Start with clearly stated objectives that are specific, measurable, realistic and time-bound - Lou Ordorica

I often look at the number of people I get to email invitations to events. That list has been steadily growing since the beginning of the year. - Daniel Johnson, Jr.

How do you tie those objectives back to the bottom line - Keith Burtis

Work with your executive sponsor and find out the big dials that matter most. For example, is it supporting customer online? Generating new leads? Growing downloads? Etc. - Lou Ordorica

Look at what needles you're moving within the business and how it relates back to your goals. - Sonny Gill

I agree with Lou about identifying the dials that matter most, but what if the executive sponsor doesn't know him or herself? How to guide? - Daniel Johnson, Jr.

Great points, Lou, especially because those goals really can vary by company. - Bryan Person

@Martin Reed: how do you measure your effectiveness then, as a CM being self-employed? - Daniel Johnson, Jr.

in my opinion, yes - it is very important that these measures be set by the organization and be very specific to goals and objectives. My concern is that folks are measuring soft metrics that really have no value. ex: Community manager is the investment - Organization needs to see results from that investment. Engagement cant be taken to the bank. - Keith Burtis

I don't think it makes a difference. I still judge myself based on the activity I can encourage and the strength of member engagement. - Martin Reed

Again, unless Engagement has a value set to it, you cant show a Return on Investment...no? - Keith Burtis

It's the ROI vs Impact question. What numbers are important to demonstrate effectiveness? - Daniel Johnson, Jr.

I see the fruits of my labor in many ways. New members, community ownership, groups forming their own "welcome wagon" and creating tutorials for other members. That's just to name a few. - Angela

how exactly do you define 'effectiveness'? as in, I spent x hours working on programs and there are now y new community members? or posts? what's the criteria for effectiveness? - mark williams

Wouldn't the ROI be relative to the type of community, too? B2B vs. B2C vs. non-profit, etc.? - Teresa Basich

I guess a corollary to Keith's question is, "How does a CM contribute to an organization's bottom line?" (maybe just re-casting the question) - Daniel Johnson, Jr.

re: how to guide execs: use examples of how others are using the medium. Zappos is always good, as is Southwest Air. Give them 4 or 5 examples of how to use the tools and the media and let them say "I want to do what Pizza Hut is doing". - Derek Curtis

Or, how does a particular community itself contribute to an organization's bottom line? - Daniel Johnson, Jr.

Community Member, Engagement, Posts, are all sort metrics. let me give an example of how I measure it within my community of developers - Keith Burtis

If the person signing the checks isn't clear about what they are getting for their investment, that is a red flag. Sit down and have an open-ended discussion, ask about the pressing business issues, competitors that are keeping them up at night, and try to distill these to benefits related to your community efforts. - Lou Ordorica

or, is 'effectiveness' really measurable? If I help ONE person solve a big problem in an hour, am I more or less effective than if I solved 3 little problems in one hour? Do I have to constantly improve my 'effectiveness' in order to be effective? - mark williams

Lou - great point: use competitors as examples. I have done that with my employer, and it can really show them not only how but why. - Derek Curtis

In a community where customer longevity and loyalty is key, track community members spend. In a community of practice, like developers, every idea/innovation supports product development, corrals knowledge assets(not ROI exactly, but VALUE'), may reduce staff expenses. In a support community, leveraging peer support cuts staff costs. - Jenna Woodul

@DanielJohnson--yes...I htink that is a much better way to frame it...how does the community contribute? - mark williams

10 posts = Avg 100 new community members or Developers .... That 100 leads to 10 very Active Participants ..... of those 10 One new great application is built that leads back to sales and traffic for Best Buy. Those sales can be measured (ROI) the developer or community member makes affiliate income. (win, win) All measured.... the pipeline stays static while the tactics are fluid - Keith Burtis

What about internal communities? Measuring improvement in employee engagement scores? - Bill Free

Internal communities can contribute to employee efficiency and retention - also esprit de corps. Again, more in the Value department than the specific dollars. Often measured by surveys and feedback from participants. - Jenna Woodul

Derek -- absolutely. Just mentioning a successful competitor who is successful with community can shut down objections right-quick. - Lou Ordorica

The reason I bring this up is to let people understand that the CEO's and CMO's of the world dont measure kumbia, they measure dollars - Keith Burtis

I bet United Airlines would go for a little Kumbaya right about now. - Angela

Absolutely right, Keith, and a main reason I'm finding internal community a tough sell in my org. - Bill Free

I think coming up with a clear mission and value prop about how the community support the overall company vision is a good technique to build support and get buy-in for what you are doing. - Lou Ordorica

Lou, do you find it difficult, sometimes, for the company to define the purpose of their community? - Star Aasved

Great question, Star, particularly in a heads-down environment like we're in now where there's a huge internal focus on productivity. - Bill Free

If your finding it a tough sell, show where it WILL lead back to bottom line profits, more ales, increased awareness, etc... this is where people are falling off. Social media is much more than sitting on twitter and friendfeed. You need to build static pipelines that show effectiveness. See this photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos... blog post coming this week - Keith Burtis

Thanks, Keith, looking forward to it. - Bill Free

Nice Flickr graphic. Are those real or made-up numbers? - Bryan Person

Star Aasved -- Yes. The bigger the company, the more expectations and opinions you have to contend with. I think it's important to carefully pick your battles and make it clear what you WON'T do. Communities have been oversold, need to bring people back to earth. - Lou Ordorica

Keith, that Flickr link you posted is a private link that I'm not able to see. - Daniel Johnson, Jr.