Defining Success and Measuring Engagement Tom Jelen & Andy Steggles

"Even though many new online communities are formed each year, only a few turn out to be a viable platform for both discussion and support." - F.J.M. van Varik and H. van Oostendorp (2013) Institute of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University 2

3 What are the traits of a successful online community? Photo credit: jepoirrierjepoirrier

"In most online communities, 90% of users are lurkers who never contribute, 9% of users contribute a little, and 1% of users account for almost all the action." - Jakob Nielsen (2006) Nielsen Norman Group 4

5 What does “engagement” mean? Photo credit: Melody Joy KramerMelody Joy Kramer

“Approximately 61% of newcomers received a reply to their initial post, and those who got a reply were 12% more likely to post to the community again.” - Elisabeth Joyce and Robert E. Kraut (2006) 6

7 How do you get people to come back? Photo credit: Scott AkermanScott Akerman

8 How does your community measure up? Photo credit: Scott AkermanScott Akerman

9 OrganizationMembersLaunchReport Date Duration (months) ACCC 14,0004/1/201111/21/ ASA 20,3855/13/201311/22/20136 ASHA166,00010/1/201111/26/ AUPHA 2,1139/1/200411/21/ AXUG 12,4823/1/201311/22/20138 CRMUG 10,37710/1/201211/22/ DCAT 3,1681/14/201311/21/ FPA 23,0009/15/201011/21/ GPUG 13,7343/1/201311/22/20138 MBREA 5938/1/200911/25/ NAVUG 5,5097/1/201311/22/20134 NJSCPA 15,0005/10/201011/21/ SME 49,2741/1/201211/26/201322

Measure: % of Logged In Users that Agreed to the Terms of Use 10 Minimum Value80% Maximum Value100% Average92% Median93%

Measure: % of Logged In Users with Profile 11 Minimum Value7% Maximum Value37% Average21% Median20%

Measure: % of Logged In Users with Photo 12 Minimum Value4% Maximum Value28% Average15% Median15%

13 Correlation of Duration to % of Logged in Users with Profile (r=0.5)

14 Correlation of Duration to % of Logged in Users with Photo (r=0.45)

15 Intro to Higher Logic’s Benchmarking Tool

Tom Andy Steggles

17 References: van Varik, F.J.M. and van Oostendorp, H. (2013), Enhancing Online Community Activity: Development and validation of the CA framework. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 18: 454–475. doi: /jcc Nielsen, J. (2006). Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox: Participation inequality: Encouraging more users to contribute. Retrieved November 26, 2013 from Joyce, E. and Kraut, R. E. (2006), Predicting Continued Participation in Newsgroups. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11: 723–747. doi: /j x. Photo Credits: All photos are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic licensed. Jean-Etienne Minh-Duy Poirrier. Happy people in Happyland. Retrieved November 26, 2013 from Melody Joy Kramer. Jackie's engagement ring. Retrieved November 26, 2013 from Scott Akerman. Ruler. Retrieved November 26, 2013 from References & Credits