Maxed out on user names and passwords, online consumers are remarkably receptive to social logins, like those offered by Facebook and Google.
Some studies, in fact, show that over half of
the 90% of consumers who encounter social logins use them to access various Web sites and services.
Yet according to new research from Forrester, social logins remain the least
adopted social “depth tactic” among digital marketers.
“Only 17% of the digital marketers we surveyed currently offer social login on their Web sites,”
Forrester analyst Kim Celestre said on Tuesday. Worse yet, “Over half have no plans to use social login.”
The meager adoptions numbers reflect what Celestre calls a
“shared skepticism of social login's value to a broader social marketing strategy.”
Many marketers are missing the point, however. Social login is a complementary tool
that can make registration easier for site visitors, while minimizing password management for a brand’s security team, according to Celestre.
Through smart use of data, social
login can increase both a brand’s understanding of its customers’ exploration needs, and the depth of their engagement, she insists.
For example, after launching social
login on its branded Web pages, the Dr Pepper Snapple Group gathered deeper insights on fans’ interactions with the brand, according to the Forrester report. This allowed the brand to fine-tune
future social marketing campaigns and messaging.
“Digital marketers need to look beyond the obvious benefits of social login as just a fast registration tool,” Celestre
said. “Rather, they should think about social login as a way to tap into individuals' rich social profile data that enables personalization of content and marketing campaigns.”