Problem
Members needed a stronger reason to participate beyond browsing. The feed was built around static content, with no structured way for members to contribute their own stories. In a community health product serving communities of color, engagement depends on trust — members need to see people like themselves telling real stories before they take health action.
The bet
Member-generated stories would outperform static content at driving engagement — but only if the product both surfaced stories first and prompted members to contribute their own. The loop: prompt → share → surface → engage → prompt again.
What shipped
Story-Centered Feed (September 2025) — restructured the feed to lead with member story content.
Persistent "Share Your Story" entry point, plus new-member and returning-member story prompts.
Video story support across web and mobile, with the legal considerations for member-submitted video navigated to launch.
Direct upload (February 2026) — shipped to simplify story submission.
Impact
User posts drove 51% of all likes — member voices became the engagement engine. Contributed to engagement rate growth from 11% to 32% in Q3 2025. Stories became the default landing experience — a North Star argument, not a UI preference: content creation and consumption are the behaviors most tied to retention and community vitality.
What I learned
“Contribution is a product problem, not a content problem. Members don't share stories because you ask — they share because the flow makes it easy and the feed proves stories get seen.”