In a breakout session at Confab 2019, Alexa K. Apallas discusses: • How to apply a core set of principles and make micro-content shine. • Why it’s important to identify gaps in micro-content by assessing existing content to determine customer pain points. • How to pack meaning into minimal space by focusing on what your customer absolutely has to know to feel good about the interaction. • Why you must strip away the fat. Every word counts, so take the time to figure out which ones aren’t pulling their weight.

1. Micro-Content, Macro Results

2. How sweating the small stuff
improves customer engagement and
retention

3. What we’ll cover

4. ©2019 PayPal Inc. Confidential and proprietary.
• Who I am
• Micro-content definition
• 5 key principles of micro-content
• Real-life examples
• What happens when the principals are ignored
• How to fix issues with micro-content
• Q&A

5. Who I am

6. The original Alexa
420031987

7. The original Alexa
420031987

8. Obligatory pics of cute kids

9. Why micro-content, not micro-copy?

10. Micro-content defined
“Content” includes the words, the
design, and the interplay between
them.

11. So what is this “small stuff?”

12. Principle #1—Give the what

16. Principle #2—Give the why

19. Principal #3—Give clear
choices
19

23. Principal #4—Keep it accurate

27. Principal #5—Keep it pithy

30. Ignore these principles at your
own peril!

31. When micro-content goes wrong

34. ©2019 PayPal Inc. Confidential and proprietary.

35. Iterate, iterate, iterate

39. Crucial info was missing

41. The fix

43. The result

44. By giving customers a clear choice and
presenting the options on one screen,
we made it easy for customers to
decide how and when to get their
money.

45. Using what we learned

48. The result

49. Customers who were given a reason to add
their debit card did so and even made
immediate use of the feature. They also
activated their accounts more quickly.
• 57% more debit cards added
• 5% increase in PayPal account activation
• 3% increase in Instant Transfer use

50. Make sure to give customers the
right “why”

53. The fix

55. The result

56. By changing the micro-content to
provide a more compelling “why,”
and by adjusting the design to more
clearly indicate the info we needed,
we increased confirmation rates.

57. One line can affect the bottom line

59. The fix

62. The result

63. When we presented the exchange
rate with the exact amount the
customer would pay (including fees),
we saw that customers increased
their purchases with the PayPal rate
by 50 basis points.

64. Micro-content demands specifics

68. The fix

72. The result

73. By providing the right amount of
specific information, we were able
to get customers comfortable with
the idea of approving a request to
share a card.

74. Make it scannable

78. The fix

82. The result

83. ©2019 PayPal Inc. Confidential and proprietary.
Reducing the content actually improved
engagement!

84. Recap

85. The shorter the content, the more it
will be scrutinized

86. An inappropriate tone of voice can
alienate potential customers

87. If the customer needs to take
action, provide a clear path forward

88. Don’t make customers work to find
relevant content

89. Keep the key principles in mind

90. 5 Key Principles
1. Give the what
2. Give the why
3. Give clear choices
4. Keep it accurate
5. Keep it pithy

91. And above all…

92. Test your content and use data to
make the case for content
improvements

93. Questions?