Meta Creation and Strategy
Overview
At Meta, I was responsible for informing both Facebook app strategy and developing the Creation experience, specifically Facebook’s SFV platform, Reels.
I worked for over a year as an embedded researcher to help build the FB Reels creation platform, where I conducted formative and evaluative research to answer near and long term questions. Our mission focused on increasing production to build an original content ecosystem that all Facebook users would find entertaining.
Reels Creation
As the research lead for the central Reels Creation team, I worked closely with an embedded team to develop the Reels user experience for Facebook. On the Reels producer journey team, I iterated closely with PM, PD, DS, and CD to improve education, inspiration, and publication for core FB user groups like young adults and older adults.
Outside of iterative product research, I produced primary research to guide the holistic direction of Reels Creation including positioning and differentiation of Reels compared to other Facebook creation products. This included mental models of various creation products, competitive reviews, usability benchmarking across top apps, and more.
Top of the Facebook App
On the Facebook app, users had initial confusion about what Reels were, where to find them, and how to produce them. To help reduce confusion about where to find Reels, I undertook research to uncover positions where Facebook could “host” Reels. I worked with a cross-functional design sprint to ideate on an area called “Top of Feed”, and utilized the resultant stimuli to run generative research.
Top of feed at the time was the most valuable real-estate on any app, encompassing the top 250 pixels of the Facebook app. The design sprint focused on variations that could be used to gain greater exposure to Reels.
To study this space, I used a research format I’ve come to rely on heavily for generating strong product focused results: baselining > expectations mapping > counter-balanced comparisons > participatory design. This method allowed us to understand how users were currently experiencing Reels, as well as other products, compare stimuli in a non-biased manor, and generate feedback about the overarching direction.
The new “top of feed” was launched in August of 2021, and remains in place today (late 2022).
Strategic Insights
Alongside product work, I also produced strategic insights to connect the dots on macro topics. These included
A comprehensive overview of Facebook’s marginalized users, those with lower than average monthly engagement on the Facebook app, as a strategic cohort
A data analysis of how users traverse the FB App on a per session basis in order to predict the likelihood for Reels creation based behaviors like consumption, activity with other video products, and similar analyses
Mental models of creation that defined barriers, motivations, and the resultant design system seen on the FB app today
