More than three-quarters (77%) of social media users say websites should offer social login—i.e., using a social media identity to log in at a website—as an alternative to traditional account creation or logging in as a guest, up from the 66% who said so a year earlier, according to a study by Janrain.
When required to register or create a new account at a website, only 14% of social media users say they complete the registration, whereas 54% say they’re likely to leave the site and not return; 26% go to a different site if possible, and 6% say they leave or avoid the site altogether:
Below, additional findings from Janrain's new study, which explores consumers' perceptions of online registration and social login.
Leaving False Information
Many socially networked consumers leave false information when asked to register: 88% admit to having given incorrect information or leaving forms incomplete when creating a new account on a website, up from 76% who said so a year earlier.
Preferences for Social Login
Among the various options presented for gaining access to a website, social login is preferred most: 41% of social media users use websites via social login, 35% create a new account and sign on, and 24% use a guest account to sign on.
Fans of Social Login Are Valuable Customers
Consumers who are interested in social login are more likely to influence and be influenced by their social networks.
Among "social logins fans," those who say social login is a good alternative to registering online:
- 83% would consider buying based on positive comments or messages from a social network, compared with 64% of "critics" of social sign-in who say the same.
- 69% of would be more likely to purchase an item if they read positive reviews found on a social network, compared with 54% of critics who say the same.
- 82% are more likely to seek out or avoid a brand based on reviews found on a social network, compared with 65% of critics who say the same.
- 78% say they share information about products and services they like or believe other should know about on social networks, compared with 54% of critics who say the same.
Personalizing Site Experiences
With social login, consumers are given the choice to have a more personalized experience when they visit a website without needing to re-enter preferences.
Social media users were asked to rate the attractiveness of that capability on a scale of one to ten: 51% rated the capability highly (7-10), whereas 25% were neutral (5-6) and 24% said the capability to personalize was not attractive (1-4).
Roughly one-half of social media users said they would be more likely to return to sites that offer a personalized experience, and 46% said they would be more likely to buy from sites that offered such an experience.
About the data: Findings are based on a survey of 619 active social media users who had purchased a product or service online in the past 30 days and/or read articles or watched videos online from major media outlets in the previous 30 days. The research was prepared for Janrain by Kelsey Goings and Paul Abel, PhD, of Blue Research, October 3-9, 2011.
