The Engagement Trap: Why More Isn’t Always Better in Community

"How do we increase engagement?"

It’s the question every community manager hears, often framed as the primary measure of success. More posts, more likes, more replies, more participation. It’s assumed that engagement is the heartbeat of a healthy community.

And while engagement is important, it’s also deeply misunderstood.

In fact, treating engagement as the main KPI for community health can create the wrong incentives, stunt growth, and leave teams optimizing for noise rather than value.

Here’s why.

1. Not All Communities Are Meant to Be Loud

Different communities serve different purposes. A support community, for example, might thrive on searchability and resolution, not conversation. A community of practice might rely on a small number of thoughtful contributors and many silent learners. A brand advocacy group might activate members outside the platform, in their own networks, workplaces, or social feeds.

In these cases, low visible engagement doesn’t mean low value. It means the community is functioning efficiently. It means members are getting what they need without having to wade through endless conversation or forced prompts.

The truth is, quiet communities can be healthy communities.

2. Engagement Can Inhibit Growth

High engagement is often held up as a magnet for growth. “If people are active, others will want to join.” But it can have the opposite effect.

When a community feels too active, especially with a tight-knit or vocal core group, it can intimidate newcomers. They worry about “jumping in,” saying the wrong thing, or feeling like an outsider. In that environment, many choose to observe or opt out entirely.

Worse, in pursuit of engagement, communities can over-program: constant polls, challenges, prompts, threads. It becomes content for content’s sake and can feel noisy or superficial to members who joined for depth, connection, or value.

A better question than how do we increase engagement? is: How do we lower the barrier to meaningful participation, when and where it matters?

3. Engagement Is a Lagging Indicator, Not a Strategy

High engagement doesn’t cause a healthy community, it’s a potential symptom of one.

If your strategy is just to “drive more engagement,” you’re solving for behavior before you’ve defined purpose. Instead, start with these questions:

• Why does this community exist?

• Who is it for?

• What transformation or outcome are we supporting?

• What behaviors actually signal progress?

In a product community, that might mean bug reporting, referrals, or solution sharing. In a professional network, it might mean DM intros, job referrals, or peer mentoring. Not every one of these behaviors is “engagement” in the classic forum-posting sense, but they are signs of a thriving community.

4. Not All Engagement Is Good Engagement

Vanity metrics: likes, emoji reactions, shallow responses, can look impressive in dashboards, but they don’t always translate to trust, value, or retention.

In some cases, high engagement can even signal a problem. Maybe people are confused and asking the same questions repeatedly. Maybe they’re trying to solve a problem your product or support team should have addressed elsewhere. Maybe they’re stuck in conversation and not moving toward action.

Healthy engagement is aligned with community purpose. It supports member outcomes and business goals. It’s not just about being busy, it’s about being useful.

A Healthier Way to Think About Engagement

So what should community leaders do?

✅ Define what success looks like beyond engagement.

What does a successful member journey look like? What behavior signals that someone got value, even if they never post?

✅ Segment your members.

Different member types (newcomers, lurkers, leaders) have different engagement patterns. Design for all of them, not just the vocal few.

✅ Focus on outcomes, not output.

Instead of asking, “Did someone comment?” ask, “Did someone get what they needed?” or “Did this help them take the next step?”

✅ Report on value, not just volume.

Tell the story behind the numbers. Show how community is impacting product, support, marketing, or customer experience, even when engagement appears modest.

Final Thought

Engagement matters. But it’s not the holy grail. It’s a data point, not a destination.

Some of the best communities out there are quiet, focused, and high-impact. Others are vibrant, active, and designed for ongoing conversation. Both can succeed if the goals are clear, and the strategy is aligned.

Instead of chasing higher engagement, let’s chase higher relevance. Let’s make sure our communities are places people trust, return to, and grow through, whether they post or not.