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Introduction
With 56 million users per day, Reddit is one of the most actively used sites on the web. However, despite its massive user base, less than 1% of users pay to use Reddit Premium. Instead, Reddit relies on advertisers from around the world to drive revenue.
Reddit advertisers can range from well-established companies to smaller businesses looking to build brand awareness. Regardless of the size of the company, in order to reach their target audience it is essential that the advertiser has access to the right tools to create and manage their ad campaign effectively.
NeuraFlash partnered with Reddit Ads to develop a Salesforce Experience Cloud site that offered a state-of-the-art advertising experience that would drive even greater outcomes for Reddit advertisers.
Solution Preview
The project resulted in a fully functional Salesforce Experience Cloud site that would give advertisers the support they need to run a successful campaign. There are many aspects of running an ad campaign which Reddit outlined in a collection of Salesforce Knowledge Articles. In addition to enabling users to navigate and access these articles effectively, the Experience Cloud site would enable advertisers in two primary ways:
To get the help they need to optimize their advertising campaigns.
To encourage and persuade non-active users to utilize Reddit advertising services.
In addition to structuring a wide variety of help content and articles, requirements for the Experience Cloud Site included implementation of Reddit’s latest design system. This would ensure that the site captured the vision for their brand and enable advertisers to engage with the Reddit brand in a more intimate way.
My Role
As lead designer on the project, it was my role to work closely with Reddit stakeholders to develop wireframes and mockups through an iterative design process. Due to the extensive amount of content and Salesforce Knowledgebase Articles, the Information Architecture was structured gradually throughout this iterative process. It was my responsibility to moderate and lead discussions with Reddit stakeholders towards a solution that optimized the user’s ability to self-serve.
Once Neuraflash and Reddit team members agreed on an overall structure of the help content, the next step was to create wireframes that would capture the structure and content of the Reddit Ads Support site.
Iterative Process
After creating the initial wireframes, I presented them to Reddit stakeholders, carefully considering the technical limitations within Salesforce Experience Cloud web builder. My role included managing client expectations, particularly in light of these technical constraints, while aiming to exceed them within the designated hours and budget. In response to additional feedback from Reddit stakeholders, I proceeded to create a second iteration of wireframes.
Information Architecture
Due to the extensive amount of Knowledge based articles, a key challenge was presenting said articles in a way that users can navigate intuitively. Reddit stakeholders had proposed a structure that was initially a series of 6 categories with articles nested within each. However, after illustrating these categories in wireframes, I observed that the existing structure lacked hierarchy and I articulated that it would likely be difficult for users to navigate. Instead, I created and proposed a structure to Reddit stakeholders that organized articles based on where the user is in their ad campaign process. This structure would guide users based on where they are in their user journey instead of displaying all available content to the user without guidance. These stages of the campaign journey are captured in the mock-ups below as “Getting Started…”, “Optimize your campaign”, and “Check billing and policies”.
The project budget accounted for a level of custom development, and throughout the iterative design process, it was my responsibility to collaborate closely with NeuraFlash technical leads to design a UI that would be within budget. The purpose of custom development for the Experience Cloud site ensured that the UI aligned with the new design system that the Reddit design team created shortly before the engagement. These guidelines included design assets and a series of styling rules and standards that needed to be maintained throughout the site.
Technical Limitations
The first iteration of mockups provided a framework for how design assets could be developed and configured in Experience Cloud. While the toolbox design elements in the mockups, such as color, imagery and fonts, could be easily changed and manipulated, the structure of the page itself within the Experience Cloud web builder is limited compared to other component-based web builders like Webflow. These limitations impose significant challenges. As the lead designer, it was my responsibility to solely propose designs that the technical team could develop within the total billable project hours. Technical limitations also introduce challenges in managing client expectations for what can be built within budget.
Conclusion
Through a series of design iterations and discussions with Reddit stakeholders, the team arrived at a design that aligned with both client needs and the Reddit Design System. Once the NeuraFlash team received design sign-off, it was my responsibility to work alongside developers through User Acceptance Testing to ensure there was alignment between the design sign-off and the final product. This engagement resulted in a fully functional Experience Cloud Site which Reddit advertisers use to find answers to questions relating to creating or maintaining their ad campaign. The increased capacity for self-service also benefits Reddit customer representatives who can now spend their time servicing high complexity cases. Despite technical limitations that the NeuraFlash team faced during this partnership, the final product is one that empowers advertisers to independently reach greater success in their campaign.