Our Snapchat Forecast Was Correct
Snapchat Usage Significantly Degreased After UX Update
Unfortunately Snapchat's new U/X is not good and is not performing. Hate to tell you we told you so... but we forecasted this would happen.
Kylie Jenner's Tweet on 2/22 didn't do you any favors either. All gains from your incredible stock growth on 2/7, as a result of your first positive earnings report, have been negated.
The U/X Idea
Revert back to your old U/X prior to the February update.
The User Experience Problem
Snapchat was the first social media tool that we actually had to research online how to use. Once you get the hang of it, the U/X makes sense and becomes relatively fluid. Most of our friends have had to schedule training sessions with their Snapchat savvy friends in order to use the platform. Truthfully we were surprised that a product with a decent learning curve became as popular as it did. Then the detrimental U/X update caused many users, even the savvy ones, to become quite confused. It became clear that combining the messages with stories on the left panel and making the right panel only for promoted content was quite the sell out. Interestingly enough this change came after the first positive earnings report.
The moral here is that users either became confused or aware of your attempts to increase revenue, or both. Consequently many users stopped using your platform, especially after Kylie Jenner Tweeted that she will not be using your platform.
The U/X Solution
Revert to the old U/X before the February update, at least for the positioning of the stories, messages, and promoted content.
Honestly it might be too late to gain back your user base and momentum of gaining new users. A strong advertising campaign is in order after you revert the U/X to inform affected users of the change and that their voices were heard. In this sense you may gain back users and continue on a growth trajectory.
Conclusion
Snapchat is a revolutionary social media platform that connects users in an incredibly unique way. The confusing update in February unfortunately caused a significant decrease in users. By reverting to the old U/X and implementing a massive outreach effort, Snapchat may regain lost users and continue on a positive growth trajectory.
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