Facebook Eclipses Google for Social Sign-in

April 18, 2011

janrain-social-log-in-preferences-apr11.gifFacebook has eclipsed previous social sign-in favorite Google as the leading social sign-in (SSI) site among users of the Janrain Engage social connection service. During Q1 2011, Janrain recorded a preference for Facebook SSI among 35% of Engage users, compared to 31% who preferred Google.

SSI allows users to sign into a restricted access site using existing sign-in data, rather than having to create a new account.

No SSI Consensus Exists

Janrain analysts caution that uniform preference among social media providers simply does not exist, given that 65% of internet users on the 350,000 sampled websites prefer to use an identity other than Facebook for social sign-in. Beyond the two largest players (Facebook and Google), Yahoo (13%), Twitter (7%) and Windows Live (6%) were the leading SSI sites in Q1 2011.

Facebook Grows 30% QoQ at Google’s Expense

janrain-social-login-quarterly-apr-2011.JPGLooking at quarterly SSI preference results among Janrain Engage users since Q4 2009, it is clear that Facebook’s growth has come at the expense of a declining Google. In particular, between Q4 2010 and Q1 2011, Facebook’s preference grew about 30%, from 27% to 35%. Meanwhile, Google’s preference fell from close to 40% to 31%, or what MarketingCharts estimates as around an 18% decline.

Preference for combined “other” SSI providers has sharply declined since Q3 2010, with Twitter and Windows Live showing the most growth in SSI preference among providers beyond Facebook and Google.

Facebook, Twitter Lead Social Sharing

janrain-preferred-network-for-social-sharing-apr11.gifWhen it comes to the Janrain Engage social sharing service which helps consumers share content to their social networks, users prefer Facebook (58%) by a wide margin, distantly followed by Twitter (32%). LinkedIn follows with 13% preference. It is worth noting the top three social sharing sites are all sites specifically dedicated to social networking, whereas two of the top three SSI sites (Google and Yahoo) are not social networking sites per se.

Facebook, Google Neck-in-Neck for Mobile SSI

janrain-preferred-network-for-mobile-log-in-apr11.gifAmong mobile marketers, Facebook (35%) is virtually even with Google (34%) for SSI preference, with Yahoo coming in third (12%). Facebook is also the top preference for SSI in the music, entertainment, retail, magazine publisher, and news media verticals. Google is ranked second in every vertical except news media, where it comes in third behind Yahoo.

SSI Produces Profits

Allowing online consumers to conduct social sign-in (SSI) for an e-commerce site rather than create a new user account can produce higher levels of spending and customer satisfaction, according to a February 2010 survey Janrain and Blue Research. Data from “Importance of Identity Solutions” indicates that during the 2010 holiday season, 21% of those who consider social sign-in desirable (fans) expected to spend more than in 2009, compared to 16% of critics.

In addition, 64% of fans expected to spend more than $500 during the 2010 holiday season, compared to 61% of critics. Sixty-six percent of survey respondents were classified as fans and 34% as critics.

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