Branded tag reporting usually consists of one number — total posts — which conflates a thriving community with one enthusiastic employee.
1. Unique contributors
How many distinct accounts posted to the tag this month? This is the number that describes whether a community exists. Fifty posts from four people and fifty from forty are completely different outcomes.
2. The ratio of you to them
Track what proportion of tag posts come from your own accounts. Early on it should be high — you seeded it. If it is still ninety percent after six months, the tag is a filing system, not a campaign.
3. Repeat contribution
How many people posted more than once? Repeat contributors are the difference between a campaign that ran and a habit that formed. This is the number that predicts whether the tag survives after you stop promoting it.
What to do with the answers
Low unique contributors: your reason to participate is not compelling enough. Low repeat rate: people participated and got nothing back — start featuring them visibly. High everything: leave it alone and keep featuring.
Collecting the data
Manually, in fifteen minutes a month. Open the tag, scroll a month back, count distinct handles. It is not sophisticated and it is more accurate than most dashboards, which count posts because posts are easy to count.