A Motivating “Welcome” Message
Client: Snapchat
Background: When someone creates a Snapchat account, the initial message from Team Snapchat is the first chat they get. It’s the app’s best shot at engaging new users and motivating them to explore the platform. The existing content was not very engaging or performing well.
Challenge: Write new messaging that is welcoming, explanatory, prescriptive, and brief. The ultimate goal was to see more new users quickly engaging with the app.
My Role & Solution: I started by identifying several problems with the existing copy and layout, exploring how they could be addressed. (See below for detail.) While considering ways of greeting the user, I also established the best value props or calls to action to be communicated. That was achieved by brainstorming independently and with my content design peers, and consulting the product manager and user research. With all of these findings in my toolkit, I did a wealth of ideation on different approaches to communication: Defining the app as fun or social; Selling aspects like personalization or transformative AI tools; Playful and flattering salutations. After getting constructive peer review in design crit, I ideated a bit further and drew up a list of my favorite messages. The one I ultimately landed on was one that defines Snapchat, above all else, as a camera app, and directs the user to take and share a Snap.
Outcome: My revision to this message yielded a 1.4% increase in Snaps sent and 1% more friend adds on the same day of sign up.
Analysis of the Previous Content
How the Initial Team Snapchat Message Used to Read
Issues I Identified and How I Addressed Them
Problem: It’s trying to do too much.
Solution: Instead of both listing features and instructing on functionality, I removed the onboarding-related information, since there are other areas in the app for user education.
Problem: It’s not prescriptive or motivating.
Solution: I removed the huge list of features and recommended one specific action to take as a way to get started: Take a Snap and share it. User research showed that sharing a Snap on a user’s first day is the highest indicator of future retention, so I used this opportunity to direct users straight to the camera.
Problem: It’s impersonal.
Solution: Everyone wants and deserves to be seen. All I added was a simple “Welcome!”, but in this instance, that goes a long way in acknowledging someone who’s just arrived and may not be too sure what this app is or whether it’s for them.
Problem: It doesn’t give a “why”.
Solution: I stated the purpose of Snapchat as an app for connecting with friends and sharing your life experiences with them.
Problem: It causes too much cognitive load.
Solution: The more words, the more likely they’ll go unread. By simplifying the wall of text to a salutation, a quick “this is what Snapchat is”, and a CTA, I was able to significantly pare down the character count.
Problem: It’s a dead end.
Solution: I added a deeplink to the camera, which makes it easy to take action on the recommendation to take and share a Snap.
