I was answering the following question: “What are customer retention techniques used by Facebook?” and the answer made sense for an article post, given that I’ve linked it to a previous piece.
Here’s what I said.
Facebook is no stranger to that. I know the answer to this question might be expected to be more of a technical one — this and that happened as a consequence of these stats, so they’ve tested it twice and thrice and then readjusted.
I’ll talk about it as a human being though. You might have seen it as well:
On this day
So Facebook says “all right, we’ve got enough of your life experiences, let’s remind you of what happened last year. Or 4 years ago.” — or who you’ve connected with, what interactions you’ve had.
I’m pretty sure it’s about user retention. Not only they delivered it at the top of your feed, most of us have clicked on it to see what it is about. They’re not able to deliver to you what you’ve posted a few days ago. But they can do that with something that’s old enough that you might barely remember.
At the same time, whenever you’re tagged or involved in another post, they make sure it’s pretty close to the top in your feed. Why? Because it’s about you — obviously we’re going to be interested in ourselves first and then the next controversial news scandal (and then the ad).
So what else besides that?
Let’s stick to it. They’ve taken it to the next step by allowing you to access it at any time — www.facebook.com/memories.
Nostalgia on demand, in other words.
And let me tell you, I’ve mentioned it before how Google Photos does it as well. In case you didn’t know, you can store/backup unlimited photos with their service. I did so with mine (bash me for giving them my data for free), placing hundreds of GBs (if not TB).
What do I do every now and then? Look back at where I was one year ago. Or two. Or ten. And then think “wow, if that was just a year (which was a long way), imagine 10.”
It works as much as they’re concerned. I’m sure I’m not the only one as I still do it despite avoiding it on some days, fearing that I’ll fall down a rabbit hole for the next hour seeing my past. Looking too much into the past can be dangerous but that’s just my opinion.
But this was about Facebook
Let’s get back to them. Why do I think doing this helps their customer retention? Firstly it makes people spend more time on their platform — that’s the obvious answer.
But more than that, I think it tightens the connection between the user and their service. Yes, I know, it’s not the best moment to talk about that, given that a lot of people are ditching them and their products, throwing shade at the company.
But before that, there was more leeway to love this function. And if you’ve felt good in a place, won’t you visit it again? I think it’s very hard for us to analyze that now, after we’ve been part of the spell — but as objective as I could be, I do believe it’s tightening the relationship.
The same way a restaurant gives you towels to wipe your hands, the barber gives you a drink or why hotels exist in the first place — service, hospitality and generosity.
In other words, the experience.
About Ch Daniel
I run chagency, an experiences design agency that specialises on helping tech CEOs reduce user churn. We believe experiences are not only the reason why users choose not to leave but also what generates word of mouth. We’re building a credo around this belief.
If I’ve brought you any kind of value, follow me and get in touch here: LinkedIn | Twitter | Email
I’ve also created an infinitely-valuable app for sneaker/fashion enthusiasts called Legit Check that impacted hundreds of thousands over millions of times – check it out at chdaniel.com/app
Please share this with someone and subscribe to our newsletter!— helps us keep pumping content?
Illustration Credits: Studio Infografika
