Boost Post Feature
A new feature to help Facebook and Instagram users schedule and boost their posts at once.
Boost Post Feature
A new feature to help Facebook and Instagram users schedule and boost their posts at once.
Boost Post Feature
A new feature to help Facebook and Instagram users schedule and boost their posts at once.
About the Case Study
The Company
Mlabs is a Brazilian social media management platform that helps small businesses and agencies to manage all their social media accounts in one place.
My Role
I worked in a cross-functional team, composed of 5 people: designer, product manager, tech-leader, and two developers.
As a Senior Product Designer, I was responsible for understanding our users, work on the craft design interactive and visual experiences, and co-leading product experiments with the Product Manager.
Duration
Our cross-team worked on this project for 6 months, from January to July 2020. After this period the company change all product teams and I went for other initiatives.
Disclaimer
This documentation was created with a simple purpose, to show what I have done and can do working as a Product Designer.
I changed some visual aspects to demonstrate how my design skills are now, respecting the company’s Design System and Visual Concept and Branding. And I also changed some information to keep the company’s data private.
About the Case Study
The Company
Mlabs is a Brazilian social media management platform that helps small businesses and agencies to manage all their social media accounts in one place.
My Role
I worked in a cross-functional team, composed of 5 people: designer, product manager, tech-leader, and two developers.
As a Senior Product Designer, I was responsible for understanding our users, work on the craft design interactive and visual experiences, and co-leading product experiments with the Product Manager.
Duration
Our cross-team worked on this project for 6 months, from January to July 2020. After this period the company change all product teams and I went for other initiatives.
Disclaimer
This documentation was created with a simple purpose, to show what I have done and can do working as a Product Designer.
I changed some visual aspects to demonstrate how my design skills are now, respecting the company’s Design System and Visual Concept and Branding. And I also changed some information to keep the company’s data private.
Product Thinking Process
1. Problem definition
The product owner led this phase. We defined the problem with the cross-team and could think about some possible solutions.
2. Concept
The Product Designer led this phase. To evaluate the direction we will follow, I created some possible directions for the product and shared those with the cross-team.
3. Product Solution
The Product Designer also led this phase. In this phase, I created a high-fidelity interactive prototype to discuss with the cross-team. I also present to the design team in order to find some UI tweaks.
4. Pre-Experiment
The Leader Tech led this phase. We could see a demo and help de QA with design and interactive feedbacks. We also involve the marketing director to discuss the product launch strategy.
5. Full Launch, Retro, and Results
The product owner led this phase. In this phase, we could follow the results of the feature on the market, understand all the metrics and summarise what we can learn with that to the next steps.
You are going to see more detail about any phases of this case.
Product Thinking Process
1. Problem definition
The product owner led this phase. We defined the problem with the cross-team and could think about some possible solutions.
2. Concept
The Product Designer led this phase. To evaluate the direction we will follow, I created some possible directions for the product and shared those with the cross-team.
3. Product Solution
The Product Designer also led this phase. In this phase, I created a high-fidelity interactive prototype to discuss with the cross-team. I also present to the design team in order to find some UI tweaks.
4. Pre-Experiment
The Leader Tech led this phase. We could see a demo and help de QA with design and interactive feedbacks. We also involve the marketing director to discuss the product launch strategy.
5. Full Launch, Retro, and Results
The product owner led this phase. In this phase, we could follow the results of the feature on the market, understand all the metrics and summarise what we can learn with that to the next steps.
You are going to see more detail about any phases of this case.
1. Problem Definition
The product owner led this phase. We defined the problem with the cross-team and could think about some possible solutions.
Mlabs is a product that depends on APIs to work, and in the Facebook case, at that time, there were some requirements to release the “Marketing Partner API”. One of the requirements was an intermediate $100.000 in ads through the platform with Facebook Ads API.
At that time, Mlabs was also receiving a lot of pressure from the users that were asking for a Facebook Boost feature. The company’s competitors already had it.
That feature was a huge opportunity to create value for users and the business.
How Might We
How might we create a boost feature to help users to boost their posts in the mLabs Platform?
We believe that: “Creating an MLabs Boost Post Feature will help the users to boost their posts on Mlabs and result in more than $100.000 in ads intermediation in three months.”
1. Problem Definition
The product owner led this phase. We defined the problem with the cross-team and could think about some possible solutions.
