Connections rise when your community's members send messages to each other and get replies - not just when they're browsing. The strategies below focus on prompting genuine two-way conversation across direct messages, private groups and Space threads, since that's what drives the connections figure in your Weekly Community Digest.
Most of these strategies work by making it easier or more obvious for a student to start a conversation, and by giving them a reason to reply once one starts.
Lean on Social Matching to spark relevant introductions
Social Matching pairs students with shared interests, courses or nationalities, which gives them a natural reason to message each other, rather than a cold introduction.
Promote Social Matching in your own onboarding emails or your Updates channel, so students know it exists and try it early
Have your Ambassadors set the tone
If Student Ambassadors are visible in your Community, they might be the first people students message, so their responsiveness sets the tone for the whole community. An exchange only counts as a Connection if it's between two students, but that doesn't mean that your Ambassadors can't help with building a Community students keep returning to.
Set an expectation with your Ambassadors that they reply to direct messages within a set window (24 hours is our recommendation) - students who know they can rely on a quick reply will keep coming back
Brief Ambassadors to ask open questions in any Spaces they are monitoring, rather than giving one-word answers, since a reply that invites a further reply keeps the conversation - and the potential for connections between students - going
Task your Ambassadors with creating some fun content with suggested openers (for example, ") to reduce the blank-page problem that stops a first message being sent
Use Spaces, threads and private groups to encourage discussion
Spaces threads and private groups are where connections can grow fastest, since every new pair of participants who message each other in a Space or private group adds another connection.
Remind students that they can add smaller, topic-specific private groups (for example, by course, city or interest) - students are more likely to reply in a group where the topic is directly relevant to them
Start threads with a specific question rather than a general announcement, since questions invite replies and announcements often don't
Encourage students who reply in a thread to reply directly to each other, not just to the original poster, so more pairs within the group start exchanging messages
Prompt engagement with Updates, To-Do's and Micro Surveys
These features don't generate connections directly, but they're effective at getting students back into the platform, at which point they're more likely to message someone.
Post Updates that refer to the Social Matching feature - reminding students to check their Connect tab for new potential connections
Use To-Do's to nudge students toward actions that lead to conversation - a couple of examples might be: "Introduce yourself in your course Space" or "Add your interests to your profile so you can find likeminded people"
Use Micro Surveys to surface what students want to talk about, then seed a thread within a Space around that topic so the conversation has a clear starting point
Time any prompts you post to match the cycle
When you prompt for engagement matters as much as the kinds of prompts you post!
In the weeks after an offer round or application deadline, when new students first join, prompt introductions early - this is when curiosity about their peers is highest
Around key decision points (deposit deadlines, accommodation allocations, enrolment), prompt students to ask each other questions directly - practical, timely topics tend to get replies
Measuring progress
You can track New connections made in the Belonging pulse section of your weekly Community digest, alongside direct messages exchanged and private group messages exchanged. This data will also soon be displayed in your University Dashboard.
If message volume is rising but connections aren't, it usually means messages are going unanswered - it's worth posting an Update to draw students back to the app, or checking whether posts in Spaces are specific enough to prompt a reply.
A good sign is connections growing faster than message volume: it means the same activity is reaching more distinct pairs of people, rather than a few people messaging each other repeatedly.