B2B Influencer marketplace
Improve retention on profile
Problem statement
The existing app’s profile feature allows brand managers from agencies and enterprises, to view an expert leader’s metrics. Expert leaders are individuals who have deep subject matter expertise combined with strong leadership. They use their social channels to amplify their content or by public speaking. However, brand managers have struggled to understand the information displayed and noted that it is missing vital data that is crucial for campaign inclusion or reporting, forcing them to rely on customer success managers for information that should be readily available on the profile itself.
The main objective
To redesign the profile page for brand managers by enhancing the information displayed, resulting in a 20% or more increase in expert leader's profile selection for a campaign or report.
User Research
Method 1: Quantitative data
By analysing data gathered from analytical tools such as Hotjar and Churnzero, I've identified brand managers as the primary users, leading to a focus on this specific demographic and user group.
Method 2: Qualitative data from interviews
I began by interviewing 10 internal team members, which consisted of customer success managers, account directors, insight analysts, sales directors, and marketing personnel. This internal perspective was crucial to understanding how our own teams utilise and perceive the influencer profiles.
We also focused on another user group, people working from agencies and enterprises. This external viewpoint was essential for a comprehensive understanding of the feature's impact.
Both sets of interviews aimed to uncover the motivations and goals behind accessing the influencer profiles. We also sought to identify what additional information users would find valuable to enhance their experience on the profile page.
By gathering diverse perspectives from both our internal team and end-users, we aimed to construct a holistic view of the profile feature's strengths and areas for improvement, giving us a solid foundation for informed decision-making in our subsequent enhancement efforts.
Method 3: Affinity mapping
After completing our interview process, I systematically analysed the collected data. I categorised the information into distinct topic groups, allowing us to identify which areas garnered the highest and lowest volumes of feedback. This approach enabled us to prioritise the most frequently mentioned concerns and opportunities while also recognising less common but potentially valuable insights.
Method 4: Card sorting
I conducted card sorting sessions with both our internal team and brand managers. Participants were asked to organise the topic groups to provide input on how to effectively present the information.
This exercise highlighted the varying importance of different topic groups. It emphasised that topic groups with the highest volume of feedback should be given more prominence in the layout compared to those with lower volumes.
This method allowed us to combine quantitative data from our initial analysis with qualitative insights from hands-on user input, further refining our understanding of user expectations and priorities to enhance overall usability and information discoverability, ultimately improving the effectiveness of the profile page as a decision-making tool.
Method 5: Competitive analysis
I researched other influencer marketing platforms including alternative suggestions from client interviews and other platforms that have familiar layouts. I highlighted the topic groups found in their content and compared the findings during our card sorting session.
Additionally, I examined offline materials like media kits sent by expert leaders to find other information that might be valuable to brand managers.
Method 6: Heatmaps and user behaviour recordings
To complement our interview findings, I leveraged Hotjar's heatmap functionality to gain deeper insights into user behaviour. The data showed user attention was most concentrated at the top of the page, with engagement gradually tapering off as users scrolled towards the middle.
Hotjar's session recording feature allowed us to observe real-time user interactions with profiles, providing a wealth of valuable information. By analysing these recordings, we were able to:
* Identify the information users found most crucial.
* Pinpoint the primary actions on the page.
* Highlight elements that required refinement.
* Uncover areas of frustrations for users.
* Uncover areas of frustration for users.
* Detect any error messages encountered.
* Assess user engagement through time spent on the page.
Key findings
* 70% of our users found the current interface to be hard to use.
* 65% wanted more detailed data from various social channels.
* 82% of our users rarely login to use Profiles.
* Competitors offered intuitive navigation, clear and consistent branding and hierarchy of information.
Define: How might we questions
"How might we" questions were developed with the team to align user tasks and goals.
* How might we make users feel confident they have all the information they need to move forward?
* How might we support our users to confidently select expert leaders with whom they are happy with?
Design process
Initial concepts
Based on the gathered insights, I translated the findings into initial designs using Figma. The new designs incorporated additional components and information not present on the existing page. I implemented a revised layout to present the information more effectively, allowing users to clearly identify different sections of the profile.
