How Zenly Nailed It - Product Methods!

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Zenly is the only location sharing app with a 8% weekly growth rate. What product method did they use to get there?

1. how Zenly nailed it
@mxbraud

2. Location sharing apps
have been around for a
long time.
@mxbraud

3. You can find dozens of them on the App Store.

4. Even Apple has one.
@mxbraudI have 1 friend on it.

5. But Zenly is the only one
with an exponential growth.
8% weekly
@mxbraud

6. If it continues that way, it will have
6M users by the end of the year.

7. What is their secret?
@mxbraud

8. 

They talk to

their users.

@mxbraud

9. Zenly’s COO called 5000 users
over the past year.

10. He understood the
reasons why people don’t
use location sharing apps.
@mxbraud

11. it’s creepy
it kills my battery
my friends are not on it
it’s not really amazing
@mxbraud
1
2
3
4

12. The team iterated on
its product until these
problems fade away.
@mxbraud

13. Let’s see how!
@mxbraud

14. 1

15. @mxbraud
it’s creepy
it kills my battery
my friends are not on it
it’s not really amazing
1 2 3 4 it’s creepy
it kills my battery
my friends are not on it
it’s not really amazing

16. What a classic location
sharing app feels like.

17. What Zenly feels like.

18. @mxbraud
Zenly’s branding is about the
experience, not the features.

19. @mxbraudThe Elements of User Onboarding - Samuel Hulick
user location-sharinguser doing cool stuff
what Zenly sells
what others sell

20. @mxbraud
"We’re going to locate you
and your friends"

21. @mxbraud
"You’re going to spend good
times with friends"

22. @mxbraud
It’s very cautious with how it
asks for your location.

23. @mxbraud
"Who am I sharing my
location with? Better not
touch that button"
Zenly Competitor

24. @mxbraud
"My bro Elon wants to
know where I am.  Such
a nice guy!"

25. @mxbraud
Your friends and family are the
only people you trust enough
to give access to your location.

26. @mxbraud
Your contacts prompt you to
access your location. Zenly
asks nothing.

27. Zenly talks like a human, not
a cold robot spying on you.
@mxbraud

28. @mxbraud
Messages you get when you open the app:

29. It even shows you love in settings

by singing you a song.
@mxbraud
tap here in the app to

get your love song

30. It uses a friendly and fun
imagery to prove sharing
your location is no big deal.
@mxbraud

31. @mxbraud
Smiling faces everywhere!
even in the bottom menu

32. @mxbraud
+ childish and fun colors

33. @mxbraud
NO BIG DEAL

34. 2

35. it’s creepy
it kills my battery
my friends are not on it
it’s not really amazingit’s creepy
it kills my battery
my friends are not on it
it’s not really amazing
@mxbraud 1
2 3 4

36. @mxbraud
this random location-based

game literally kills my
battery

37. @mxbraud
Zenly…not so much

38. Zenly’s developers spent two years working
on the battery consumption of their app.

39. They came up with a technology
that asks for your location only
when one of your friends needs it,
which saves A LOT of battery life.

40. problem solved!

41. 3

42. it’s creepy
it kills my battery
my friends are not on it
it’s not really amazingit’s creepy
it kills my battery
my friends are not on it
it’s not really amazing
@mxbraud 1 2
3 4

43. How many great social networks
are you not using because well…
nobody does?

44. Zenly integrates growth
processes directly in its
product.
@mxbraud

45. @mxbraud
It shows you all the friends
that you haven’t added yet
directly under your Zenly
friends.

46. And contacts that have
friends on Zenly!
This doesn’t mean they are on
Zenly but it makes you feel a lot
of people are using it.
+ it creates a sort of competition
of who has the most friends.

47. You need to invite friends
to unlock the best emojis.
@mxbraud

48. They want every active user to have at least
10 friends on it. This is a way to achieve it.

49. It lets you share your
position with friends that
are not on Zenly.
@mxbraud

50. You can share your position
for the next 45 minutes.

51. This makes the app more
useful from the beginning,
when you don’t have many
friends.

52. And your friend gets a
glimpse of what Zenly is
by experimenting its main
feature.

53. With a clear CTA to
download the app!
Wait… I never invited
anyone to join Zenly!

54. It uses screenshots as a
viral tool.
@mxbraud

55. Every time you take a
screenshot, Zenly
suggests shortcuts to
share it more easily.

56. And they add a clear
watermark so people know
which app is used.

57. This funny video made with the video-editing
app Lipp got 2M views on FB.

58. But they forgot to add a watermark and
nobody ever knew it was made with an app.

59. So, watermarks!

60. 4

61. it’s creepy
it kills my battery
my friends are not on it
it’s not really amazingit’s creepy
it kills my battery
my friends are not on it
it’s not really amazing
@mxbraud 1 2 3
4

62. For most people, location
sharing is just a commodity.
@mxbraud

63. Zenly triggers the magic with
real-life interactions.
@mxbraud

64. You get a notification
every time a friend lands
in another country.
@mxbraud

65. @mxbraud

66. Your friend is
back in town.
@mxbraud
Your friend is
travelling abroad.
You send him emojis
to have a drink!
You wish him a
good trip!
This fosters cool interactions

67. Emojis + location
feels like magic.
@mxbraud

68. @mxbraud
My friend Thomas sent me emojis because I had
locked the door and he knew I was inside.

69. Your friends know that
you’re close and join you
naturally.
@mxbraud

70. @mxbraud
My friend Antonin noticed I was
around and invited me at his place.

71. @mxbraud
Our house party stopped
because of neighbors
complaints.
It evolved into a walking
party with everyone
following the movement
via Zenly.
People didn’t actually jump in
the water with their phones.

72. Fun and randomness
make you stick to Zenly!

73. Want to nail it too?
@mxbraud

74. bit.ly/roadtoagreatproduct
70k views

75. Follow me to get the

next product analysis!
@mxbraud

76. Maxime Braud
@mxbraud
[email protected]

77. my crew