How do you evaluate and improve your community engagement skills?

It is also important that a baseline for a community is established. This will further help you align your strategies to suite their expectations as well. Remember, it is not about them as well

A well-defined purpose not only structures engagement plans but also serves as a beacon for stakeholders. It communicates the 'why' behind your actions, aligning them seamlessly with your mission. This clarity prevents wasted resources on activities that don't contribute to the overarching goal. Also, note a purpose isn't static; it evolves with community needs, requiring continuous assessment and adaptation for relevance and impact.

The rise of the "community manager" title across verticals is evidence of marketers tapping into the consumer's increased need for a sense of belonging in a post-pandemic world where volumes of data show a sharp global increase in loneliness since 2020. Spend time talking to the people who spend time engaging your brand! Depending upon the size of your community, it may be important for you to consider teasing apart the SMM and CM roles and responsibilities. A community manager's time may be better spent engaging the community more directly via social channels while a dedicated social media manager is creating and optimizing the digital content.

Understanding not only what you see the purpose of the community as but also what your community believes to be the purpose can be key as they may not always be perfectly aligned. Understanding expectations from both sides can allow you to identify what has been effective but also why.

1. Member 2. Community owner As a member, I expect the journey to be filled with no hick ups and more people who resonate with similar thought processes. I also expect first interaction with someone like community manager/ owner / moderator etc. That first connection is all about learning about me, my aspirations,etc more than just sharing about the community. I am here because I bought your vision. Being a community owner, I need to set up multiple 1:1 and regular connects with members, introductions among members, meet and greet, heart beat conversation to break ice and more. Because, at no point you can understand anyone in just one call. So, series of connects at different junctures are a must

Consider using some of the following software suggestions for: 1. social listening (to help understand your community) 2. automation (for maximum efficiency) 3. analytics (using data to compare and optimize your marketing strategies) Software for social listening, automation, and analytics include: 1. Zapier 2. Buffer 3. Later 4. Mention 5. Sprout 6. Hootsuite 7. Sprinklr 8. Brand24 9. BuzzSumo

Cross Cultural Sensitivity On top of inputs given above, Cross cultural sensitivity is important in fund raising. Fund raising approaches to consider conformity of global and local approaches including age segmentation. This inforns what to say to who? Knowledge of the dos and donts of a specific community are significant in fund raising towards acceptable engagement strategies. We need to have tools and approaches to make effective communication. Approaches they value most be considered. In this case, segmentation of our communities are precursors for better engagement.

How authentic are you? It all starts with I before we, your intentions will greatly impact, your impact on any cause in the community and therefore making you a more resourceful person in the community.

Engagement is a by product and not the only goal. In the beginning, it’s critical to define multiple ways to engage - online, offline, events etc Engagement techniques always work when connections are established, when we define expected outcomes, when we have feedback loops in place. It’s an ongoing thing to do. Red flag is when there are too many discussions that don’t add value, then absolute silence or way too many spams or promotions or conflicts. Having constant community health check help

After defining your target audience, it is important to define what we call the community's "rituals". These can involve member onboarding events, knowledge sharing events, and also asynchronous strategies, in the channel where your community was built.

Contrary to popular opinion, engagement is not the goal. It is a tool to enable members to achieve their goals. Each method/ format or channel needs to be defined by how best the members can engage i.e. least friction. Additionally, which platform the members seek which kind of engagement matters too leading us to think about omni channel community experience.

I use the KTFD framework to design any communication that goes out, internally or externally. -Know: what do I want my members to know about <> -Think: how do i want my members to think about <> -Feel: how do i want my members to feel about >? -Do: what do i want my members to do to achieve their goal via <> This framework serves best to ensure clarity, expectation setting and eventually measuring outcomes.

Only ask the questions if you genuinely want the communities opinion on it or if you are clear on what the outcomes will be. If your organization is not willing to go ahead with popular option from community engagement because it goes against ones narative you can loose community trust which can be difficult to regain. Be honest from the onset about what you are hoping to achieve, is the engagement to see how to develop a new initiative or simply provide information.

