Influence and Impact: Social Media Driving Change in India

Advancements and globalization of digital platforms and social media technologies is empowering people across the globe to participate, and share content online. India has experienced technology as a vehicle in aiding social change through social media.  The growth of social media outlets is changing behaviors, perceptions, and attitudes as the ease and growth of online social technologies induce audiences to become digital activists; changing user behavior from passive to active, non-participatory to avid participation, and enabling users with a voice that was otherwise unknown or untapped.  The power of social media and its impacts on individuals, businesses, and society in India has provided an equal opportunity to voice thoughts, opinions, and share information. The increase of usage and ease of entry provides an attractive interface for anyone to become a creator or advocate of information and ideas by using blogs, micro-blogs, social sharing, and networking sites.

 Social Media for Peer to Peer: The popularity of social networks has created a new trend of social sharing where individuals can recommend to groups of people products, services, information and ideas. The online peer-influence factor virally spreads as visible feedback channels engage, encourage and promote peers to be more participative and interact.  It’s no surprise that micro-blogging sites like Twitter share the breaking news faster than the traditional media channels, as more and more people are using it not only for live streaming of their personal events but most importantly as an information sharing medium and a collective knowledge sharing channel with other people across the world.

Social Media for Business to Consumer: For brands and marketers, social media introduces both opportunities and challenges. Brands are now able to listen to and address both compliments and complaints made by fellow or future consumers enabling the brand or marketer to respond to and interact with the public.   In India, eight out of 10 people from urban areas who buy cars use the internet to search for information on brands and products before making a purchase. A major driver for businesses to use the social media marketing is the low-cost model compared to traditional marketing channels. Predictions for Business to Consumer marketing via social media in India indicates that more marketers will be adopting social media strategies as a new marketing medium and engagement channel to interact with current and prospective consumers.  For businesses in India, monitoring social interaction behaviors, brand reputation, and current and prospective consumer expectations will help the company to build long-term relationships, create loyal communities of brand advocates, and engage in a dialogue with people interested in the product, brand, or service.

Social Media for Social Change: Social media has empowered people in Indian society to spread perspectives on social causes and change, participation in digital activisms, and support and information sharing in crisis situations. Cultural adoption and availability/understanding of technology prove to be an obstacle for many in underdeveloped areas of India.

Social Media and Behavior: The increase in the use of social media sites will allow for researchers to observe the behaviors of the population engaging in social media. Understanding behaviors will allow for researchers and businesses to track behavioral change patterns, market trends, content consumption patterns, and social changes through technology. Through better placement of advertisements to targeted audiences, monitoring behaviors via social media will help companies reduce the total number of ads served for the same or better result, thus reducing costs. In addition, through web analytics and modeling derived from website user behavior companies will be able to translate the data into actionable business intelligence that can be implemented to deliver better results.

Predictions for Social Media in India:

Text-Based Social Media: Mobile text and application capabilities, such as SMS and Twitter, are becoming more affordable and available, thus adoption of mobile social networking across India increasing. Subscriber growth in India will continue, driven by rural expansion, entry of newer operators, 3G and cheaper handsets. Flat-rate data plans will also accelerate the use of mobile media. InformationWeek has projected a significant transformation in Media, Technology & Telecommunications over the next 10 years because of Wireless Social Networking Revolution. Technology, Media & Telecom represents approximately 5% of global GDP, and with the growing population in India, Indians are expected to have a better chance of capitalizing on developing social media mobile trends.

“Citizen Journalism” : The power of citizen journalism became ever so present during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.  Indian media has been increasingly willing to integrate citizen journalism in its news coverage and India is expected to see a continuation of these trends throughout 2009.

Indian General Elections: Social media, online and mobile, will serve as an inflection point in the general elections in India. Interaction with the younger generations in India has launched a popularity and engagement to “get out the vote”. Specifically, Twitter and other mobile based applications will play an important role in future general elections, both in the campaigning and in the coverage of the elections.