Mlabs is a product that depends on APIs to work, and in the Facebook case, at that time, there were some requirements to release the “Marketing Partner API”. One of the requirements was an intermediate $100.000 in ads through the platform with Facebook Ads API.
At that time, Mlabs was also receiving a lot of pressure from the users that were asking for a Facebook Boost feature. The company’s competitors already had it.
That feature was a huge opportunity to create value for users and the business.
How Might We
How might we create a boost feature to help users to boost their posts in the mLabs Platform?
We believe that “Creating an MLabs Boost Post Feature will help the users to boost their posts on Mlabs and result in more than $100.000 in ads intermediation in three months.”
2. Concept
The Product Designer led this phase. To evaluate the direction we will follow, I created some possible directions for the product and shared those with the cross-team.
After that, I did some foundation research, which you can see in more detail below.
2. Concept
The Product Designer led this phase. To evaluate the direction we will follow, I created some possible directions for the product and shared those with the cross-team.
After that, I did some foundation research, which you can see in more detail below.
Foundation Research
The company didn’t have a UX Research Ops to help in this case, so I did some desk research, and online interviews were enough for the next phase. You can see more details above.
Desk Research
To do the desk research, I chose to study about Facebook Ads Help page and enrolled in a Growth Marketing Course to understand some ways to use that advertising tool.
User Interview
To do the user interview, I create a screener account of diversity, regions, and purpose in the platform use (small business and agencies). I used the Intercom Form tool, similar to Hotjar, to invite the user for the research, and that works well. I run the research online with Zoom, recording the audio and doing the summarize the insights with Google Sheets, in order to be easy to consult and share with the team.
With the research, I could understand how small businesses and agencies were using Facebook Ads and also showed some sketches and co-created with the user.
Insights
The two most interesting pieces of information that I found in the research were:
1. The users wanted to schedule and boost their posts at once and spend less time doing it;
2. Users that invest, at least a little money, “boosting” their posts would have good engagement and visibility in the long tail.
Foundation Research
The company didn’t have a UX Research Ops to help in this case, so I did some desk research, and online interviews were enough for the next phase. You can see more details above.
Desk Research
To do the desk research, I chose to study about Facebook Ads Help page and enrolled in a Growth Marketing Course to understand some ways to use that advertising tool.
User Interview
To do the user interview, I create a screener account of diversity, regions, and purpose in the platform use (small business and agencies). I used the Intercom Form tool, similar to Hotjar, to invite the user for the research, and that works well. I run the research online with Zoom, recording the audio and doing the summarize the insights with Google Sheets, in order to be easy to consult and share with the team.
With the research, I could understand how small businesses and agencies were using Facebook Ads and also showed some sketches and co-created with the user.
Insights
The two most interesting pieces of information that I found in the research were:
1. The users wanted to schedule and boost their posts at once and spend less time doing it;
2. Users that invest, at least a little money, “boosting” their posts would have good engagement and visibility in the long tail.
Some Possible Directions
Direction 1 - Create a Boost Post Section.
One direction was to create a section for boost posts, so the user will need to access that area, choose their posts, configure the ad and boost it. The user also could access that page to follow their boosts posts.
That could create a very simple way for to users boost their posts, but according to the research, the user can’t create a post and boost it at once.
Direction 2 - Use the boost post as an option in the Scheduling Post feature.
The second direction was to create a simple option to set and configure the ad in the scheduling post flow. That was according to the foundation research and could help the users to create and configure their posts at once.
A difficulty in this direction could be how to follow the scheduling boosted posts. I think that we will need to create other functionalities or characteristics in the Calendar feature, to follow those ads.
Direction 3 (Recommended) - Create a cross-feature, that have a boost post section and flow that could be used in other plarform areas like Scheduling Post and Calendar..
This third direction could be the simple one because is an independent feature that uses another feature’s information to boost the posts.
In this way, we didn’t need to do a lot of changes to boost posts in Scheduling Post and Calendar features and we can use the Boost Post section as a place to follow the boosted posts and an alternative way to create a new boost post.
Direction Choose
The cross-team and I defined that the third option was the best, thinking in tech feasibility, business constraints, and usability. So we choose the Direction 3.
Some Possible Directions
Direction 1 - Create a Boost Post Section.
