So you’re running a community—maybe a Discord, a forum, or a Slack—and you need to prove the time and money you’re spending are actually worth it. Leadership is asking about “ROI.” You know your community matters, but how do you show it with numbers that mean something? This guide is for you. We’ll cut through the fluff and get into how to use Commonroom analytics to measure the real impact of your community efforts—without drowning in vanity metrics.
Step 1: Get Clear on What “ROI” Means for Your Community
Before you even open up a dashboard, stop and ask: what’s the point? ROI is supposed to mean “return on investment,” but that “return” looks different for everyone.
Common community ROI goals: - More product signups or sales - Better customer retention or reduced support tickets - Increased brand reputation or awareness - User-generated content or feedback - Reduced churn or faster onboarding
What doesn’t count as ROI:
- “We added 500 new Discord members!” (Cool, but...so what?)
- “Our engagement rate is up!” (Unless you tie it to business value, execs won’t care.)
Pro tip:
Don’t overcomplicate it. Pick 1-2 business outcomes that matter to your boss (or your boss’s boss). If you’re not sure, ask them directly: “What would make this community a no-brainer investment for you?”
Step 2: Map Community Actions to Real-World Results
Here’s where a lot of folks get tripped up. Activity in your community is not the same as ROI. You need to connect the dots between what happens in the community and actual business impact.
Examples: - Do people who participate in your community spend more money or stick around longer? - Does community content reduce support requests? - Are top contributors referring new customers?
How to do this in practice:
- List your key business goals.
- For each, figure out what community actions might influence it.
- Sketch out a simple “cause and effect” path. For example:
“Members who attend our monthly webinars are 30% more likely to renew.”
You probably won’t have perfect data for every link in the chain. That’s normal. The goal is to get close enough to show a trend—not to run a clinical trial.
Step 3: Set Up Commonroom for Useful Tracking
Now that you know what matters, it’s time to fire up Commonroom and actually measure it. Don’t get distracted by every shiny widget. Stick to tracking what ties back to your goals.
Connect Your Platforms
Commonroom pulls data from places like Slack, Discord, forums, GitHub, Twitter, and more. Connect the platforms where your community actually lives. Ignore the ones you don’t use—more data isn’t always better.
Segment Your Members
You’ll want to slice and dice your community. Commonroom lets you segment by things like: - Join date - Activity level - Role (admin, member, lurker) - Company or job title (if known)
Why bother?
Because “active users” is almost meaningless on its own. “Active users from our top 50 target accounts” is a story leadership will listen to.
Set Up Custom Tags and Properties
If you’re tracking something unique—like folks who attended an event, or gave product feedback—set up custom tags. It takes a few minutes, but pays off when you need to filter your reports.
Link Community Data to Business Systems (If You Can)
The gold standard is connecting your community data to things like your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.), product analytics, or support tools. Commonroom has integrations, but sometimes you’ll need to export and match up data manually. It’s a pain, but even a simple spreadsheet can be enough to show patterns.
Step 4: Focus on the Metrics That Actually Matter
Let’s be honest: nobody really cares about “number of messages posted” unless it’s tied to something bigger. Here are a few metrics that usually move the needle:
1. Member Growth (With Context)
- Good: Total members over time, net new signups, growth from key audiences
- Bad: Bragging about big numbers with no context (“We hit 10,000 members!” So what?)
2. Engagement Quality
- Who’s posting, not just how many posts
- Are key members (like customers, prospects, or partners) actually active?
- Look for repeat engagement—not just drive-by “hellos”
3. Conversion to Business Outcomes
- How many members signed up for your product, attended a sales call, or became customers?
- Did support questions in the community result in fewer support tickets?
- Are your top contributors also your happiest customers?
4. Retention and Churn
- Do active community members stick around longer as customers?
- Can you spot warning signs in drop-offs?
What to ignore:
- Vanity metrics (likes, emojis, random chatter)
- Super granular breakdowns that don’t tie to your goals
Pro tip:
Pick 2-3 metrics to highlight in your monthly or quarterly reports. Don’t overload folks with charts. Tell a story: “Here’s what changed, and why it matters.”
Step 5: Use Commonroom Analytics to Tell Your Story
Now for the part where you make your case. Commonroom gives you lots of dashboards and export options, but the tool won’t do your job for you. Here’s how to get the most out of it:
Build Custom Reports
- Filter by segments that matter (e.g., “engaged users from target accounts”)
- Compare periods (before/after a big event or campaign)
- Export the data and add business context (e.g., overlay customer revenue)
Share Insights, Not Just Data
Don’t just send a link to a dashboard. Summarize what you found: - “Active members in our Slack are 2x more likely to renew.” - “After launching our community Q&A, support tickets dropped 15%.”
If you don’t have all the numbers, be honest about it. Leadership prefers a rough, honest estimate over a glossy but meaningless chart.
Watch for Red Herrings
Just because a number goes up doesn’t mean things are better. If engagement spikes but product signups don’t budge, that’s a clue to dig deeper.
Step 6: Share Wins (and Losses) Regularly
Your goal isn’t to “prove” community is valuable once and coast. It’s to build trust over time. Share updates regularly—what’s working, what’s not, and what you’re trying next.
How to make updates land: - Use screenshots or charts, but keep them simple - Tie every stat to a business goal (“Here’s how this helps us sell more/support better/etc.”) - Admit where things didn’t work. It builds credibility.
What to skip:
- Fluffy “community sentiment” slides with lots of buzzwords
- Overly rosy updates—people can tell when you’re stretching
Step 7: Iterate and Keep It Real
Measuring ROI is a moving target. Your goals will shift. The business will want different things. That’s normal. Don’t get stuck chasing perfect attribution or the “one true metric.” Instead:
- Start small, prove one or two wins
- Adjust your metrics as you learn what actually matters
- Ask for feedback from leadership—what do they want to see?
- Don’t be afraid to cut what isn’t working
Final Thoughts
Measuring community ROI isn’t magic, and it isn’t about impressing people with big numbers. It’s about connecting what you do every day to outcomes your company cares about—and using tools like Commonroom to make that easier. Start with what matters, stay skeptical of vanity stats, and keep it simple. If you’re honest, consistent, and willing to iterate, you’ll stand out from the crowd (and keep your job a whole lot longer).
Now, go measure what matters—and don’t let analytics drag you away from the real work: building a community people actually want to be part of.