Social Media Connectedness in India

Foreign companies looking to enter the exploding Indian Social Media realm have surprisingly few country-specific leaders to follow. In the “India Social Media Survey Report – Edition 1,” www.blogworks.in and www.exchange4media.com found that only 15% of Indian marketers/companies had a fairly good understanding (at best) of the Social Media environment and impacts.

Of course, the proverbial wheel has already been invented elsewhere. Can companies simply use tactics that work well elsewhere (e.g., the U.S.) in India? The answer may depend upon how universally held this idea is:

• Social Media brings disconnected people together, allowing them to overcome busy schedules, geographic distances, and otherwise compartmentalized and complex lives to communicate with one another. It also breaks down the walls between individuals and corporations, creating the opportunity for true conversation.

What if people in India are not as disconnected from one another in their non-digital lives as they are in the U.S.? Would real-world connectedness alter the way they behaved in Social Media interactions with companies? In an interview about Social Media between Kamla Bhatt and the authors of the above referenced survey, Anurag Batra and Rajesh Lalwani, the following point was made:

“Indians engage so much with each other offline, online it does not play that important a role as it does in many of the western countries where offline engagement may in fact be less.”

Facebook and Orkut are certainly popular in India, so there’s clearly a desire to continue offline community online. But if we see Social Media interconnectedness in India as a continuation rather than replacement, it follows that social media interactions between individuals and corporations that leverage offline brand touchpoints might be the best approach in that country.

-Gregg Rapaport

Communicate where your customers live

Communicate in your customers channels.

Breaking into a new global market using social media requires more than just finding your target audience it requires finding the right channels where your customers are having their conversations.

For example in India Twitter and Facebook have a large market penetration but the Western sites don’t reach all users in India. SMSGupShup is an instant message service similar to Twitter that has 20 million users up from 7 million last year. The SMS service charges a variable fee for sending text messages and unlike Twitter is creating revenue each month.

SMSGupShup is the world’s largest and fastest growing social messaging platform and accounts for 400 million monthly text messages, around 5 percent of the total Indian market. India’s has 400 million mobile phone users.

For global brands wanting to penetrate new markets companies need to find the right channels and communicating where your customers exist.

Model Citizen

The use of mobile technology has made India into the Model Citizen (journalist). In November of last year, gun shots were fired in theTaj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel in Mumbai. The images of the terrorist acts were captured and shared via mobile technology. The devastation from the terrorist act transformed India into the model of how technology is transforming people into citizen journalists, adding a new dimension to the news media.

“The cameras and phones carried by people swept up in the attacks were not subject to any such rules. Mr. Shanbhag photographed one of the fires at the Taj hotel and the wreckage outside a popular cafe that was attacked on Wednesday and posted them on his Flickr stream. Some people transmitted video from inside the Taj hotel to news networks via cellphones. And reporters used cellphones to send text messages to hotel guests who had set up barricades in their rooms.”

It is no coincidence that India is the perfect case study for citizen journalism. There are over 400 million mobile phones in use in India, making it the second largest country with the number of mobile phones, behind only China but ahead of the United States. As the terrorist attack escalated, US news coverage was basically nonexistent as a result of major financial cuts on foreign news desks. CNN was the only major news network to have a reporter on the ground; thus, making mobile phones the best way to capture the images of the assaults.

Beyond the visual imagery, people began micro-blogging through their Twitter accounts about the events, using their mobile phones. Twitter uses a SMSes of the mobile phones and, with over 6 million subscribers at the time, it made Mumbai the perfect storm to cover for citizen journalists to emerge.

Beyond Mumbai, companies and news organizations can empower the citizens of India to boast about brands, capture images, report the news and have conversations within India. It is likely news organizations will create platforms like iReport.com on CNN and track stories through conversation on social media tools like Twitter. Channel V, the Asian MTV, has tried to mobilize young adults through www.myindiareport.in/.

Reuters is using mobile phones to provide a subscription service to farmers in rural India, where they can obtain a more accurate price on their crops by dispatching reporters into the region to report the right information at the right time to ensure success of what’s occurring with the global market. This sort of platform can level the playing field and spur economic growth.

