01Product Positioning · Trust & Safety · UX Writing

Launching a new product category inside a private-messaging app

Owning the product positioning for a zero-to-one launch that required users to rethink what Messenger is. Building the trust architecture that made discoverability feel safe.

Role

I was the sole content designer on this zero-to-one launch, a company-level priority. Working across Product, Design, Research, and Legal, I owned the product identity, the new user experience, and the trust and safety content strategy from the ground up.

Messenger Communities discoverability and onboarding flow

Messenger has always meant private communication between friends and family — a mental model reinforced by the rollout of end-to-end encryption in 2023–24. Messenger Communities introduced something categorically different: semi-public, interest-based groups that anyone could discover and join. The product didn’t need better copy. It needed a new mental model.

01

Reframing the value proposition

The initial value props were PM-drafted and growth-oriented — accurate internally, but not built around how a real user evaluates something new. I rewrote them around user-centered needs surfaced by research: building community without the overhead of a Facebook group, the appeal of scale, and the need to feel in control.

~23% lift in new community creation within 6 weeks of NUX launch

Build a chat-based community on Messenger

Plan events, find support and share information with your community, all in one place. No Facebook group needed.

Bring up to 5,000 real-world connections online

Create a community space on Messenger for any group or organization and give it room to grow.

Use simple tools to help your community thrive

Unlock admin tools to help you safely manage your community so you can focus on building relationships.

02

Building a trust and safety content system

Discoverability only works if users feel safe. I shaped the “Request to Join” feature concept and its content experience — giving admins meaningful control over membership while clearly communicating the public nature of communities to new members. I partnered with Legal to translate moderation requirements into plain, reassuring language.

~14% increase in new community creation the month following launch

~39% of new communities opted into request-to-join

Require approval to join toggle in off state
Require approval to join toggle in on state
About this community panel showing visibility and safety disclosures
  • ~23% lift in community creation within 6 weeks of NUX launch
  • ~14% increase in new community creation the month following trust & safety launch
  • ~39% of new communities opted into request-to-join
  • Majority of surveyed users reported improved clarity

“This makes sense. It makes sense you can search for the things you’re interested in.”

Product positioning

Trust & safety

UX writing

A/B testing

Content strategy

Cross-functional collaboration

Instructional design

Mental model design

Onboarding

User research

Value proposition design