User Engagement


Here is a trick to increase user adoption and engagement when you have new features on your product.

Well, you must also know the downsides of such tricks.

Here is an activity first.

When you launch the YouTube mobile app (iOS) for the first time in your day, keenly observe the design. The app directly takes you to 'Shorts' which is the second tab and not 'Home' which is the ideal default on landing.

The whole idea is to start-the-day with swiping may be. ;) This is probably a strategy used by YouTube to enhance adoption of 'Shorts' when you start your day. (This post was originally published around the time, when Shorts was launched in India.)

Close the app and launch the second time, it takes you to 'Home'. They app keeps switching the default landing on every launch, which is totally against the fundamentals of usability, such as consistency and recognition. In this context, the business is overriding user centred design.

Products lure users into their world with inconspicuous tricks like this one.

Now, we must must understand that 'Shorts' are relatively new to YT compared to other products in the market. Probably this engagement strategy is to push more YouTubers to make more Shorts content, in turn feeding the viewers.

Another reason could be to just introduce this feature for adoption, as many users ideally don't switch to other tabs. (I can't make a definitive statement here)

Let's look at the downside of such experiments.

This comes at the cost of advertising revenue, as shorts don't have ads, in turn no revenue. Only long-form videos garner ad clicks and contribute to revenue. (Unless you're on a Premium plan) Probably this is being experimented only on Premium users.

The domino effect of switching tabs should be taken into account. One should understand how other user groups could be affected. In this context the content creators and advertisers.

Such random design experiments are totally against basic interface usability principles, creating a sense of disorientation with certain set of users.

Takeaway

One should do such experimentation with caution. You can switch default landing pages, however test this with a segment and see results, weigh the risk factors in your product's context and take the final decision. This can be done on Tablet, Desktop & TV as well. Most products are doing this in a subtle and inconspicuous manner.

When you're doing such experiments, seek permissions from users. Educating them and involving them in the process works best. Running behind engagement alone, can be a trap and hurt your brand loyalty and the good experience you have built over the years.

When presented with such experiments, as a Product Designer, what would you do ? That's the interesting question.

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