What is even more amazing is the current infrustructure and the capacity for growth for mobile phones is still huge with only 35 percent of the market actually owning one. Social media and active citizens reporting the news is still in its infancy in India, but the potential is limitless with the number of mobile phones already introduced in the market place. Marketers and news organizations would be foolish not to recognize the potential to harness mobile technology to empower the people of India.

Twitter, Citizen Journalism, and the Mumbai Attacks

Last year, the world saw how citizen journalists used Twitter to report on the November 26 terror attacks in Mumbai as they unfolded. In addition to learning about the attacks, the public also learned about the power that individuals can have to communicate information to a large audience.

Twitter became the most useful source of real-time information about the attacks, according to blogger Gaurav Mishra, and the number of posts jumped to as many as 1,000 in an hour on the day of the attacks. The Daily Telegraph stated that there were up to 70 Tweets every five seconds at one point.  (The Times of India reported two million unique website visits from readers looking for information on the attacks.)

Snapshot of volume of Twitter posts during Mumbai attacks. Source: gauravonomics.com

“Twitter quickly become the de facto source for on-ground intelligence for mainstream media, and the few citizen journalists on-site in Mumbai become in-demand pundits overnight,” Mishra wrote.

A day after the attacks, international organizations were covering the social media element of the attacks, in addition to the attacks themselves. Mishra states that while most Indians were getting their information about the attacks through Indian television networks, the world was getting the information from the Twitter posts.

Although Twitter has shown to be a very useful tool to communicate short bursts of information in real-time, there are also drawbacks. During the terror attacks last year, media around the world were relying on messages sent via Twitter to learn more about the unfolding situation. Unfortunately, the immediacy of such lightning fast communication in a chaotic, stressful situation also resulted in confusion when contradictory or incorrect information was tweeted. News organizations were reporting confirmed and unconfirmed reports, including CNN and the The Daily Telegraph. Both restated unconfirmed reports that the Indian government asked Twitter users to stop sending messages (the Telegraph said the report was “alleged”). The report was never attributed to a named source, and the BBC included it on a blog post discussing myths surrounding coverage of the attacks and the use of social media tools as part of the reporting.

Though not widely reported here, users of SMSGupShup, a leading India-based SMS-based service similar to Twitter, also posted their own updates. Company CEO Beerud Shuth has said the service has over 20 million local users.

In a crisis, individuals and organizations often need to rely on the most expedient method of communicating important information and obtaining help. Increasingly, that means the use of social media tools.  Because these tools are relatively new and evolving, the rules for using them are changing daily, with organizations trying to balance the need to provide accurate and timely information against the need to keep up with technology.  

The usefulness of Twitter as an information dissemination tool cannot be denied. As its use increases, it is important that corporate and government organizations (including first-responders), along with mainstream news organizations, continue to update their codes of conduct and operating procedures to incorporate Twitter-use policies, and for organizations to use and produce information judiciously.

Indian Youth, the Future of the Internet

 India is the 7th largest country by geographical area, the 2nd most populous country and the most populous democracy in the world. According to Comscore, Over 28 million people in India, age 15 and older, accessed the net from home and work locations in May 2008 — a 27 percent increase from a year ago. Those age 15-24 were the heaviest internet users among all age segments, spending nearly 12 hours online per month on average.

Web sites, blogs and social networking sites are being utilized by Indian youth with online access to learn about new products and new trends. Windchimes Communications, a social media agency based India, recently conducted a survey representative of 3 Indian cities; Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, which asked the following question.

How much time do you spend everyday on blogs, social networking and uploading photos and videos?

  Based on this survey more than 1/3rd of the respondents spend more than 30 minutes everyday on social media sites. Currently, the social networking space in India is a two horse race with Orkut and Facebook holding most of the market share. Facebook recently added six new Indian languages (Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu) and the company hopes this will help close the gap between it and Orkut. Several Indian social networking sites exist but they do not have nearly as much traffic.

