Developers, have your Facebook login rates been going down the tubes? In August, Facebook introduced a new login checklist to help developers optimize their apps’ Facebook login experience and improve conversion rates. Since then, Facebook has been working closely with mobile developers to implement this checklist and is reporting login conversion rates above 70% for those that comply!
These are the three best ways to give your users a more seamless Facebook login experience:
1. Only Ask for Permissions that You Need
Facebook found that it’s best to only ask for permissions that you need, which is optimally four or fewer upfront. For example, Lyft asks for access to just the public profile, friend list and e-mail address of its users. According to Frank Yoo, a Lyft product manager, the company tries not to rub customers the wrong way at signup. “We ask for a minimal set of permissions with Facebook to reduce friction at sign up,” Yoo said. Lyft manages to achieve a conversion rate of over 90% through this practice.
2. Do Not Display the Login Dialog Again Immediately After Someone Cancels
If someone cancels the login dialog, don’t display it again too quickly or else the user might become become frustrated and you might see a higher bounce rate. Instead, you can try to highlight the benefits of using the Facebook login upfront. For example, you could explain that using Facebook login helps users better connect with their friends and interests.
3. Wait to Ask for Permission to Publish to Facebook Only When People Are Ready to Share in Your App
Don’t hit your fans with every permission up front. Instead of prompting for publishing permissions directly after gaining read access, it’s best to wait until your users are ready to share. For example, Foursquare, which also sees a conversion rate over 90%, only asks for permissions to publish updates to Facebook after a user indicates they are ready to share a check-in or status update.
According to Facebook’s Developer Blog:
In addition to mobile apps, websites and third party SDKs can also optimize their Facebook Login experience using our checklist. For example, Expedia.com only asks for publish permissions after people purchase a plane ticket and want to share their itinerary with their friends. We’ve also been working closely with Gigya and Janrain to optimize Facebook Login in their products.
Developers: Use these best practices to start tapping into the virality of Facebook’s audience instead of sending users running for the hills to take cover from invasive and noisy apps!