Daily active users on Instagram have dropped by 20%. What are the steps you will follow to identify the root cause?

Introduction

A 20% drop in Instagram's daily active users is a significant issue that demands immediate attention and a thorough investigation. I'll approach this problem systematically, focusing on identifying the root cause while considering both short-term and long-term implications for the platform.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• What's the timeframe for this 20% drop? Is it sudden or gradual?

• Are specific user segments more affected than others?

• Have we recently rolled out any major updates or changes to the platform?

• Are there any known technical issues or outages during this period?

• Has there been any significant change in our marketing or user acquisition strategies?

• Are we seeing similar trends on other social media platforms?

Why these questions matter: Understanding the context and specifics of the user drop will help us narrow down potential causes and focus our investigation.

Hypothetical answers:

• The drop occurred over the past month, accelerating in the last week.
• Younger users (18-24) seem more affected.
• We launched a redesigned Explore page two weeks ago.
• No major technical issues reported.
• Marketing spend has remained consistent.
• Other platforms show stable user numbers.

Impact on approach: These answers suggest we should focus on recent product changes and their impact on younger users while also considering broader trends in social media usage.