Social media platforms are a vital component of any business’s marketing strategy. Some social media sites focus on written communication with other types of shared audio and video options while others center on the audio/video content with added written communication capabilities.
Marketers in India are experimenting with different platforms for different purposes but they agree that no single platform is right for all businesses. For that reason, the accepted practice is to use multiple platforms for all campaigns, though each campaign should be adjusted to the different platforms as appropriate.
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Choosing
Choosing the right platform for your brand and for the campaign that you want to run isn’t a Springbok casino bonus dice roll. You need to carefully calculate where you want to invest your resources. Start by evaluating the different platforms to assess where your customer base is. Check how each engages with different brands and note whether the platform is the appropriate online venue for the message that you want to send.
For instance, if you want to target an older audience, you should explore Facebook where many older social media users have accounts. If you want to sell clothing or cosmetics to younger women, Instagram might be a good choice because that’s a platform that places a lot of emphasis on images and fashion. If you’re reaching out to people in the business world, LinkedIn would be your best choice because that platform primarily appeals to professionals and B2B contacts.
Some of the top social media platforms for advertising in India include:
Facebook has 2.7 billion users worldwide with 346 million of them in India. That makes Facebook the biggest social media platform for people of all ages. Facebook owns Whatsapp and Instagram (see below) which makes it easy for brands to cross-market via the other platforms. Facebook hosts representatives of almost all industries including financial services, retail, entertainment, telecom, consumer goods, ecommerce, gaming, media, automotive businesses and consumer goods.
In addition to the paid advertising options Facebook also offers ways to advertise for free via business pages, chatbots, polls, promoting events, live video and the Facebook Messenger messaging service.
One of the biggest advantages of advertising via Facebook is that it gives you the widest possible customer reach.
YouTube
YouTube has 2 billion monthly active users worldwide including 225 million in India. It was the original video social media platform and still dominates the market across all age groups including the 65+ baby boomers who are traditionally viewed as the most difficult demographic to reach. Because of its wide reach YouTube is viewed by many as the best place to find information on almost any subject including beauty, education, gaming, home improvements, entertainment and more.
With video being seen as the most important growing medium for content marketing, YouTube is an important platform for Indian advertisers.
Two billion people worldwide use the Whatsapp social messaging app including 487 million in India. As a closed messaging app, it is ignored by many brands but companies who want to reach potential customers can’t afford to ignore its 98% open rate (compared to email’s 20% open rate). That makes its users a captive audience.
Marketing experts say that the potential that Whatsapp offers for customer service and retention is huge and, currently, underleveraged because it’s the most direct marketing channel in the social media world.
Instagram, owned by Facebook, has.16 billion monthly users, 201 million of them in India. Instagram has become the online “place” for product-based influencers, businesses and coaches because it gives B2Bs the opportunity to connect with huge audiences via shoppable posts. Instagram has become recognized as the social media platform that offers the biggest potential for ROI thanks to embedded product information links and sales, especially for the under 35 crowd.
Tik Tok
Tik Tok is another platform that specializes in providing content to young audiences. It hosts 689 million users monthly worldwide and 20 million in India. Yet it is the world’s fastest-growing social media platform, notably among young people – the Tik Tok app has been downloaded 2 billion times globally. Tik Tok broadcasts short-form mobile videos and users relate to the light-hearted and creative content that they can watch in the short clips. Tik Tok’s biggest advantage to advertisers is that its audience is very young and very engaged – time per user spent on the platform exceeded that of Facebook last year.
SnapChat
The real number of how many people use Snapchat is so fascinating. As of July 2021, India had the biggest Snapchat user base in the world, with an audience of 433 million out of 411 million users worldwide. Snapchat is another platform that has been particularly successful among the young demographic – the most active Snapchat users are 13-year-olds who spend typically spend half an hour or more every day on the app. Snapchat’s user-generated content and behind-the-scenes videos support advertisers and influencers who thrive on the platform.
Reddit has 430 million users and its share in the Indian social media market across India is approximately 0.16, a spike in market share in 2021 compared to 2019 when its market share was approximately 0.06. Reddit is one of the top 20 most-visited sites, serving users who are looking for content and community. Communities break off from the main Reddit platform and bond around different topics which they discuss endlessly.
For advertisers, Reddit is dream site because, thanks to the communities, it’s easy to market to exactly the niche that you want to reach – though marketing has to be done subtly because self-promotion is not acceptable.
Pinterest’s user-based is 416 million worldwide. Surprisingly, more than a quarter of them are in India where the content that includes fashion, wedding, DIY-related content, exercise, décor and food is immensely popular. The rich visuals draw mostly female users so Pinterest is a good platform for advertisers who want to reach a female audience.
While Twitter, with 353 million worldwide active users and 22 million users in India, is a much smaller platform than its competitors, its influence is significant in fields ranging from tech, politics and sports to entertainment and marketing. On Twitter users can share their content, provide information, comment and engage in conversation. Advertisers experience a high level of engagement when they use Twitter to market thanks to the opportunity that Twitter offers for them to craft their voice – informative, helpful, clever, personable, etc.
LinkedIn is a unique platform because it doesn’t try to draw in all users. Rather, the platform, with 310 million users around the world and 76 million in India connects “movers and shakers” – people in the professional world who are in positions of power and authority. It offers unlimited potential for users to connect with influential people who can help a company advance.