“In India the young person’s influence in family purchase decisions is high. Anything to do with technology? He is God. The decision of which brand of mobile phone, flat-screen TV or two-wheeler to buy can be swayed by the resident youth in the family.”
Aarti Joshi, Lecturer, Shri Leuva Patel Trust Sanchalit MBA Mahila College

Consumerism, or the desire to consume, is rampant among Indian youth. Indeed, the youth market (14-25 years) is the largest consumer segment in India. Indian youth currently hold a massive $2.8 billion in discretionary income.

This means that companies and brands that want to be successful in India must target youth as one of their primary audiences, and they will need to have significant online presence to ensure that users find them when they are searching or researching online. Just having a web presence won’t be enough – if companies really want to engage consumers they must have a presence in communities, discussion forums, blogs and on networking sites that cater to youth.

Can social media be the great equalizer in India?

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Look inside any college classroom in the United States and you may very well find a student from India. The second most populous country in the world ranks number one in the number of international students in the United States. The most recent study by the International Institute of Education found that India sends nearly 95,000 students to the U.S. to study.

Nearly 95,000 Indians study at U.S. colleges

In America, the opportunity to pursue a college degree cuts across all boundaries—racial, social, and cultural. Community colleges are open access, allowing anyone who wants to learn to have the opportunity to earn a college degree. Federal financial aid helps put college within reach of the most needy. Historically black colleges and universities offer greater opportunities for African American students.

Despite India’s great strides in technology and innovation, a college education is not a given. The separation between the haves and the have-nots often times comes down to a person’s caste. For Americans, the caste system is complicated and confusing. I personally have quizzed my Indian friends to try and understand the system, but I still can’t fathom why this seemingly outdated classification continues to persist even in these modern times.

The statistics are startling. As recent as 2000, the fifth class known as the Dalits (or “untouchables”) had only 5 percent of its male population as college graduates. For women, the percentage of college graduates was 1.67.

Stories abound about the discrimination Dalits and other lower castes face in schools and in society, but the country’s own Constitution outlaws such treatment and the courts have backed it up.

The caste system still exists in India

Hope may be on the horizon for social media and technology to become the “great equalizer.” Cell phones are becoming commonplace in India with tens of millions of people from all classes paying hard earned money for the chance to communicate. While Internet use is strongest in the cities, the country’s overall usage continues to grow and the cell phones provide an affordable tool for accessing social media.

Blogger and writer Gadi Amit sees mobile phones (don’t call them cell phones, he says) as the tool that could literally connect the entire world. As he sees it,

“for roughly $100-200B, we could guarantee that all of humanity is connected, accounted for, and enjoying digital life, regardless of gender, race or national origin.”

By giving everyone a mobile phone, regardless of their caste or their income, Amit believes seven areas would greatly benefit:
• Government
• Social policy
• Emergency
• Medical
• Education
• Commerce
• Global economic recovery

Brahmin community on Orkut

But before you get out your checkbook to buy the world mobile phones, blogger
Gaurav Mishra gives some thoughtful considerations about the caste system inside of social media. Orkut, the top social media site in India and conveniently available on a mobile phone, has a large number of caste-based groups, allowing Indians to perpetuate their caste society and stratification.

I went into my research on India believing that social media could provide the country’s citizens with an opportunity to develop friendships beyond societal boundaries, but it seems that social media will only go so far. It will take each citizen’s own actions online and in-person to truly dissolve the centuries-old system and build a caste-less society. For any company headed to India, romantic notions of their brand crossing caste lines must be tempered with reality. It can be done… just look at the mobile phones… but there is no guarantee.

Is Twitter the next big thing in emerging markets research?

If you’re interested in doing business in India, a quick browse at the Most Influential Twitter Users in India list will guide you in the right direction. Compiled by SEO Consultant, Mani Karthik, The Best 50 list reads like a Who’s Who of Internet and social media entrepreneurs.

Little birdie knows what’s booming…

Twitter sure is the next big thing (well, it already is). Some peeps find it boring and waste of time but there are a handful of “Tweeple” who make the best out of it. They have people flocking them, and ReTweeting their tweets. Simply put – they are the most influential Twitter users in India.

