✦ Objective
The acquisition of CC in 2021 presented a huge challenge for our product team. The largest college forum in the world, College Confidential, was instrumental in helping students select their ideal educational path by offering information about universities, careers, admissions procedures, and open feedback from peers. Our objective was to identify pain areas and develop techniques to improve user engagement and enable the finding of useful information that were previously difficult to uncover. With a lively community and a startling 2 million monthly visits, this was no small task.
The main goal of this product was to diagnose current pain points, and offer creative solutions to enhance the whole user experience. As a part of the product and user engagement team, it was my role to evaluate customer behaviour, spot roadblocks to resource discovery, and provide methods for effectively overcoming these challenges.
The acquisition of CC in 2021 presented a huge challenge for our product team. The largest college forum in the world, College Confidential, was instrumental in helping students select their ideal educational path by offering information about universities, careers, admissions procedures, and open feedback from peers. Our objective was to identify pain areas and develop techniques to improve user engagement and enable the finding of useful information that were previously difficult to uncover. With a lively community and a startling 2 million monthly visits, this was no small task.
The main goal of this product was to diagnose current pain points, and offer creative solutions to enhance the whole user experience. As a part of the product and user engagement team, it was my role to evaluate customer behaviour, spot roadblocks to resource discovery, and provide methods for effectively overcoming these challenges.
The acquisition of CC in 2021 presented a huge challenge for our product team. The largest college forum in the world, College Confidential, was instrumental in helping students select their ideal educational path by offering information about universities, careers, admissions procedures, and open feedback from peers. Our objective was to identify pain areas and develop techniques to improve user engagement and enable the finding of useful information that were previously difficult to uncover. With a lively community and a startling 2 million monthly visits, this was no small task.
The main goal of this product was to diagnose current pain points, and offer creative solutions to enhance the whole user experience. As a part of the product and user engagement team, it was my role to evaluate customer behaviour, spot roadblocks to resource discovery, and provide methods for effectively overcoming these challenges.
The acquisition of CC in 2021 presented a huge challenge for our product team. The largest college forum in the world, College Confidential, was instrumental in helping students select their ideal educational path by offering information about universities, careers, admissions procedures, and open feedback from peers. Our objective was to identify pain areas and develop techniques to improve user engagement and enable the finding of useful information that were previously difficult to uncover. With a lively community and a startling 2 million monthly visits, this was no small task.
The main goal of this product was to diagnose current pain points, and offer creative solutions to enhance the whole user experience. As a part of the product and user engagement team, it was my role to evaluate customer behaviour, spot roadblocks to resource discovery, and provide methods for effectively overcoming these challenges.
The acquisition of CC in 2021 presented a huge challenge for our product team. The largest college forum in the world, College Confidential, was instrumental in helping students select their ideal educational path by offering information about universities, careers, admissions procedures, and open feedback from peers. Our objective was to identify pain areas and develop techniques to improve user engagement and enable the finding of useful information that were previously difficult to uncover. With a lively community and a startling 2 million monthly visits, this was no small task.
The main goal of this product was to diagnose current pain points, and offer creative solutions to enhance the whole user experience. As a part of the product and user engagement team, it was my role to evaluate customer behaviour, spot roadblocks to resource discovery, and provide methods for effectively overcoming these challenges.
✦ Challenges
During the initial stages, a number of challenges were noted:
— Limited resource visibility: Users looking for in-depth information missed out on opportunities because valuable resources on College Confidential were difficult to find.
— Low user engagement with additional resources: Users were not effectively prompted to venture outside of the forum, which led to underuse of other beneficial resources.
— User frustration due to inefficient navigation: Users' ability to use the platform easily was hampered by complex navigation structures, which negatively impacted their experience.
During the initial stages, a number of challenges were noted:
— Limited resource visibility: Users looking for in-depth information missed out on opportunities because valuable resources on College Confidential were difficult to find.
— Low user engagement with additional resources: Users were not effectively prompted to venture outside of the forum, which led to underuse of other beneficial resources.
— User frustration due to inefficient navigation: Users' ability to use the platform easily was hampered by complex navigation structures, which negatively impacted their experience.
During the initial stages, a number of challenges were noted:
— Limited resource visibility: Users looking for in-depth information missed out on opportunities because valuable resources on College Confidential were difficult to find.
