Social Sign-On A Sign Of The Future

After years of speculation social sign-on is proving to be an effective way of registering users.   Social sign-on, which allows users to sign-in online using their profiles from Facebook, Google, Twitter or other social websites, is becoming more and more mainstream as Yahoo and Bing recently incorporated Facebook into their sign-in process.  This may be one of the few places Google will follow behind the trend.

Janrain and Blue Research recently studied the "social media active" users and concluded that for online publishers, site registrations will be out soon and social sign-on is the new trend, becoming the new standard. The study discovered that 66% of respondents said social sign-in is a potential solution while only 25% of users are inclined to hand over their information when asked to register on a website.  Seems like a logical way to increase your registration % doesn't it?

75% of the 650+ respondents said they don't like online registrations and when presented with a registration request, may leave the site (increasing overall exit rate), go somewhere else or not come back again.  And how many are typing in incomplete or incorrect information?

What is Social Sign-On? Social sign-in allows users the ability to sign in to an online registration using their Facebook, Google, Twitter or other social website accounts.  They are then able to skip the registration form and log directly into the new account.

Chicago Tribune Login/Regsitration                  Yahoo Sign-in

Why is it so effective? For starters users only need to remember one password.  45% of users studied said they have left a website after forgetting the password. This will make it much easier to remember your one password.  Also, users want an automated process, not a manual one which is why 55% of users said they were more likely to return if it remembered their identity.  And we all want repeat users.

Can we put social sign-in on your website? Yes we can.  Whether you're an association, real estate, e-commerce or lead generation website you are an ideal candidate for social sign-in.  The trick is to keep your existing registration, but offer an alternate path.  Give the option of signing in via Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo or Hotmail to allow the user to decide.  And if you want to test the results setup a quick AB test.  See how many more users complete the registration process using Social Sign-On.  You may be astounded by the results.

Comments

• By Chuckles on Tuesday, June 14, 2011
   

  Good point. I hadn't thought about it quite that way. :)

  Good point. I hadn't thought about it quite that way. :)