As we have all probably seen in our LinkedIn feeds lately, on 10th of December Google confirmed the closure of its Google+ API as an imminent measure: all its features will be permanently shut down within 90 days.
These news ratified the closure of the Social Network, which had already been announced in October through the company’s official blog and was scheduled for the second semester of 2019.
The decision did not come as a surprise, given Google+ has never managed to become one of the most used Social Networks. Yet, what impact will it have on brands that use Social Login? And, most importantly, which measures should we take if we depend on a Google+ Social Login for our registry or login process?
To answer this question let’s take a look at some data:
As per the results of the study by IABSpain and Elogia, during 2018 Facebook remained the primary platform for 87% of Social Networks users in Spain, followed by YouTube’s 69%, and slightly less remarkably by Instagram and Twitter with 49% and 48% respectively.
It is worth mentioning that Instagram, apparently absorbed the 4% of audience loss experienced by Facebook, comparing the numbers to 2017, while Twitter maintained its exact clientele, which may also suggest that Twitter users compose a very consolidated and loyal community.
Moreover, Instagram’s rating emerged to 8.1 points from the youngest audience – users between 16 and 23 years old – versus the overall 7.5 punctuation the rest of the Social Networks maintained.
It is also remarkable the difference on usage of each Social Network depending on users’ age: individuals between 16 and 23-years old use almost 30% less Facebook and 15% more Instagram compared to their older friends who are 24-30 y.o. This difference is even more noticeable when we compare segments with a bigger age gap.
Users between 16 and 23 are, in fact, assiduous to more Social Networks at the same time -5.6 versus overall 4.7-, being more present on Snapchat, Tumblr, Twitch and Musically among others.
However, Facebook keeps holding its position as an absolute global leader by the number of users, doubling by more than twice the number of Instagram users in Q3 2018, according to the report by We are social and Hootsuite.
From a Social Media Profiling point of view, considering which data is most useful for better understanding the lifestyle and preferences of users, our recommendations are:
Being among Top5 on usage, in Xeerpa we believe that it makes sense to consider Facebook, Instagram and Twitter fundamental networks for Social Login registry process and, from a Social Media Profiling point of viewconsidering which data is most useful for better understanding the lifestyle and preferences of users, we recommend to replace Google+ Social Logins with any of these three platforms, choosing the most adequate one based on the audience the brand wants to reach and the data that will bring the highest value to its marketing strategy.
To help you decide which platform will give you the most relevant and interesting data for your business, please find below the information that can be obtained from each Social Networks through Social Login and analysed to create individual profiles on Xeerpa Dashboards:
