Consumers Want Social Login Capabilities

By now, most business owners realize the important role that social media plays within their business plan. But new research suggests that business owners should enable social to play an even bigger role, by becoming the login option for customers on a website.

Ninety percent of consumers will leave a website if they forget their user name and password according to Janrain's Social Identity study, which was conducted by Blue Research. Additionally, 86 percent of people are bothered by the need to create new accounts when registering on a website, with 54 percent deciding to either leave the site or not return.

The problem with the traditional registration process is that it requires visitors to create new usernames and passwords, and consumers are getting frustrated with remembering many different identities.

The study reveals that 77 percent of respondents claim social login is a good solution that should be offered. Furthermore, social login can help a business through word of mouth marketing. Other findings reveal that 78 percent of social login fans have posted a message to their social networks about a product or service that they liked and thought others should know about or purchase, and 83 percent of consumers say that they are influenced to consider buying new products or services based on positive comments or messages from people in their social network.

"The findings of the survey show that social login continues to dramatically increase in favor among consumers as they realize the benefits of using an existing identity in order to bypass the traditional online registration process," says Paul Abel, Ph.D., Managing Partner, Blue Research. "Failing to offer social login is a missed opportunity for businesses to improve ROI of online properties, as fans of the service are more likely to register on the site, influence their friends through social networks and more likely to return to a site that offers them a personalized experience."