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Company focus

Meta
Product Trade-Off Hard Member-only

Decide between displaying Facebook’s ‘People You May Know’ or an Advertisement?

Prepared by NextSprints

15 mins
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Strategic Decision Making Data Analysis Experiment Design Social Media Advertising Tech Product Strategy Monetization A/B Testing Metrics Analysis User Growth
Product Management Strategy Question: Facebook sidebar displaying 'People You May Know' suggestions and advertisements

Introduction

The trade-off we're examining today is between displaying Facebook's 'People You May Know' feature or an Advertisement on a specific surface within the platform. This decision involves balancing user engagement and growth with revenue generation. I'll analyze this trade-off by considering user experience, business impact, and long-term strategic implications.

Analysis Approach

I'd like to start by asking a few clarifying questions to ensure we're aligned on the context and constraints of this decision. Then, I'll walk you through my analysis framework, covering product understanding, hypothesis formation, metrics identification, experiment design, and ultimately, a recommendation with next steps.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

  • What specific surface are we considering for this trade-off? (e.g., News Feed, profile page, sidebar)

  • Why it matters: The placement impacts user attention and engagement levels.
  • Hypothetical answer: Let's assume it's the right-hand sidebar on desktop.
  • Impact: This placement suggests lower user attention, affecting our approach to both options.
  • What's the current split between 'People You May Know' and Advertisements on this surface?

  • Why it matters: Understanding the baseline helps us gauge potential impact.
  • Hypothetical answer: Currently, it's a 50/50 split.
  • Impact: This even split provides a good baseline for comparison in our experiment.
  • Are there any immediate revenue targets or user growth goals we need to consider?

  • Why it matters: Short-term goals could influence our decision-making process.
  • Hypothetical answer: There's pressure to increase Q4 ad revenue by 10%.
  • Impact: This might bias us towards favoring advertisements in the short term.
  • What's the quality of our 'People You May Know' recommendations for the average user?

  • Why it matters: The effectiveness of this feature impacts its value to users.
  • Hypothetical answer: Our algorithm has a 30% success rate in generating friend connections.
  • Impact: This moderate success rate suggests room for improvement in the feature.
  • Are there any upcoming product launches or changes that could affect this decision?

  • Why it matters: Future plans could influence the long-term impact of our choice.
  • Hypothetical answer: We're planning to launch a new community feature in Q1 next year.
  • Impact: This might increase the value of network growth, potentially favoring 'People You May Know'.

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NextSprints

Updated Nov 13, 2024