— Low user engagement with additional resources: Users were not effectively prompted to venture outside of the forum, which led to underuse of other beneficial resources.
— User frustration due to inefficient navigation: Users' ability to use the platform easily was hampered by complex navigation structures, which negatively impacted their experience.
During the initial stages, a number of challenges were noted:
— Limited resource visibility: Users looking for in-depth information missed out on opportunities because valuable resources on College Confidential were difficult to find.
— Low user engagement with additional resources: Users were not effectively prompted to venture outside of the forum, which led to underuse of other beneficial resources.
— User frustration due to inefficient navigation: Users' ability to use the platform easily was hampered by complex navigation structures, which negatively impacted their experience.
During the initial stages, a number of challenges were noted:
— Limited resource visibility: Users looking for in-depth information missed out on opportunities because valuable resources on College Confidential were difficult to find.
— Low user engagement with additional resources: Users were not effectively prompted to venture outside of the forum, which led to underuse of other beneficial resources.
— User frustration due to inefficient navigation: Users' ability to use the platform easily was hampered by complex navigation structures, which negatively impacted their experience.
Platform changes made to CC increased engagement, better information accessibility, and better decision-making. Students now have access to a full set of tools for their college search such as optimised navigation, revamp of College Profile + SEO, the integration of Forums, expanded media sources, consolidated resources, added option to curate Lists and get a better understanding of where they are on their journey.
This revamp and its impact was monitored throughout the whole process. Improvements in data look like:
— 6.8 pages per visit instead of 1.3.
— 4 min as an average duration of time spent on the site instead of ~1.5.
— 10% increase of registered users.
The significant increase in user participation and interaction within the forums is one of the notable success stories resulting from the enhanced engagement initiatives on College Confidential. Users had a more immersive and community-driven experience after forums were integrated into the College Profile section. This increased engagement benefited not only individual users, but also the overall growth and vibrancy of the CC community.
Platform changes made to CC increased engagement, better information accessibility, and better decision-making. Students now have access to a full set of tools for their college search such as optimised navigation, revamp of College Profile + SEO, the integration of Forums, expanded media sources, consolidated resources, added option to curate Lists and get a better understanding of where they are on their journey.
This revamp and its impact was monitored throughout the whole process. Improvements in data look like:
— 6.8 pages per visit instead of 1.3.
— 4 min as an average duration of time spent on the site instead of ~1.5.
— 10% increase of registered users.
The significant increase in user participation and interaction within the forums is one of the notable success stories resulting from the enhanced engagement initiatives on College Confidential. Users had a more immersive and community-driven experience after forums were integrated into the College Profile section. This increased engagement benefited not only individual users, but also the overall growth and vibrancy of the CC community.
Platform changes made to CC increased engagement, better information accessibility, and better decision-making. Students now have access to a full set of tools for their college search such as optimised navigation, revamp of College Profile + SEO, the integration of Forums, expanded media sources, consolidated resources, added option to curate Lists and get a better understanding of where they are on their journey.
This revamp and its impact was monitored throughout the whole process. Improvements in data look like:
— 6.8 pages per visit instead of 1.3.
— 4 min as an average duration of time spent on the site instead of ~1.5.
— 10% increase of registered users.
The significant increase in user participation and interaction within the forums is one of the notable success stories resulting from the enhanced engagement initiatives on College Confidential. Users had a more immersive and community-driven experience after forums were integrated into the College Profile section. This increased engagement benefited not only individual users, but also the overall growth and vibrancy of the CC community.
Platform changes made to CC increased engagement, better information accessibility, and better decision-making. Students now have access to a full set of tools for their college search such as optimised navigation, revamp of College Profile + SEO, the integration of Forums, expanded media sources, consolidated resources, added option to curate Lists and get a better understanding of where they are on their journey.
This revamp and its impact was monitored throughout the whole process. Improvements in data look like:
— 6.8 pages per visit instead of 1.3.
— 4 min as an average duration of time spent on the site instead of ~1.5.
— 10% increase of registered users.
The significant increase in user participation and interaction within the forums is one of the notable success stories resulting from the enhanced engagement initiatives on College Confidential. Users had a more immersive and community-driven experience after forums were integrated into the College Profile section. This increased engagement benefited not only individual users, but also the overall growth and vibrancy of the CC community.
— Work —
Sanja Kusturica — © 2121 — All Rights Reserved.