This is the first presentation of a series, in which we analyze the UX patterns of successful vertical social networks. For our initial case study, we took a look at MapMyRun and how its social features have allowed this app to become one of the most successful apps in the Health & Fitness category.

1. Analyzing the user experience
of vertical social networks
MapMyRun

2. MapMyRun
Category: Health & Fitness
Use Case: Workout tracking
Business Model: In-­‐app purchases,
subscriptions, advertising
Platforms: iOS, Android
Reviews: 238.000
Rating: 4.5

3. Social Features Overview

4. Onboarding leverages social community to create sign-­‐ups
• Forced signup
• No Skip option
• Prominent call-­‐to-­‐action
“Join Now”
Welcome Screen Community Slide
• Clear and prominent
message about
community benefits
• Facebook or Email Sign-­‐up
• Sign-­‐up through Facebook could
be more prominent, benefits are
not communicated
Sign-­‐up Screen
Swipe

5. Notifications
• Notifications icon already
present after onboarding
• Gives awareness of social
features
Notification icon and clear entry points to foster adoption
Home Screen Navigation Menu
Entry points to the community
• 3 separated entry points in
the navigation menu:
• User Profile
• Activity Feed
• Friends

6. User recommendations to overcome empty room problem
Activity Feed
User generated content
Create a post from the Activity
Feed with one tap
User recommendations
Facebook friends are recommended,
additional friend request still necessary
Room for improvements:
Unused empty space
Filter
Separated tabs for Friends’
and My Activity
Room for improvements:
Vertical list to suggest more
users at once

7. Leveraging user generated content for retention & growth
Create a Post Shared Post
Presenting UGC
• News Feed with large,
prominent pictures
• Likes and comments on
posts possible
Content Sharing
• 3 different visibility levels
(private, friends only, public)
• Post can simultaneously be
shared to Facebook & Twitter
(= user growth potential)

8. User profile as the central entity of the social experience
User Profile
Overview
Friends, achievements
and recent activity Add
User activities
No classic activity feed, instead Map My
Run uses an activity chart
No posts are displayed in the user
profile, workouts only
Filter
Swipe to filter by
type of activity
Friend Request
Prominent call-­‐to-­‐action
to add more users

9. • No use of empty space
• “Add friends” button not
prominent
Search, suggestions and invites for user discovery
Friends List Invite Friends
• Invite via Facebook, Twitter,
SMS, Email
• Flow for recipient impersonal
(generic message)
• Global user search
• Send friend request or visit
user profile from result list
Search

10. MapMyRun
Social Login yes
User Profiles yes
Friends / Followers yes
News Feed yes
Notifications no
User Generated Content yes
Messaging no
Invite Friends yes
Outbound Sharing yes
Positive:
• Community aspect very prominent during
onboarding
• Empty room problem partially solved with user
recommendations
• User generated content as key element to drive
the social community
• Social media well used as growth channels
Potential Improvements:
• Empty room problem is not dealt with in
Friends Section
• Carousel of recommended users might hide
important people
• No personalized outbound invite
Social Experience Overview

11. • •
This presentation was not created or sponsored by MapMyFitness, Inc. We created this presentation to demonstrate how a successful app leverage social features.