The path to proving a Community’s success is through measurement, but it’s so much more than just showing numbers. A skilled Community Manager needs to be able to understand how certain metrics are influencing one another and then tell the story behind the analytics.
The desired outcome: Besides getting a template for monthly reporting, you’ll have the knowledge to convey your success story to executives, and to understand how the metrics can point to areas of improvement.
Note: Don’t forget to revisit the Community Strategy Plan Template for examples of which metrics to measure associated with your Community’s use case(s).
To Do/Complete
VIDEO: Success Metrics & Reporting
Templates:
Community Metrics Dashboard (via ib4tl.fm): Think of this as your “metrics home.” Once a month (usually the first business day of the month), you’ll want to record key metrics. Make a copy of this, and use this spreadsheet as the place to record those numbers. You can also build out a slide deck that links to charts/numbers from this spreadsheet.
Additional Resources
How to Calculate the ROI of Online Communities, via Feverbee.
Introduction to Data Analytics Course, via Simplilearn. (3 hours of self-paced video lessons.) Must create a free account in order to access the course.
Share Data Through The Art of Visualization, via Coursera. (24 hours, self-paced.) - Must create a free account to access the course, and then the user has 7 days to complete this course after doing so.