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Hi,

We used to be able to use Badgify for automatic participation badges for comments in some of our posts. We used this a lot for our engagement content/gamification. When we switched to custom post pages, we're not seeing this option? Is this addon not available anymore for custom pages, just like Polls?

We've been noticing recently that certain features are not compatible with the custom post pages. Is there a list of things that do not work with custom post pages at this time?

As a community manager, you’re often asked to have your members do a lot of different things. Q&A, feedback, ideation, testing, use cases, customer stories - the list goes on and on. Before you know it, your community home page ends up looking like Times Square complete with billboards and flashing lights. This quickly becomes overwhelming. It’s overwhelming for you as a community manager to set up, monitor, and pull results from. And it's overwhelming for your members as it often becomes unclear how to interact with the community. 

At times like these, it can be helpful to take a step back, breathe, and ask yourself: “If I can only choose one, what is the one thing I want my members to do when they visit our community?”  

Back to Basics 

When you’re tired, stressed, or overwhelmed, we all have our places of comfort that we go back to. Whether it’s revisiting your favorite movie or tv show, listening to that album you never get tired of, talking to a friend or family member, curling up with your dog, or cooking up a meal than never fails to hit the mark, these are things that help us reset our focus. Sometimes your community needs that too. 

A clear focus helps in several ways: 

• Encourages consistent engagement – When members know what they’re supposed to do, they’re more likely to participate. 
• Simplifies community design – Your community’s structure, content, and features should align with your primary goal. 
• Improves member experience – A focused community prevents information overload and makes participation easier. 
• Strengthens business or organizational goals – A well-defined purpose ensures your community aligns with larger objectives. 

How to Identify Your Community’s “One Thing” 

Determining your community’s core action starts with understanding your purpose, audience, and desired outcomes:  

1. Identify Your Community’s Purpose 

• Why does this community exist? 
• What value does it provide to members? 
• What does success look like for this community? 

Examples of “one thing” for different community purposes: 

• Customer Support – Ask or answer a question 
• Brand Advocacy – Share a story or testimonial 
• Product User Group – Share feedback 
• Education – Complete a course 
• Hobby – Post a project photo 

These examples may seem overly simple, but that’s the beauty of your “one thing” - it should be simple. And by defining it, you provide a clear path for engagement and make it easier for members to participate. 

2. Analyze Member Behavior 

If your community is already active, look at analytics and engagement trends: 

• Which types of posts receive the most interaction? 
• What actions do the most engaged members take? 
• Where do members drop off in participation? 

Your most engaged users can provide insight into what naturally resonates. If they consistently gravitate toward discussions, testimonials, or user-generated content, lean into that. 

3. Align with Business or Organizational Goals 

Your community should support broader business objectives. Consider: 

• If your goal is customer retention, should your one thing be product discussions or success stories? 
• If your brand values education, should your one thing be knowledge-sharing through articles or webinars? 
• If you’re aiming for peer support, should your one thing be encouraging members to answer questions? 

4. Make It Actionable and Easy 

Your one thing should be clear, simple, and repeatable. 

• Instead of “engage more,” say “comment on one post per visit.” 
• Instead of “help each other,” say “answer one question per day.” 
• Instead of “share experiences,” say “post a recent success story.” 

How to Reinforce Your “One Thing” 

While defining your “one thing” falls to you, we’re here to help you implement it in your community! Higher Logic Vanilla makes it incredibly easy to reinforce the primary action you want members to take across a wide range of tools: 

1. Structure Your Community Around It 

Ensure your homepage and navigation guide members toward the key action. If your focus is Q&A, make sure questions are prominently displayed. And if your “one thing” is different for different types of members, utilizing Roles is a powerful way to customize your community so the right actions are available to right members. 

2. Encourage Through Calls-to-Action 

Use simple, direct CTAs in your widgets, posts, and community prompts: 

• “Have a question? Post it here!” 
• “Know the answer? Help a fellow member!” 
• “Share your latest win with the community!” 

3. Reward Participation 

Create recognition programs, badges, or leaderboards for members who consistently take the primary action. Often just letting people they've been noticed is enough to keep them coming back.

4. Monitor and Adapt 

Community engagement is dynamic. Track participation, setup analytics dashboards, gather feedback, and refine your "one thing" over time if needed. Sometimes the needs of your organization or members will change, and as someone who is closely monitoring the activity of your community, you will be in a fantastic position to pivot.

Final Thoughts: The Power of a Clear Focus 

For all the talk about multitasking, the truth is most people are more productive when they’re able to focus on one thing at a time. That’s just as true in your community as it is everywhere else. And when that “one thing” is easy to understand and execute, more members will participate. A lack of engagement doesn’t always mean people don’t want to engage. It could mean they don’t know how to engage. Bringing their focus to that "one thing" makes it easier to start becoming an active member of your community.    

So, take a moment today to reflect: “What is the one thing I want my members to do?”

Already know the "one thing" for your community or have a story about how you found it? Let us know below!