Root-Cause Diagnosis for Instagram Reels Lagging in a Few Country Markets

You are a product manager on Instagram Reels. Reels is healthy in most markets, but in a handful of countries it is clearly underperforming. Walk through how you would find out why: how you would pin down the problem, which causes you would consider, what data would confirm or rule out each one, and what you would do once you know the cause. ```hint Define the gap before explaining it "Not doing well" could mean few people watch, people watch only briefly, or few people post. Pin down which number is weak and whether it fell recently or has always trailed other markets, then compare these countries with healthy ones one funnel step at a time. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Which metric shows Reels is weak in these countries: the share of Instagram users who watch Reels, watch time per viewer, the number of people creating Reels, or Reels ad revenue? - Did these countries decline recently after performing well, or have they trailed other markets ever since Reels launched there? - Do the affected countries have anything in common, such as a region, a language, typical devices and network quality, or a strong local short-video app? - Is the gap measured against these countries' own history, against similar countries, or against an internal target? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A precise statement of the problem: the weak metric, the baseline it is compared with, and whether it is a sudden drop or a long-standing gap - Checking for measurement and logging problems before chasing product explanations - A structured split into internal and external causes and into viewer-side and creator-side funnel steps, compared against healthy countries - Country-specific hypotheses (devices and networks, local content supply and language, music availability, competition, regulation, local habits), each paired with the data that would confirm or reject it - Prioritized next steps and the fix each likely root cause would call for ### Follow-up Questions - Suppose viewers in these countries watch Reels about as much as elsewhere, but very few local creators post them. What would you investigate next, and what would you change? - If the root cause turns out to be a dominant local short-video app, would you invest to win these markets or accept the gap? How would you decide? - How would you set up monitoring so that the next country falling behind is caught within weeks rather than quarters?