Iterative stages
I made several key changes to the initial design to address user feedback and improve overall usability. These modifications aimed to strike a balance between providing necessary information and maintaining a clean, user-friendly interface.
* Reduced text overload: The original design contained an excess of textual information, which was overwhelming for users. To address this, I introduced new visual elements.
* Incorporated data visualisation: I added charts and graphs to present complex information more efficiently. These were not present in the existing page but proved effective in conveying data clearly.
* Enhanced visual appeal: Working closely with the marketing team, I integrated our brand elements into the product design. This not only improved aesthetics but also strengthened brand consistency across our platforms.
Key design decisions
* Consistent branding needed to be added.
* Clear visual hierarchy through introduction of headings and new visual elements such as graphs.
* A change to the primary action on the page.
Prototyping and testing
Prototyping method
I created the designs using Figma, leveraging its capabilities to create high-fidelity mockups and a clickable prototype of profile. This approach allowed me to incorporate interactivity, effectively simulating user flows. My intention was to produce a design that appeared nearly polished, yet still conveyed to participants during testing that it was not in its final iteration.
This strategy was deliberately chosen to communicate that the design was still undergoing refinement, encouraging candid feedback and suggestions for improvement.
Remote usability testing
After completing the prototypes, I selected participants and arranged testing sessions. There were 2 chosen user groups for these tests, customer success managers and brand managers.
During the sessions, participants were presented with a scenario: selecting an expert leader to include in a campaign or report. They were instructed to vocalise their thoughts while navigating the profile page. All test sessions were conducted and recorded using Teams.
Results and iterations
Testing the designs with customer success managers and brand managers showed positive results while also highlighting areas for improvement in how information is displayed. We added these insights to our backlog for future iterations.
Users responded favourably to the new layout and the introduction of a benchmarking metric, which enables them to track performance changes over time. They also appreciated the extra social channel engagement metrics and the increased amount of information visible without requiring excessive scrolling. These findings validated key aspects of our design approach while providing clear direction for further refinements.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Key features and benefits:
* A primary action for our users so that they can move forward with their selection, whether that’s to add them to a campaign or to a report.
* Enhanced accessibility and discoverability of information on the page through changing the layout, adding new visual elements and headings.
* Added more data from other social channels to view an expert leader’s engagement performance to act as a decision-making tool.
Impact and results - 1 year post evaluation
Results:
* 90% of our users logged in to view Profiles
* 35% of our users started adding profiles to a campaign or report
* 42% of our users scroll further down the page
User engagement metrics:
* Before 3 mins on profiles
* After 10 mins on profiles
* Before 72.8% bounce rate
* After 8.27% bounce rate
* Before 87% return to visit profiles
* After 92% users return to visit profiles
Task success:
* Before 61% rage and dead clicks
* After 10% rage and dead clicks
User feedback
Our users, both the internal team and brand managers have expressed that the new design is easy to read and use. Some feedback from the brand managers are shown below:
“The prioritisation of Audience data being first thing you see, gave us a lot of confidence that who we’re picking is backed up” - Ivanti
Bravo, it looks amazing! Can’t wait to dig more!” - Microsoft US
Business outcomes
* Increase in annual revenue through campaign activation and reporting - $750,000.
* 14% decrease in customer success manager reliance.
Lessons learned
Challenges
Our main challenges included limited technical resources and time constraints. I often had to reiterate designs to work within these limitations while still providing value to users. For example, due to budget constraints, I temporarily implemented a simpler solution of listing brand names for influencer collaborations instead of acquiring an automated client logo supplier.
What worked well
Regular communication with the tech team, marketing team, customer success managers, the board of stakeholders and our end-users, brand managers, led to a more feasible and impactful outcome. This cross functional collaboration was important for future projects.
Involving users from the very beginning of the design process by conducting user interviews and usability testing led to a more accurate problem identification and better solutions.
Next steps
Future enhancements
The released version of the profile page has been well-received by users. However, there's room for improvement, such as incorporating more data from other social channels to better guide user decision-making.
By redesigning this page with reusable components, I can add new features more quickly and iterate rapidly based on feedback from quantitative and qualitative data.