One direction was to create a section for boost posts, so the user will need to access that area, choose their posts, configure the ad and boost it. The user also could access that page to follow their boosts posts.
That could create a very simple way for to users boost their posts, but according to the research, the user can’t create a post and boost it at once.
Direction 2 - Use the boost post as an option in the Scheduling Post feature.
The second direction was to create a simple option to set and configure the ad in the scheduling post flow. That was according to the foundation research and could help the users to create and configure their posts at once.
A difficulty in this direction could be how to follow the scheduling boosted posts. I think that we will need to create other functionalities or characteristics in the Calendar feature, to follow those ads.
Direction 3 (Recommended) - Create a cross-feature, that have a boost post section and flow that could be used in other plarform areas like Scheduling Post and Calendar..
This third direction could be the simple one because is an independent feature that uses another feature’s information to boost the posts.
In this way, we didn’t need to do a lot of changes to boost posts in Scheduling Post and Calendar features and we can use the Boost Post section as a place to follow the boosted posts and an alternative way to create a new boost post.
Direction Choose
The cross-team and I defined that the third option was the best, thinking in tech feasibility, business constraints, and usability. So we choose the Direction 3.
3. Product Solution
The Product Designer also led this phase. In this phase, I created a high-fidelity interactive prototype to discuss with the cross-team. I also present to the design team to find some UI tweaks.
You will see above some detailed information about:
- Information Architecture
- Design System
- Interactive Prototype
- Pages Highlights
3. Product Solution
The Product Designer also led this phase. In this phase, I created a high-fidelity interactive prototype to discuss with the cross-team. I also present to the design team in order to find some UI tweaks.
You will see above some detailed information about:
- Information Architecture
- Design System
- Interactive Prototype
- Pages Highlights
Information Architecture
User Flow Diagrams
I created three user flow diagrams. This tool helps me to think about content and interactions.
Information Architecture
User Flow Diagrams
I created three user flow diagrams. This tool helps me to think about content and interactions.
Design System
Some designers and I created the mLabs Design System, which is based on Material Design.
In that process, I needed to study a lot about that, to guarantee that what we are going to do would improve a lot the designers and developers operation.
Design System
Some designers and I created the mLabs Design System, which is based on Material Design.
In that process, I needed to study a lot about that, to guarantee that what we are going to do would improve a lot the designers and developers operation.
Interactive Prototype
The interactive prototype is in Figma, you can follow the link in a desktop visualization: mLabs Boost Post Interactive Prototype on Figma (Desktop)
Interactive Prototype
The interactive prototype is in Figma, you can follow the link in a desktop visualization: mLabs Boost Post Interactive Prototype on Figma (Desktop)
Pages Highlights
Some of the most important pages that I created for this case were:
Pages where the user can find the Boost Post Feature on the platform.
Pages Highlights
Some of the most important pages that I created for this case were:
Pages where the user can find the Boost Post Feature on the platform.
The Scheduling Post
The Scheduling Post is the most important and used feature on Mlabs and following what our users said on the discovery phase.
We create a way to continue their scheduling post-operation boosting their posts.
The Scheduling Post
The Scheduling Post is the most important and used feature on Mlabs and following what our users said on the discovery phase.
We create a way to continue their scheduling post-operation boosting their posts.
The Scheduling Post
The Scheduling Post is the most important and used feature on Mlabs and following what our users said on the discovery phase.
We create a way to continue their scheduling post-operation boosting their posts.
Overview (main menu)
The Overview Page is the platform homepage and the “Boost Post” has a spotlight in the main menu.
Overview (Main menu)
The Overview Page is the platform homepage and the “Boost Post” has a spotlight in the main menu.
The Calendar
Another bet was the Calendar feature, where we also included the button Boost Post at the bottom.
The Calendar
Another bet was the Calendar feature, where we also included the button Boost Post at the bottom.
1.3.
The Calendar
Another bet was the Calendar feature, where we also included the button Boost Post at the bottom.
The pages of the main flow:
Connecting Facebook Ads Account
If the users are trying to boost their posts for the first time, the system asks them to connect their Facebook Ads Account.
The pages of the main flow:
2.1. Connecting Facebook Ads Account
If the users are trying to boost their posts for the first time, the system asks them to connect their Facebook Ads Account.
Boost Post Configuration
The boost configuration is simple and in few steps, you can configure, review and boost your post.