The list ranks Tweeple by calculating their influence based on the following three criteria:

• Number of followers
• Power of their network and
• Frequency/pace of updates

What struck me as most useful for companies aspiring to do business in India, is just how closely the list reflects the phenomonal growth of the technology-based industries in India, dominated as it is by Internet and technology sector entrepreneurs. They tweet in English and following them and reading more about their businesses could provide valuable insights into how and where to market to Indians online.

Five reasons for US technology companies to set up in India:

1. R&D costs are much lower than in the US
2. India has an abundance of science and technology talent
3. Attractive tax benefits
4. Time difference is ideal – as Americans go home, Indians are starting their day and customers get seamless 24-hour service
5. Workforce is highly educated and speaks English

Read more here.

Using Twitter to follow locals like #6, Angsuman Chakraborty (who has a Web site for his business, a blog, a Linkedin profile and is a self-declared “social media enthusiast…”) is a relatively easy way to learn about the Indian market. The beauty of Twitter is that you can quickly connect with complete strangers and engage in a two-way conversation. You can ask questions, take the conversation on to email or even offline (by mutual consent) without having to get a personal introduction.

Finnish company and global leader in mobile phone handsets, Nokia, is a good example of a foreign technology business success story in India. Nokia’s market share is as high as 70% in some mobile phone handset segments and about 58% overall – well ahead of the competition. Not only did Nokia get in early, but the company was smart enough to do its homework and tailor its product to the Indian market by offering handsets that double as flashlights for example.

Ravi Bapna, professor of information systems at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, says:

As far as Nokia’s India strategy is concerned, the numbers speak for themselves. The company is a key cog in India’s wireless value chain, and it has used India as its emerging market lab.

Obviously Twitter provides just a snapshot in time but when you look at the Best 50 list, it is clear that right now in India it seems to have real traction with entrepreneurs in the Internet and technology sectors. Twitter is not a bad place to start just to see who’s who and who’s doing what in your sector of interest – it’s free, you have nothing to lose and potentially lots of valuable, market-specific insights to gain – straight from the frontline. As with any social media tool, be sure to pick your ‘market experts’ carefully and do some additional research to establish their credibility. Who knows, you could be the next Nokia-style success story in India.

Could Twitter and GupShup Become Life Lines in India?

The horrific attacks in Mumbai gave the world a preview of the potential impact social media has on the nation of India.

Just moments after the news of the terrorist attacks broke, the social media environment became flooded with flickr photos, eyewitness tweets, Facebook messages, and user-generated video reports.

According to CNN, an estimated 80 tweets were being sent via SMS every five seconds, providing eyewitness accounts and updates.

And while many Twitter users sent pleas for blood donors to visit specific hospitals in Mumbai during and after the attacks, the Indian Red Cross Society did not appear to use Twitter or any other social media platform to reach potential donors.

Humanitarian organizations in India like the Red Cross should take note of the fact that social media can be an effective way to engage both citizens and donors.

Here’s why:

1. Low cost: The economic downturn has resulted in fewer donors and cuts to marketing budgets.  More non-profits in India will need to begin relying on low-cost marketing tools like social media to reach donors in a meaningful way.
2. Efficient. Emergency information can be distributed to citizens and donors more quickly through social media channels, particularly through microblogging services such as Twitter.  Even optimized press releases can take hours to reach a target audience during a critical period.  Social media is instantaneous and viral.
3. Engaging.  Nothing pulls at donors’ heartstrings like images of their fellow citizens.  YouTube videos and photos on flickr can serve as powerful tools to motivate donors to become more involved in a cause or specific campaign.

There are over 1 million Twitter users in India, sending 3 million messages per day.  SMS GupShup, a Twitter-like service in India, has 20 million members sending over 10 million messages per day.

The Indian Red Cross Society could have made a call for blood donors via Twitter and GupShup seconds after the Mumbai attacks.  Including a link in the message could have led donors to locations in Mumbai where donations were needed.

Further, these “Red Cross authenticated” messages could have helped potential blood donors avoid confusion given the multitude of blood donation-related tweets that emerged after the attacks.

Mumbai taught us that, during times of strife, people across India are willing to help and have stories to tell.  It’s up to humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross to empower these citizens with the right tools to reach out and share these experiences.

