How to increase product and user engagement

Engagement is crucial for software products as it determines the value users derive from them and influences investment decisions and sales revenue. Product Owners use various product and user engagement metrics to measure this value. These metrics help identify product weaknesses, opportunities, and deliver more value to both users and companies. Two types of engagement matter: product engagement and user engagement. Product engagement is about how much engagement a product gets from active users, while user engagement looks at the value the product gives to both the user and the organization behind it. Selecting a north star metric helps focus on the most important numbers that indicate the success of the product. Common metrics for product engagement include activation rate, usage depth, exit point, time in product, and customer churn. User engagement metrics include daily or monthly active users, Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Lifetime Value (LTV), and engagement by user location. Strategies to improve website product and user engagement include delivering multiplayer collaboration, rewarding referrals, providing interactive features, showcasing user-generated content, and enabling social media sharing. Apps have an immediate engagement advantage over websites due to their ability to access device functionalities like push notifications, location services, and the camera. Strategies for improving app product and user engagement include personalized offers and content, location-based services, in-app messages, gamifying the experience, and improving activation through smoother onboarding. Tools like Hubspot, Split, Appcues, and Ably can help implement changes to drive product and user engagement.