How would you measure the success of Facebook Stories?

Introduction

Measuring the success of Facebook Stories requires a comprehensive approach that considers multiple stakeholders and aligns with Facebook's broader social media strategy. To effectively evaluate this feature, I'll follow a structured framework covering core metrics, supporting indicators, and risk factors while considering all key stakeholders.

Step 1

Product Context

Facebook Stories is a feature that allows users to share ephemeral photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. It's integrated into the main Facebook app and website, appearing at the top of the news feed.

Key stakeholders include:

1. Users: Seeking engaging, short-form content and a way to share daily moments
2. Advertisers: Looking for new ad placement opportunities
3. Facebook: Aiming to increase user engagement and time spent on the platform
4. Content creators: Seeking to reach their audience through a new format

User flow:

1. Creation: Users capture or upload photos/videos, add filters, stickers, or text
2. Posting: Content is shared to their Stories
3. Viewing: Friends can view the Story for 24 hours
4. Interaction: Viewers can react or reply to Stories

Facebook Stories fits into the company's strategy of promoting more personal, ephemeral sharing to complement the traditional news feed. It also helps Facebook compete with Snapchat and Instagram Stories.

Compared to competitors, Facebook Stories has the advantage of a massive user base but faces challenges in user adoption and engagement rates.

Product Lifecycle Stage: Growth phase. While the feature has been launched and has a significant user base, there's still room for increased adoption and engagement.