A model of engagement
Over on Queer Ideas Mark has a nice model for analysis donation (or sales) data.
He cateogrises three file types:
- Nails: most people give once and then don’t give ever again. They shouldn’t even be classed as your donors.
- Carrots: files decline slowly over time due to a lack of continuing engagement
- Upside down beetroot: only a tiny minority haven’t given recently and most have given something in the recent past.
I really like this model because I think it clearly illustrates how recency is important to engagement. But also like it because I think it can apply to broader engagement, and particularly digital engagement.
How many times have you seen people claiming “outstanding” results for digital engagement campaigns that are little more than hollow numbers. Digital is measurable – you can see how many people are following you on twitter, or how many fans you have on facebook. But how many organisations ask themselves the difficult questions – how many of these people are actually engaged with us? I think many “successful” organisations would be surprised.
But all is not lost! In digital engagement you need to ask people to do things – and regularly – otherwise you’re just talking at them, and that’s not what social media is about. When you ask supporters to do things, you can track their actions quite effectively. This needs to be recorded and analysed, just like any other CRM database. Then you can work on turning your nail into a juicy fat beetroot. Organisations who do this will reap the benefits in the future.
Tags: digital engagement models
digial, social media | admin | 
July 1, 2009 7:16 pm
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