Tuesday, July 26, 2011

What we can learn from the Facebook India boom



Yes, Facebook has grown to be very popular in India. So popular that it might even very well surpass Indonesia as the second largest user nation of the said social networking website in the very near future. Is that surprising? Is that interesting? Did that pique your curiosity? Whatever the case may be, we only know one thing for sure: that we have some points to learn from this Facebook India boom.


First thing that we can surmise from this surge is that more and more brands (both online and offline) employ Facebook not only as a way to enhance their products or services or their brands themselves but as a way to engage with customers. This holds true for both MTV Splitvilla and Meri Maggi, which are among the top 3 Indian brand pages on Facebook. What does this mean? It means that Indian customers want and like brands that are online, “easy to access,” which have efficient and quick customer relations personnel behind the Facebook page. It also means that Indians are more likely to avail of products and services that offer a user-friendly platform for engagement. A platform that’s familiar to them and of course, a platform where they know they have friends, relatives, business partners, acquaintances in.


Another thing that we can learn from this Facebook India boom is that this signals that people do not just use the social networking website to contact “real” or “existing” businesses or brands. People also use Facebook to signify their “liking” towards anything that’s related to their culture, tradition and religion. In the case of Facebook usage in India, the top “brand” for the month of June is, quite interestingly, the well loved and widely recognized god Lord Ganesha. Now Lord Ganesha may not be “real” (i.e. can’t be seen or touched) but Indians show that cultural beliefs also play a strong role in their usage of Facebook and other social networking websites.

So…are you ready to join the bandwagon and get your share of the pie that is Facebook India?

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