In some of the most downloaded apps, it is common to see millions of users logged in at any given time. Imagine you are a part of such an ecosystem. You may definitely want to see who has posted what in the last few hours.
An activity feed seeks to serve this need for information about recent interactions.
It is a collection of fresh activities of other users inside the app. They help you keep track of all recent comments, shares, likes, and posts. It generally provides users with a centralized location to access recent information. Whether you are scrolling through social media or managing tasks on a project management platform, activity feeds are essential in ensuring that you are informed and kept engaged.
However, what exactly is an activity feed API, and what benefits are associated with it? Let’s explore.
What is an Activity Feed?
An activity feed is a list of information that shows actions, system events, or data being published in real time. It allows users to be informed without the need to refresh their page. It can be published from a third-party service or from within an application.
A common example is the activity feed we see on Facebook or Instagram apps. They show recent interactions of users you may be connected with. With such a display of data, you are motivated to do your bit in being a part of the interaction.
Activity Feed Types
There are different types of activity feeds, each serving a specific purpose. Each type has its own benefits and is suitable for different use cases.
The main classifications of activity feeds are:
- Flat Feeds
Flat feeds present updates in chronological order as they arrive. They are commonly used for displaying breaking news, the latest scores or statistics for a live event, or any other real-time information that is best presented in the order in which it occurs.
- Aggregated Feeds
Aggregated feeds display live data grouped per data type. For example, on a social media post, you might see live data on your number of reactions, but these could be grouped by the different reaction types (e.g., likes, loves, wows, etc.). This type of feed helps present a summary of related activities.
- Notification Feeds
Notification feeds provide updates about actions and events taking place within a system or environment. They are commonly used in project management tools to show actions and events associated with assigned tasks, comments, and reactions.
Activity Feed Benefits
The benefits of an activity feed include increased user engagement, longer session times, improved virality, and reduced churn.
- Enhanced user engagement
It can pull users back into an app, increasing daily and monthly active users. Whether it’s to catch up on missed content or to improve their reach, live updates in an activity feed provide a compelling reason for people to return to the app on a more regular basis.
- Longer session times
An activity feed can potentially increase average session duration and product stickiness. This can be done by naturally updating the user or delaying updates until the user has finished their current task.
- Improved virality
Activity feeds offer a natural jumping-off point to showcase an app’s functionality. This can help improve virality as users’ contributions appear on other users’ feeds, thus increasing the app’s reach.
- Reduced churn
Activity feeds can showcase an app’s functionality, making it easier for users to find the app’s value, thus reducing churn. They also offer a natural jumping-off point for onboarding steps, which can help retain users.
Therefore, an activity feed API & SDK can significantly impact user engagement, session duration, virality, and user retention, making it a valuable feature for various applications.
Activity Feed Best Practices
You need to extract the maximum out of activity feeds integrated into the app. To achieve this, you can follow the below best practices.
- Seek Simplicity
The most important thing when creating an activity feed for your app is simplicity. Users should be familiar with the feed interaction. An approach with a simple design style involves less cluttering that guides users to content. It can be obtained by removing redundancies, picking up readable typography, and concentrating on engagement controls such as like, comment, and share.
- Populate Feeds Immediately
It’s very important to ensure that new users are not greeted with a blank feed when they enter your app. Design a “who to follow” board or follow suggestions to engage new users with the feed immediately. This encourages users to construct their unique feeds and engage with the platform.
For example, suppose your app is integrated with a popular social media app. In that case, you can populate a user’s feed based on their existing data from that platform, including interests, friends, follows, and likes.
- Minimize Feed Changes
If a dedicated audience already uses your feed, be conscious of the possibility of sudden changes in design or organization. This can cause frustration to your users. The best is to create a feed organization hierarchy in your app at launch instead of changing it later. Indeed, in the past, a well-known app tweaked its feed ordering, which resulted in confusion and user reviews. User satisfaction needs to be preserved instead of minimizing such changes.
Activity Feed Examples & Use Cases
Here are some activity feed examples and use cases in different app categories:
1. Social Networking
TikTok: TikTok uses activity feeds to show video content, likes, and shares. This keeps users engaged and updated on the latest trends.
2. Edtech
Edmodo: It is a social education network that allows teachers to organize the educational process, assess students, and facilitate professional exchange of experience.
3. Fintech
Venmo: It is a fintech app that allows every user to make payments and transactions while also incorporating social features. Its flat, chronological feed allows users to broadcast their payments and social connections.
4. Health & Fitness
Fitbit: Fitbit is a health and wellness application that is linked to a wearable device. It has recently implemented a novel community feature. This innovative addition allows users to connect with individuals with similar interests.
5. ECommerce
MyGlamm: MyGlamm is a digital platform dedicated to beauty and skincare products, providing an online shopping app. It offers a Community feature that enables users to actively participate in contests, share posts, and interact through likes and comments.
Conclusion
In the end, activity feeds form the foundation of the modern digital world, offering users immediate updates and customized experiences. They deliver a lot of value, such as better engagement and long session durations. The presence of this feature drives more significant virality and less churn.With the above best practices, apps can better engage users through chat, voice, and video call API, and increase retention via activity feeds. We also looked at examples from different app categories, i.e., social networking, health, fitness, and e-commerce. Examining these categories, it becomes clear that activity feed UI can be an essential factor that shapes user interaction and community engagement across different platforms.
