“Numbers rule the universe.”

I am a huge fan of using numbers and statistics to assess my community.  They help me watch the health of the entire community, uncover new trends, and identify areas to investigate. 

Here are 3 areas to measure community statistics:

Dashboard

The Dashboard in the Admin Control Area is a perfect and easy area to watch for community statistics.  It contains several useful blocks such as Registrations, Gallery Overview, Downloads Overview, and Income for the last 30 days. 

The Dashboard is an easy place to watch your numbers over time and track the growth of your community.  

Registrations

In the ACP Statistics, there are several key statistics you should watch.  One of them is Registrations, which show the number of new registrations by day, week, or month. 

This can help you see if you make improvement over time by getting guests excited to join.  It’s highly recommended that you keep a “community journal” to document changes to your community, so you can see when your initiatives lead to an increase in registrations. 

Leaderboard

The Leaderboard is a feature from 4.1 and contains several useful pieces of information to identify popular and trending themes. 

On the Leaderboard tab, you can view both popular members and content.  This is an great way to find popular content to include in newsletters or social media!

On the Past Leaders tab, you can scan for rising members.    If you see a new member who wins First, Second or Third Prize for a day, he should be a new member to start a conversation for further engagement. 

On the Top Members tab, you can find members who have contributed the most to different areas in your community: files, articles, albums, or posts.