Actively engaged members are the lifeblood of any successful non-profit. But how can you objectively measure engagement across your member base?
By identifying and monitoring key metrics over time, organizations gain tangible insights into the member experience. This allows you to pinpoint what’s working while addressing any pain points or opportunities.
In this post, we’ll explore 4 important metrics to track and how to leverage the insights they provide.
Member Feedback
Soliciting direct feedback through surveys, reviews, testimonials, and Net Promoter Score (NPS) provides qualitative data to understand the member perspective. Here are key measures to focus on:
- Surveys: Conduct annual satisfaction surveys using structured questions to quantify opinions. Ask about programs, services, communications and overall needs.
- Reviews: Enable ratings and open-ended reviews on your website or feedback forms. Prospective members can see candid thoughts.
- Testimonials: Collect positive quotes from happy members on their experience. This shows authentic engagement.
- NPS: Measure loyalty via a key question – how likely are you to recommend us to others? Grouping scores into Promoters, Passives and Detractors gives an NPS index of overall satisfaction.
Why this metric matters:
- Direct input on what your organization does well or needs to improve.
- Identify common complaints to address or positive trends to continue.
- Track over time and by segment to measure impact of changes.
- Supplements quantitative data with qualitative insights.
Member feedback provides invaluable first-hand perspectives from those you aim to serve. Listening and responding shows you value their voice.
Social Media Engagement
Monitoring member interactions on social media is another gauge of engagement. Key metrics to follow include:
- Shares: Members redistributing content to their own follower base. This expands reach.
- Likes: Members showing appreciation and agreement with posts.
- Comments: Members engaging in conversations around content.
- Clicks: Clicks on links in posts driving traffic to your site.
Why this metric matters:
- Shows content is resonating and connecting with members.
- Indicates willingness to actively advocate on your behalf.
- Reflects the ability to spark dialogue and grow a community.
- Traffic metrics show the level of interest in topics.
Analyzing social engagement over time can reveal opportunities to refine your approach or double down on what’s working well. Active members on social platforms become powerful brand ambassadors.
Advertising Impressions
A key metric for understanding digital advertising impact is impressions – the number of times your ads are displayed to viewers.
Why this metric matters:
- Indicates the total reach and exposure of your campaigns.
- Frequency shows how often target audiences see ads.
- Benchmark against goals and past performance.
- Low impressions signal a limited budget or poor ad targeting.
While impressions don’t guarantee impact, it’s an important starting benchmark. This enables the optimization of campaigns to improve reach over time.
Click-Through Rate
Click-through rate measures ad effectiveness in converting impressions into clicks. It’s calculated as clicks divided by impressions.
Why this metric matters:
- Shows the percentage of impressions that result in engagement.
- Allows comparison across platforms, campaigns, and periods.
- Indicates how compelling and relevant your ads are.
- Low CTR points to opportunities to improve messaging or targeting.
CTR is a key indicator of audience interest and likelihood to take action. Ads optimized for higher CTR attract more qualified traffic to your site.
Key Takeaways
Consistently tracking key metrics provides tangible insights into your members’ needs, interests, and evolving behaviors. Make listening and responding a priority.
Focus on metrics aligned with your goals and benchmark progress over time. Segmenting by member attributes reveals differences in engagement across groups.
Leverage the insights uncovered to showcase successes, address weaknesses, and optimize your member experience. An engaged membership will ultimately drive impact through active participation.
What are your thoughts on these metrics? What other measures would you suggest, and why? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Email us at you.rock@fungimarketing.com.