Sincerity and Authenticity are the foundation of any communication I write. People can easily pick up on disingenuous communication and it is the first step to building a relationship with your audience. If they can build a connection with you they are far more likely to read what you write going forward.

While initially, it becomes important to communicate clearly what lies within the acceptable norms of communication within a community, I've observed over time, that the community sets its tone. This happens when certain conversations and how these conversations take place are replicated and what might not be a part of the community outcome doesn't have much room to grow. Here community leaders/moderators play a crucial role in how communication thrives within a community.

The way to look at this would be via measuring outcomes & impact. Input metrics: all the effort, time, resources invested by YOU. ideally, you should optimise for least effort, maximum impact inputs! example: # of conversation nudges, events done by you in the community. Output metrics: a direct outcome of your input metrics. example: # of replies to the conversation nudge, # of RSVPs to the event. Multiple input actions will contribute to a single outcomes. Eventually impact metrics which can be measured by surveys, polls, feedback. Ideally what I'd measure here would be outcomes for members i.e. learning goals achieved, networking goals achieved etc.

Seeking feedback from the community and stakeholders is crucial for revealing blind spots and growth opportunities 🌱 Then transform this feedback into actionable adjustments — whether it's goals, methods, or messages. It's an iterative cycle, a commitment to evolving strategies based on real-world responses. Community engagement is a reciprocal learning journey where adaptability is key to creating a positive, lasting impact.

Evaluating and improving community engagement skills can be achieved by seeking feedback from the community, reflecting on past engagements, continuing professional education, and staying informed about industry best practices.

When evaluating community engagement process I like to look at what worked, what we could do better, how was it perceived by people involved and impacted, ask what they would have done better or liled to have seen that did not happen. I prefer to schedule a debrief as part of the process and learning. With my team I like to ask what should we Start, Stop, or Continue. I find this feedback process helpful and useful after an engagement. Lastly, document what we heard and learned for future projects and leaders awareness.

Ideally, evaluations and improvements for community engagement should take place regularly. While data shows quantitatively what may or may not be working, it becomes crucial to find ways to incorporate new engagement styles within your community. The qualitative aspects of improving community engagement come from listening to what your community is saying and requesting. Being in a community is always a collective feedback loop, while we all have individual ways to approach change, it impacts everyone, even if it is changing only your methods of engagment.

It's essential to embrace the unexpected, leaving room for serendipity and spontaneous connections🤝 There is power in fostering serendipitous moments within a community. These unplanned interactions can lead to innovative collaborations and unexpected solutions. Also, recognizing and celebrating small victories is crucial. Not every success fits into a metric, but each contributes to the larger narrative. The richness of community lies in the stories woven between the lines—the personal connections, shared laughter, and collective triumphs that metrics may not fully express. Amplify the narrative by embracing the unscripted, acknowledging nuances, and finding beauty in the in-between spaces of our community.

It's great to have your own goals for this work. However, community engagement can become extremely transactional extremely quickly for audience members. In order to move away from transactionalism, you should also be asking your audiences about their goals? What do they need? Why are they here? Additionally, community engagement is about developing deeper relationships with our supporters, allowing them to feel some sense of connectedness to us and our work. They are our helpers and our consultants and should be treated as such, especially if we're being authentic about our desire to be in community with them.

Feedback and practice. Take facilitator training classes. Learn to be emotionally aware. Practice on your family. Practice on boards of directors. Practice at work. Run ERGs in your corporation and practice facilitating roundtable discussions. Get their feedback on how you did! Then practice with your community and get their feedback!

Beyond the metrics, dive into qualitative insights. Regularly gather feedback from your community, not just on the content but on the engagement process itself: Are your interactions resonating? Are you addressing their evolving needs effectively? Authenticity is key; be open about your goals and challenges. Embrace the dual role of communicator and active listener, refining your approach based on community responses. Learning is iterative, and improvement is a shared venture.

Establishing rapport in a particular community demands effort, time, vulnerability and synchronicity. It's a back-and-forth cycle of analysing, producing, taking action, evaluating, adjusting, celebrating and realignment, on and on. Not every leader fits in any sort of community, yet a welcoming community can embrace any of those who are willing to respect the internal culture, add value and collaborate for a better outcome.