Nobody wants to be that person with the blacked-out eyes in a magazine because they had a lapse in judgment in pairing knee highs with penny loafers or trying to revive the high-waisted MC Hammer pants. A website faux pas can be just as embarrassing. Don't be the website that has long loading times, broken social login, underlined links and Flash (yikes!). Do be the website with over-simplified navigation, great design and a seamless social login implemented how it was intended, to enhance the website social experience and collect social data for better understanding of consumers.
To avoid any social login faux pas', here is a list of Do's and Don'ts for social login implementation.
Do: integrate username/password fields and social icons into the same area. The purpose of social login is to simplify the sign on process, hence make registration easy to find and follow through. Clear messaging and placing the traditional login together with the social login make this a seamless process.
Do: use social network username/password for authentication. This might sounds like, well duh!? But I have witnessed websites force users to create a username/password after signing in through social account. This is counterproductive and unnecessary as the social networks have already done the authentication.
Do: pre-populate fields with data returned from the Lanoba API. This is data easily available and will reduce the amount of time the user has to spend filling out registration forms. Time savers = happy customers!
Do: gather data over multiple visits to reduce abandonment. There is a tipping point between asking for too much information and not gathering enough. Prompting for additional information on a repeat visit is a nice compromise for everyone.
Do: personalize website with avatar picture and name or username. This is part of the consumer experience. If they log in with a social account, they expect to see their picture on the website.
Do: encourage multiple network connections with Lanoba's Link widget. To take full advantage of the social experience, users can link all of their networks together for faster sharing and login flexibility.
Do: build a social data strategy and analysis routine. There is so much data easily available to us. Decide what data is important to your company and what analytics to use as key indicators. A bi-weekly routine to analyze these key indicators and adjust or be proactive will be a driving force for overall marketing strategy. Read my previous blog Social Data. The New Driver for Marketing Strategy.
Happy Login!
Add any social login tips you might have!