Recall: The GAME Framework

The GAME framework helps structure thinking around user growth and engagement:

1. Goals – Define what DAU means and what’s driving it.
2. Actions – Identify key user behaviors that increase daily usage.
3. Metrics – Measure those behaviors and segment usage trends.
4. Evaluate – Design and test interventions for sustainable impact.

Step 1: Goals

The goal is to increase the number of unique users who return daily to Facebook. Daily Active Users (DAU) is a core health metric that reflects habitual use, content relevance, and user satisfaction.

You want to drive DAU not through gimmicks, but by enhancing long-term retention and product value.

Step 2: Actions

Behaviors that drive daily usage include:

• Passive consumption: scrolling the feed, watching stories or videos
• Social triggers: responding to comments, messages, tags, or friend requests
• Creation and contribution: posting stories, sharing content, reacting to updates
• Notification-driven re-engagement: responding to nudges or reminders

Improving DAU involves reinforcing these loops, especially for users at risk of churn.

Step 3: Metrics

Track:

• DAU segmented by user cohort, platform (iOS/Android/Web), and region
• Frequency of core actions per user (e.g. messages sent, stories viewed)
• Push notification CTRs and time to return after notification
• D1, D7, D30 retention (especially new user onboarding)
• % of DAUs who perform a high-engagement action
• Churn or inactivity rate among previously active users

Step 4: Evaluate

To improve DAU, focus on low-effort, high-impact experiments like:

• Better onboarding flows to ensure new users understand key features
• Smart notification systems personalized to user interests and time zones
• Surfacing relevant friend activity, e.g. “3 friends posted a story” nudges
• Highlighting unfinished engagement loops, like unread messages or pending friend requests

Run A/B tests to validate interventions and monitor for quality trade-offs, such as over-notification fatigue or increased bounce rate.

Long-term DAU growth is best driven by increasing the value users get each day—whether that’s meaningful connections, relevant content, or frictionless interaction.