community insights: read your numbers, run better actions
Likes tell you what people enjoyed. Community insights tell you what people actually did. Check them weekly, fix the leakiest step, and run the next action smarter.
Instagram tells you how many people watched. chilli tells you how many people did something about it. That second number is the one that moves decision-makers, and it's the one worth learning from. Here's where to find those numbers, and what to do with them.
quick context
On chilli you publish actions: pages with your story and a few ways to help (an email, a call, a comment, a survey…). Supporters are the people who follow you or start one of your ways to help. Every completion is counted. New here? what is chilli? the link in bio that turns followers into action has the basics.
where to find your numbers
Your numbers live in your dashboard, which appears as soon as you've created your first action. Open the dashboard tab on mobile, or dashboard in the left sidebar on a computer, then go to community (your community insights). It has three parts:
| section | what it shows |
|---|---|
| your community | supporters (people who follow you or started one of your ways to help) and ways to help completed (every time a supporter finished one) |
| who supports you | top countries and age ranges (under 18, 18–24, 25–34, 35–54, 55+) |
| your actions | every action, newest first, with its publish date, supporters and supporter completions. Tap one to open its action page. |
There's no separate stats screen for each action: every number lives here, in one place.
Just starting out? Until your community has some size, the community page shows "share your work, grow your community" with a share your profile button. Tap it. The numbers arrive when people do. Countries and age ranges fill in as supporters add more to their profiles, so give them a few weeks.
No time for the full page? The dashboard home has a community card (from your first supporter) with your supporter count and how many more you need "to reach your first 10 supporters", plus a share my chilli button. And at the bottom of community insights, resources points to the guides that help "grow these numbers and reach more people".
how to read it (and what to change)
A handy ratio: divide an action's supporter completions by its supporters. That's roughly how many ways to help each person finishes. Three ways to help and an average of three? People are doing everything. Closer to one? They're stopping early.
plenty of supporters, few completions
People are showing up and bouncing. The action is too long, too vague, or asks too much.
- cut the steps. An email beats a form with 12 fields.
- make the ask specific: a named target and one outcome.
- say how long it takes: "30 seconds" is a promise people accept.
- read the action on your phone as a first-time supporter would. Put the clearest, easiest way to help first.
how to design an action people actually complete goes deeper.
few supporters, healthy completions
The action works. Nobody's seeing it. That's a distribution problem, not a design one.
- post it again, in a different format (story, reel, carousel).
- add a comment-to-DM keyword.
- put it at the top of your link in bio.
Start with share your action: captions, stories and reels that get people moving.
supporters flat, completions climbing
Your core community is showing up, again and again, and doing more each time. That's loyalty, and it's the base for monthly funding. To grow beyond your regulars, add a collab or a share ask.
supporters climbing, completions flat
You're reaching new people, but they're not coming back for the next action yet. Keep them: post an update so they hear what their action did (close the loop: show your supporters their action mattered), then launch the next action while they're still warm.
countries that don't match your target
If most of your supporters are in the UK and your action asks US voters to call their senator, you've got a mismatch. Add a way to help anyone can do, like an email to a company or a public comment, alongside the one for locals.
ages that surprise you
If your age ranges skew 18–24 and your copy reads like a policy memo, rewrite it for the people actually showing up. Shorter, sharper, in the formats they already use.
export your supporters
Want your own copy? From your action page, open the … menu (the one with edit and move to drafts) and tap export supporters to download a CSV of the people who took part in that action. Your money has its own export too: in revenue on your dashboard, tap download transactions.
On Instagram you rent your audience. Knowing who actually shows up is how you start owning the relationship.
a 15-minute weekly review
- Open community in your dashboard and note your supporters and ways to help completed. Up or down since last week?
- In your actions, find your best and worst performer by supporters and supporter completions.
- Tap the action with the fewest completions per supporter. Read its story and ways to help on your phone. Is the first ask clear and quick?
- Check who supports you. Do your top countries and age ranges match the people your action needs to reach?
- Write down one change for next week. Then do it.
This week: [x] supporters, [x] ways to help completed.
Best action: [name], [x] supporters, [x] completions. Why: [guess].
Worst action: [name], [x] supporters, [x] completions. Fix: [one change].
Next week I'll try: [one experiment].
data that changes tactics
When one tactic slowed down during the Iceland whaling campaign, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation pivoted to a new target and a new pressure point. Over the season that added up to 47K+ actions, 163 calls to action and 8+ pressure fronts. Watching what people actually do is how you know when to switch.
real win · Captain Paul Watson FoundationPaul Watson put Iceland's whale hunt in the spotlight
your next move
Open community in your dashboard now, find the action with the fewest completions per supporter, and tap into it. Shorten the first ask or clarify the outcome. Then share the numbers with your supporters in an update: close the loop: show your supporters their action mattered.
