Facebook reactions: test demand for one more reaction and define success metrics

Facebook offers six reactions on posts and is weighing whether to add a seventh. How would you decide whether it is needed, and how would you tell whether it succeeded? ### Clarifying Questions - Has the team already proposed a specific emotion for the seventh reaction, or is finding a missing emotion part of the task? - What is the new reaction meant to achieve: letting people express something they cannot today, raising engagement, or giving feed ranking a clearer signal? - Would it appear only on feed posts, or also on comments, Messenger and the other surfaces where reactions show up? - Would it launch worldwide at once or in selected markets first? ### Part 1 — Decide whether a seventh reaction is needed What evidence would show that people have a feeling the current six reactions cannot express, and what would lead you to decide against adding one? ```hint Watch what people do instead Think about how people behave on a post when none of the six reactions fits how they feel, and which of those behaviors already show up in the data. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - Behavioral and research evidence of an unmet expressive need, and how large it is - The costs and risks of a seventh option, such as a crowded picker, overlap with existing reactions and misuse - A clear go or no-go rule, including alternatives to a permanent new reaction ### Part 2 — Measure success after launch Assume the team builds it. How would you test it and decide whether it worked? ```hint Popular is not the same as successful Picture what usage of the new reaction could look like even if it added nothing overall, and think about who on a post is affected besides the person reacting. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - A primary success metric tied to the goal, plus adoption and guardrail metrics - An experiment design that accounts for reactions being visible to posters and other viewers - How novelty effects and launch thresholds are handled ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Framing reactions around low-effort, meaningful interaction between people on Facebook - Consistency between the need found in Part 1 and the success criteria in Part 2 - Attention to both sides of a reaction: the person reacting and the poster receiving it - Differences by market and culture in how emotions and their icons are read ### Follow-up Questions - Adoption of the new reaction is strong, but total reactions per post did not change. Is that a success? - The new reaction is being used heavily as sarcasm or to pile on certain posts. What do you do? - Would you consider replacing the least-used existing reaction instead of adding a seventh, and how would you decide?