Creating a Content Repurposing App @ Beacons
Reposting TikTok videos onto other social media platforms.
Product Design
OVERVIEW
As many social media platforms begin to adopt the short-form video format, crossposting videos across social media accounts is just another task that content creators have to add to their long to-do list. Beacons is a startup company that develops tools that help content creators to carry out their day-to-day tasks. A content repurposing app that allows users to easily crosspost their videos would be a great addition to Beacons' catalog of apps.
TIMELINE
January - March 2023 3 months
TEAM & ROLE
Individual Product Designer
TOOLS
Figma, Zoom, GoodNotes, Notion
Pointing Out the Problem
Manually crossposting videos across multiple social media platforms can be a menial task because this process requires opening a social media app, rewriting content details, and then repeating on a different app.
A content repurposing app would resolve this pain point and cross another task off the content creator’s already long to-do list.
Empathizing with the User
Repurposing content isn’t necessarily a difficult task. But, it can be a repetitive one.
Content creators may feel like this task is menial work, especially when they have other things to focus on.
I created this user journey map that would guide me throughout the project and help me to focus on the user’s needs.
Defining Product Requirements
Competitive Analysis
I studied two platforms that allow users to repurpose their TikTok videos: Jellysmack and Repurpose.io. The competitive analysis allowed me to identify key features that the content repurposing app would need to have.
Product Requirements
From the competitive analysis, I identified the following features on Jellysmack and Repurpose.io that would be necessary for the content repurposing app.
🔁
Manual and Automatic Reposting
Manually repurpose content, or set automatic reposts whenever a TikTok video is posted.
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Watermark Removal
Repurpose without worrying about intrusive watermarks and logos.
✍️
Content Editing
Make last-minute changes to captions, and preview thumbnails to manually repurposed content.
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Platform Choice
Choose which social media platforms to post content.
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Post Scheduling
Choose specific times and dates to post content.
Piecing It Together
User Flow
Before designing on Figma, I generated a user flow of the content repurposing app. The user flow provided an outline for the core screens that the app would have.
Design Inspiration
Exploring other Beacons products like Post Scheduling and Email Marketing helped ensure that the content repurposing app would follow Beacons’ design system and fit within its catalog.
Wireframes
I created low-fidelity wireframes to gain a rough idea of the content organization of each core screen.
Afterward, I translated the wireframes into an initial prototype.
Landing Page
An engaging landing page entices users to use the app and introduces what the app does.
Visual Cleanup
Applying the Beacons design system in greater detail refined the overall look of the app.
Feature Changes
Limiting suggested hashtags and preview thumbnails (supported by AI) eases the development and the user's burden of choice.
Final Prototype
Here is an interactive prototype!
Final Remarks
Next Steps
Because time was limited, I could not test my prototype on users, but user testing would be the next step for taking the project further. This step would help identify other user pain points and allow for more guided design iterations.
LESSON
Designing with Courage
This project challenged me as a designer because it was my first time creating a product from start to finish. During the project, I was limiting myself by designing too conservatively. But, this project helped me realize that a design is always an iteration away from success. So, it’s always good to try something new.
LESSON
Working with Limited Research
Due to the nature of this project and the time constraint, I did not conduct direct user research through surveys or interviews. Still, I made up for these constraints by engaging in user empathy through journey maps. The lack of traditional user research motivated me to constantly consider the user’s perspective, ensuring that my designs were user-centered.