Social login has become a standard on the web. In the past few years, we’ve seen more and more businesses allowing users to register or log into their website properties using a social network identity such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
But which social network do people prefer to use when logging onto business websites?
Research by eMarketer shows that a majority of users (51%) prefer to log in using their Facebook credentials.
In fact, professionals across all industries favored Facebook. Only 28% of users log in with Google+. Facebook is also the preferred social login network ID for 63% of global mobile users.
Benefits of Social Login
For businesses, the benefit of allowing social login is that users can quickly access your website using existing social identities, which offer your marketing team valuable insights about their interests and preferences. Further, these insights enable your brand to craft relevant content and ads that your target audience wants to see.
For consumers, the benefit is not having to remember a username and password, which tends to increase fatigue and user-friction.
What This Means for Website Owners
If you have a website that requires users to register, you should understand the concept of password fatigue. 92% of shoppers abandon a website rather than go through the process of recovering a lost or forgotten password. But if a website has a social login option, 65% of shoppers are more likely to return.
So if you have an e-commerce site for example, and you allow people to use their Facebook ID to log in, you will gain immediate access to their personal data i.e. their likes and interests. You can then use that information to personalize their experience. But please keep the following points in mind:
- When they log into your website, offer them products that they actually like or have shown interest in to improve the chances of purchasing. In fact, one of the benefits of social login is that it limits the incidence of mistargeted ads.
- While they’re logged onto your site, they’re simultaneously logged onto Facebook, which means they can share a useful post or comment on a cool product from your site. So make sure they find fresh, interesting, and shareworthy content every time they log in.
- Users want value in exchange for giving up their personal information on your site. So offer them premium content such as training videos, SlideShare presentations, free e-books, and how-to guides.
- To enhance brand interaction and social visibility, offer a community message board on your website that is only accessible to members who are logged in.
It’s important to understand what your users want. The research and trends discussed in this article as well as here, and here prove that users increasingly favor Facebook for social login. So if your website only gives users one option to log in i.e. email address and password, then you have a lot to think about, right there.
What do you think? Not using Facebook for social login? Why not? Please share your thoughts in the comment box below.