and what needs improvement. This feedback loop can inform strategic decisions and lead to actions to enhance community engagement.

13. Adaptability: The metric can evolve as our goals change, accommodating new strategies for increasing community engagement.

Though the community engagement score clearly meets the criteria of a quality metric, it is not enough. Investing in and building a balanced metrics program is vital to understanding who we are, how we’re doing, and where we’re going. 

Insights Not Data

“Luck is not a business model.”

Anthony Bourdain

Most associations are swimming in data, but lacking in usable insights. 

I covered two things in this article: laying out a checklist for quality metrics and demonstrating how to compute and use a community engagement score. 

Knowing the score is important, but not enough. Metrics and their corresponding data are tools. They should be used to help guide our actions and behaviors, deepen our connections with our communities, and position us for diversified revenue and healthy growth.

Becoming overly numbers-driven can (sometimes) motivate us to focus on the wrong things. Used in conjunction with other metrics, tools like the community engagement score can help us gain a balanced perspective. 

To the extent we use our data to measure what matters, we can then work on relationship building, a community of vibrant culture, and meaningful impact.  

Remember, product-led growth fuels connection. Join the product community and flip your destiny. 

About the Author

James Young is founder and chief learning officer of the product community^®. Jim is an engaging trainer and leading thinker in the worlds of associations, learning communities, and product development. Prior to starting the product community^®, Jim served as Chief Learning Officer at both the American College of Chest Physicians and the Society of College and University Planning.

Please contact me for a conversation:  james@productcommunity.us.