Community Growth Isn’t All Numbers
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of growth? Do you immediately think of increasing numbers or higher bars on a chart? How about more expansive? If the only thing that comes to mind when you think of growth is “Bigger! More!” then you’re thinking of growth in the wrong way.As a community manager, you’ve seen senior leaders get excited over the increase in new users and or the number of connections members have made within the online community. And while that, to an extent, does indicate growth it doesn’t show how the online community is maturing or how it is lending to the growth of the association, as a whole. It doesn’t show how community members are evolving through their interactions or how engagement is being affected as a result. But what are the indicators of growth that have nothing to do with increased users (which is still important, by the way)? I’m glad you asked…Members are more active in the online communityEvery community has its superstars – those that readily answer questions and participate or are willing to lend their expertise by way of content or volunteering to moderate. Usually, those are the loudest voices in the community and that can make it intimidating for others to participate, especially if they don’t see how they can contribute in meaningful ways. However, when you start to see other voices emerge within the online community, this is not only an indication of growth, but an indication that your community is maturing and enabling others to develop expertise and leadership where they may not have in the past. In professional associations, this can be especially valuable as your association looks for ways to engage the next generation of members looking to get involved and show what they know through networking, knowledge-sharing, and conversation.Connectivity to your association is increasingHave you ever talked to your peers within your association to check-in and see how they are progressing or what their pain points are? After that talk, have you ever found solutions that can be solved through online community? After those solutions have been implemented, have you ever gotten their feedback? My thought is that online community, in order to provide value across the board, should be woven into every facet of the association. To facilitate that, my team and I have had numerous conversations with our colleagues to figure out how we can help solve some of their pain points. Through those relationships, we’ve started to foster a common understanding of what community means and how online community fits into the larger picture. And because of that, community members are exposed to information, products, and services that are offered by the association that they either didn’t know we offered, or they weren’t aware they needed. Additionally, the association gains valuable insight from people who aren’t already a part of our normal ecosystem of volunteers, members, and certificate holders. This widens the association’s reach and deepens the connection to a segment of stakeholders we may not have reached before.People ask for you to sit at the strategy tableI remember a time in the not-so-distant past where people didn’t really know how to talk about online community in my association in the absence of the platform itself. They didn’t think of it as a strategy so when I or anyone on my team talked about it, we either got head nods that indicated we were being heard but not necessarily understood or comments like “wait, isn’t that where we put the content now?” For a while I wasn’t sure the association would ever get it…until recently. Suddenly it seemed like the team was being invited into deep conversations about influencers, what community really means, and where there are connections to the greater strategy to help carry us forward into the future. There’s no greater feeling than knowing that your association is starting to understand the impact that online communities can have and the importance of their role in the overall growth of the business and value delivery to members. My only word of caution here is that, as exciting as it is to know that your association finally “gets it”, do not let your enthusiasm cause you to position your online community as a catch-all. It’s not a content dump, it’s not a place for things to go when there’s no where else to put it, it’s not an advertising hub. It can support a lot, but it’s not meant to be a quick fix to get around normal business processes.Gaining new members is important. Getting them to connect is important. But these are not the only indicators of growth within your online community. If you haven’t already, take a good look at your metrics and see where you can adjust them to show direct ties to moments of deeper engagement and connectivity between your members and the association and start communicating those out. Talk to your community members and see what they need as much as you are talking to your colleagues within the association. By shifting your mindset about online community growth, you are delivering on shared value that goes far beyond an increasing number on a dashboard.How do you measure growth for your online community? How have you changed the conversation about growth within our association. Tell us in the comments below!