What You Can Learn From Facebook’s Incredibly Successful Roll-Out
Facebook is a website that has changed the world. But it could have been a very different story. The odds were against it from the start.
For one, Facebook was not the first social network by any means. MySpace pretty much had this area wrapped up and offered more features. Secondly, Facebook was built by just one guy in his dorm room. It had no big money behind it, and there was no reason for it to take off.
And yet it did.
So, if you’re looking to create your visionary service or product, the question to ask is: why was Facebook such a success? And what can you learn from it?
How Facebook Used a Slow Roll Out to Conquer the World
One of the most notable aspects of Facebook’s launch is how it had a slow rollout. Rather than being released to the world on day one, Facebook was initially only available to Harvard students. After a while, it became known to select other colleges. Eventually, it went international. Then it lets businesses in. You get the idea…
This is likely a large part of what made Facebook so successful. Imagine if it had gone live around the world on day one. Why would you sign up for a social network with no one? It would seem empty.
But by launching in Harvard first, Facebook had much more modest aims. It would be much easier to get a majority of that population, at which point it would look like a success. Why would someone on MySpace already join Facebook? Because it was built for them.
Of course, word would get out, and when other colleges heard about Facebook, they’d want it too. It’s human nature to enjoy what you can’t have, especially if it feels new, exciting, and exclusive. When Facebook opened up to other prestigious colleges, they had already heard of it and had friends from Harvard there. And this process repeated each time the site expanded further.
Thus, by the time it had opened up to the general public, Facebook was already a phenomenon.
Learn from this. If you launch a service like this, keep it exclusive first and then roll it out. Running a beta test is a great way to do this and especially because it gives you the chance to iron out bugs and test your idea!