The Ultimate Metrics Playbook for Meta Product Sense Interviews

If you’re preparing for a Meta (Facebook) product sense interview, you already know that metrics are your best friend. Interviewers want to see that you understand not just what to build, but how to measure success at every stage of the user journey. Whether you’re launching a new feature, optimizing an existing one, or diagnosing a drop in engagement, having a robust metrics toolkit is essential.

Below, I’ll break down the most important metrics—grouped by user journey stage and channel—so you can confidently answer any product sense question with data-driven depth.

1. Acquisition Metrics

General

• User Acquisition Cost (UAC): Average cost to acquire a new user.
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Total marketing spend divided by new customers acquired.
• Visits/Sessions: Number of individual visits to your site or app.

Ads

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Clicks divided by impressions.
• Impressions: Number of times your ad is shown.
• Cost Per Click (CPC): Average cost per ad click.
• Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM): Cost for 1,000 ad views.
• Ad Placement: Where your ad appears.

Growth Hacking

• Acquisition Tactics: Viral loops, referral programs, partnerships, etc.

2. Activation Metrics

General

• Conversion Rate (CR): % of users completing a key action (signup, install, etc.).
• Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rate: % of leads who become paying customers.
• Feature Adoption Rate: % of users adopting a new feature.

Ads

• Cost Per Conversion/Action (CPA): Cost per completed desired action.
• Video Completion Rate: % of viewers who finish a video.
• Top Converting Keywords: Keywords driving conversions.
• Cost Per Engagement (CPE): Cost per user engagement.

Growth Hacking

• Activation: % of new users who reach a defined “aha!” moment.

3. Task Success Metrics

General

• Time to Value (TTV): How quickly users get value from your product.
• App Load Time: How fast your app loads.
• Latency/Response Time: How quickly the app responds to user actions.
• Crash Rate: % of app launches that crash.
• API Failures/Network Errors: Reliability metrics.
• Resource Consumption: Device resources used by your app.

4. Engagement Metrics

General

• Daily Active Users (DAU) / Monthly Active Users (MAU): Users engaging daily/monthly.
• Session Duration: Average session length.
• Stickiness Ratio (DAU/MAU): Frequency of user engagement.
• Time-in-App: Total time spent in the app.
• In-App Events: Key actions performed by users.

Posts

• Reactions, Comments, Shares: User interactions with content.
• Post Engagement Rate: % of users interacting with posts.
• Negative Feedback: Hides, unlikes, etc.
• Post Reach: Unique users who saw a post.
• Organic vs. Paid Reach: Source of reach.

Video

• Total Minutes Viewed, Average Watch Time, % Viewed: Video consumption metrics.
• Video Reach/Impressions: How many users saw the video.
• Audience Retention: % of viewers over time.
• 10-Second Views: Views lasting at least 10 seconds.
• Sound-On vs. Sound-Off Views: How users consume video.
• Organic vs. Paid Views: Source of views.

Ads

• Page Engagement: Interactions with landing pages.
• Video Metrics: Views, watch time, completion rate.

Messenger

• Message Volume: Number of messages sent/received.
• Engagement Rate: % of users interacting with listings.
• User Feedback: Comments and reactions.
• Keyword Metrics: Performance of specific keywords.

Growth Hacking

• Engagement Rate: % of users interacting with the product.

Influencer Marketing

• Engagement Rate: Interactions on influencer content.
• Content Quality: Aesthetic and value assessment.

5. Retention Metrics

General

• Retention Rate: % of users returning over time.
• Churn Rate: % of users leaving.
• Session Interval: Time between user sessions.
• Day N Retention: % of users returning on specific days.
• Virality Coefficient: New users referred by existing users.

Messenger

• User Retention: % of users retained.

Growth Hacking

• Retention: Long-term user engagement.

6. Happiness Metrics

General

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): User loyalty/satisfaction.
• Ratings and Reviews: User feedback.
• Social Sentiment: Positive vs. negative brand mentions.

7. Referrals Metrics

General

• Referral Traffic: Users arriving via shared links.
• Referral Rate: % of users referring others.
• Viral Coefficient: Users referred by existing users.
• Share of Voice: Brand prominence vs. competitors.

Growth Hacking

• Referral: Users recommending the product.

Influencer Marketing

• Brand Mentions: Brand appearances in influencer content.
• Share of Voice: Brand’s share in influencer’s content.

8. Revenue Metrics

General

• Return on Investment (ROI): Net profit divided by marketing cost.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Total value from a customer.
• Average Order Value (AOV): Average spend per transaction.
• Lifetime Value (LTV): Total value per user over time.
• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU): Revenue divided by active users.

Ads

• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Revenue per ad dollar spent.
• Cost Per Conversion/Action (CPA): Cost per completed action.

Marketplace

• Sales Volume: Total units sold.
• Return Rate: % of products returned.

Growth Hacking

• Revenue: Total money generated.

How to Use These Metrics in a Meta Product Sense Interview

1. Clarify the Question and Goals

Start by asking what the business and user goals are for the product or feature. Are you optimizing for growth, engagement, retention, or revenue?

2. Map the User Journey

Break down the journey into stages: Acquisition, Activation, Task Success, Engagement, Retention, Happiness, Referrals, and Revenue.

3. Select Relevant Metrics

For each stage, pick the most meaningful metrics. For example:

• Launching a new feature? Focus on Acquisition, Activation, and Task Success.
• Optimizing an existing product? Prioritize Engagement, Retention, and Revenue.

4. Tie Metrics to Actions

Explain how you’d use these metrics to inform product decisions:

• Low retention? Dive into churn reasons and session intervals.
• Low engagement? Look at DAU/MAU, session duration, and in-app events.
• Poor acquisition? Analyze CAC, CTR, and top converting channels.

5. Communicate Clearly

Structure your answer, justify your metric choices, and show how you’d iterate based on what the data tells you.

Sample Answer Outline

“To measure and optimize the success of Meta’s new video sharing feature, I’d track metrics across the user journey. For Acquisition, I’d monitor CAC, CTR, and new user signups. For Activation, I’d look at feature adoption rate and conversion rate. For Engagement, I’d focus on DAU/MAU, average watch time, and post engagement. Retention would be measured with day N retention and churn rate. I’d also track NPS and app reviews for Happiness, and viral coefficient for Referrals. Finally, I’d monitor ARPU and ROAS for Revenue. Based on these metrics, I’d identify bottlenecks and prioritize improvements.”

Final Tips for Meta Interviews

• Be specific: Name the metric and why it matters.
• Be strategic: Choose metrics that align with business and user goals.
• Be flexible: Adapt your metrics based on product lifecycle and context.
• Be actionable: Always tie metrics to product decisions.

Mastering these metrics will help you shine in your Meta product sense interview—showing you can think like a true product leader. Good luck!