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When Facebook launched Reels in the US, the workflow for creating a reel largely matched that of TikTok.
Opening to a selfie camera is what Tiktok users and experienced creators expect, and has become a hallmark of the short-form video (SFV) format.
We suspected that Facebook users had very different needs and priorities when it came to creating short-form video content.
Upon entering Reels creation, 76% of users were leaving before adding or capturing video.
Of those who did, 83% were uploading existing video vs. capturing live.We turned to research to better understand the people problems that were driving these behaviors.
How might we help people overcome their creative barriers, and transform their content into compelling reels?
I ran a collaborative design sprint to answer this question with concepts spanning 4 key themes.
Ultimately, we tested 8 of these concepts with users to understand the sweet spot for helping uncertain users, without adding friction for experienced creators.
Users had expressed during testing a desire for a less opaque entry into inspirational content - more of a "browse before you buy" experience. This would allow a more exploratory creation process, allowing creators to be inspired by what they see, rather than explicitly choosing "inspiration"
To that end, we developed a multi-tiered approach, utilizing "choice chips" as a level of subnavigation, that would allow users to browse different categories without leaving the main creation page.
Within each choice chip category would be a variety of inspiring ways to get started - which could be browsed freely and without commitment. Over time, as we added inspirational content, these categories would grow.
Content-First WYSIWYG
Eliminates need to self-select into a product prior to creation
Guides users and makes recommendations based on their content and chosen audience.
Products become more like templates for content - which can move freely between them.
We launched our gallery-first MVP in Q2 2021, driving a 60% increase in users adding media.
Tiles across the top serve as prominent shortcuts into non-gallery workflows, with gallery content taking up the majority of screen real estate.
In the next phase, we introduced a way to surface inspirational content in a non-commital way.
"Choice chips" allow users a more casual browsing experience without committing to a specific workflow. The bottom section is used as a way to browse not just gallery content, but drafts, music, and other inspirational content.
The final phase introduced more relevant, personalized views of content and inspiration, which we called "collections".
These views are optimized to inspire creation by surfacing relevant inspirtion and organizing content thematically. Together with choice chips, they offer a powerful system for driving creation through personalization.
WORK
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