Boost Post Configuration
The boost configuration is simple and in few steps, you can configure, review and boost your post.
Success Feedback
At the end of the flow we have a success feedback message and buttons to lead the user to the page they come from or to the Ads List Page.
Success Feedback
At the end of the flow we have a success feedback message and buttons to lead the user to the page they come from or to the Ads List Page.
Not less important than the others, the next two pages are:
Boosted Post List that shows all the posts boosted.
On the feature page, before boost it, the users can follow their posts and also create a post selectin in a post list.
Not less important than the others, the next two pages are:
Boosted Post List that shows all the posts boosted.
On the feature page, before boost it, the users can follow their posts and also create a post selectin in a post list.
Selecting a Post to Boost
Where you can see all the posts you can boost, in case that you don’t want to create a post via other features pages like Scheduling Post and Calendar.
Selecting a Post to Boost
Where you can see all the posts you can boost, in case that you don’t want to create a post via other features pages like Scheduling Post and Calendar.
4. Pre-Experiment
The Leader Tech led this phase. We could see a demo and help de QA with design and interactive feedbacks. We also involve the marketing director to discuss the product launch strategy.
There was nothing so much to show in this phase but it’s important to align with developers and the marketing team about how we will measure the success in this project. So they can help us to collect and analyze the data and launch this feature in the best way.
4. Pre-Experiment
The Leader Tech led this phase. We could see a demo and help de QA with design and interactive feedbacks. We also involve the marketing director to discuss the product launch strategy.
There was nothing so much to show in this phase but is important to align with developers and the marketing team about how we will measure the success in this project. So they can help us with metrify and launch this feature in the best way.
5. Full Launch, Retro, and Results
The product owner led this phase. In this phase, we could follow the results of the feature on the market, understand all the metrics and summarise what we can learn with that to the next steps.
You can see above some of the metrics, learnings, and next steps of this case.
Metrics
We collected:
- Amount intermediated: We had more than $ 100.000 intermediate;
- Number of users that boosted their posts: Less than 5% of the active users boosted their posts;
- What feature users that boosted their posts came from:
- 60% of the users boosted their posts through the Scheduling Post Feature;
- 40% through the main menu (own feature);
- 10% through the Calendar;
- What kind of user were boosting their post:
- 80% of the users that boosted their posts were agencies;
- 20% were small businesses.
Learnings and Next Steps
We had a lot of surprises with the experiment, only less than 5% of the active users created some boost post, and 80% of them were agencies.
That was a piece of good information and after some time the Boost Post Feature became part of the “Agencies Plan” and the users need to pay a little bit more to have that feature.
5. Full Launch, Retro, and Results
The product owner led this phase. In this phase, we could follow the results of the feature on the market, understand all the metrics and summarise what we can learn with that to the next steps.
You can see above some of the metrics, learnings, and next steps of this case.
Metrics
We collected:
- Amount intermediated: We had more than $ 100.000 intermediate;
- Number of users that boosted their posts: Less than 5% of the active users boosted their posts;
- What feature users that boosted their posts came from:
- 60% of the users boosted their posts through the Scheduling Post Feature;
- 40% through the main menu (own feature);
- 10% through the Calendar;
- What kind of user were boosting their post:
- 80% of the users that boosted their posts were agencies;
- 20% were small businesses.
Learnings and Next Steps
We had a lot of surprises with the experiment, only less than 5% of the active users created some boost post, and 80% of them were agencies.
That was a piece of good information and after some time the Boost Post Feature became part of the “Agencies Plan” and the users need to pay a little bit more to have that feature.
Credits
Cross-functional Team
Product Owner: Vitor (Zigs) Piassi
Designer: (Me) Doug Lazarini
Tech Lead: Jesus Lopes
Developers:
- Adalberto Hofmann
- Carolina Y
- Marcos Toledo
Design System Guild
Product Designers:
- Douglas Ito
- Felipe Borges
- (Me) Doug Lazarini
Developer: Danilo Vaz
Credits
Cross-functional Team
Product Owner: Vitor (Zigs) Piassi
Designer: (Me) Doug Lazarini
Tech Lead: Jesus Lopes
Developers:
- Adalberto Hofmann
- Carolina Y
- Marcos Toledo
Design System Guild
Designers:
- Douglas Ito
- Felipe Borges
- (Me) Doug Lazarini
Developer: Danilo Vaz