Forbes case study

1. CASE STUDY
The Authority on Business News
Forbes.com, known as one of the most trusted
sources for business and technology news on the
web, has built an extremely large and loyal readership
that relies on its authoritative content as a primary
source for news and analysis. Already reaching 30
million visitors each month, Forbes.com needed a
way to unify login options, reach social users, and
encourage engagement with the site’s vast array
of content. The company came to Gigya with the
challenge of creating a full social infrastructure on
Forbes.com to show real results such as boosting
registrations and engagement with content.
Breaking Down the Barriers to Entry
Determined to increase new user registrations and provide users
with a better site experience, Forbes partnered with Gigya to
power Social Login on Forbes.com. Social Login lets users on
the Forbes site register or log in using a preferred identity from
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social identity providers.
When doing so, users are able to register and log in seamlessly,
without needing to complete additional forms or remember
new usernames and passwords. At the same time, Forbes gains
an incredible understanding of its users via Gigya’s platform,
which collects permission-based social profile data of users who
authenticate via Social Login. By managing social identity data
with Gigya, Forbes.com is able to understand its user base on a
remarkably deep level, accessing user traits including interests,
activities, Facebook “Likes,” and location data.
Forbes.com:
Real ROI with
Social Infrastructure
SUCCESS HIGHLIGHTS
100% increase in
newly registered
users
60% increase in
comment activity
67% of new
users registerd
via Social Media
100
67
60

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Rev: Gigya_Case_Study_Forbes_062015
Once authenticated, users can easily interact with the Forbes
community by commenting on articles or following Forbes
contributors. Through sharing buttons, users can also syndicate
content to their preferred social networks and drive referral traffic
to the site using their social identities. These actions are valuable
to both users and to Forbes, creating a more robust community on
Forbes.com and providing the company with an easy way to obtain
feedback from users.
Social Proves Its Worth
Giving users the choice to log in and register via Gigya’s Social
Login proved to be a huge win for Forbes.com. The site saw
immediate and sustained impact, with new registrations climbing
nearly 100 percent after the site implemented Social Login.
Of those new registrations, 67 percent came from users
authenticating through Social Login, showcasing a critical mass of
users demanding the ability to register and log in with their social
accounts. Now, after implementing Social Login, nearly half
of all users are using a social identity to log in.
Social Login has proved to have a powerful effect not only
on registrations and login, but on engagement as well. In fact,
since implementing Gigya’s Social Login, the site has enjoyed
a significant increase in commenting activity: Comments on
Forbes.com content have increased nearly 60 percent with
the implementation of Gigya’s technology, as logged-in users
can easily comment on content using their social identities and
seamlessly follow their favorite Forbes writers.
“The impact of Gigya’s social infrastructure technology was
apparent immediately at launch,” says Steve McNally, Senior
Group Director of Editorial Tools at Forbes. “Even with little initial
promotion, we’ve seen significant growth in new members and
engagement. We continue to work with our partners at Gigya on
the best ways to take advantage of the capabilities and member
insights now available to us and our growing community.”
THE IMPACT OF
GIGYA’S SOCIAL
INFRASTRUCTURE
TECHNOLOGY WAS
APPARENT
IMMEDIATELY AT
LAUNCH. EVEN WITH
LITTLE INITIAL
PROMOTION, WE’VE
SEEN SIGNIFICANT
GROWTH IN NEW
MEMBERS AND
ENGAGEMENT.
Steve McNally
Senior Group Director of Editorial Tools,
Forbes