Word of mouth marketing through social media

Studies indicate that close to 40 million Indians are online. So what are these people doing online? How important is social media to them?  Is social media impacting their purchase behavior? A recent study conducted by Windchimes polled Indians from Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore between the ages of 18-35.

Product & Services Information

When asked which medium do they use when they want information on products or services, 63% said the Internet (blogs, social networking sites & Web sites) followed by television at 23%.

When asked which medium they use to find out about the latest trend, 58% said Internet, followed by television at 26%.

Surfing the Internet is also slowly taking over television as the preferred source of news and way to spend past-time.

A company trying to engage with the Indian audience through social media will need to have a significant online presence to ensure that users can locate them when they are searching or researching online. Having only a company Web site will no longer suffice. Here’s why.

75% of those polled stated that comments left on blogs and in communities influence their purchase decision, not information from the company site. 

Trends

Once the company has created a significant online presence by connecting with social networking sites and blogs, the company must monitor its brand reputation, reach out to consumers and be an active voice by creating dialogue in social media forums by responding to consumer praise as well as complaints.

Indians have moved from a passive to an active form of engagement. They are more prone to reading online reviews from their peers rather than listening to “experts” on television or reading them in newspapers before carrying out their purchase.  Fact finding on social media networks is becoming the first level of research in India, much like Google and now, blogs are for the American audience.

Think about it. Word of mouth is the number method of influencing  consumer behavior. Social networking has provided companies with a way of delivering their messages to the masses. The only difference between word of mouth and social media is the medium in which the messages are being delivered and the scope of its reach. Reputation management is key. It only takes a few bad reviews with no rebuttal from the company for a product to fall off of the radar. With that said, once a company has gained the attention of the Indian audience, it should keep it by always keeping the lines of communication and dialogue within the social networking forums open.

Why the Indian sub-continent should not be underestimated

(^MK) India is a surprising country; on the one hand India is known for great poverty and underfed children, on the other hand India surprises the Western world with its advanced information technology and highly respected scientists.  With more than one billion citizens, India ranks as the second-most populous country in the world (#1: China).

While the entire world focuses on and praises China for its economic weight and civil advancement, the German government shifted its focus among Asian countries towards India in 2007. German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched the Indo-German Science Express train that visited more than 50 cities and towns in India to promote the close German-Indian cooperation in sciences. Why is this all important? Because it outlines a market with great economic growth; hence India is one of the potential growth markets for social media.

Importantly for the growth of social media is a free and uncensored access to the Internet. The Republic of India not only ranks as the second-most populous country in the world, it also represent’s the world’s largest democracy. This is a necessary condition for the development of social media.

India has an advanced information technology infrastructure. There are 362,3 million mobile cellular phones in use (as of 2009). This ranks India #3 compared with the rest of the world. In 2007 there were 80 million Internet users, which ranked India #5 in comparison with the rest of the world.  By way of illustration, the U.S. is ranked #3 with 223 million Internet users, China #1 (253M), European Union #2 (247M), Russia #12 (30M), and Sweden #36 (7M). With 2,7 million Internet hosts India ranked #25 in comparison with the rest of the world. By way of illustration, the U.S. is ranked #1 with 316M, Japan #2 (39,9M), Germany #3 (22,6M), Russia #15 (4,8M), Sweden #20 (3,6M). These numbers are all retrieved from the CIA Worldfact Book. In recent years bandwidth grew dramatically, significant trunk capacity was added in the form of fiber-optic cable. One of the world’s largest domestic satellite system (INSAT) satisfies telecommunications and broadcasting. Additionally, India is the leading provider of business outsourcing services to the US, Canadian and European markets, with over 1,28 Employed (2007) within the sector, India’s numerous technologically focused universities provide a large educated market for social media outlets.

In order for brands to position their products better to the Indian market, marketers should be aware of India as one of the fastest growing cell phone markets. A CNET news article from early 2007 states that about 13% of the people in India have a cell phone. Today, nearly three years later, India has got a cell phone penetration of 32% (I used the total Indian population of 1,166,079,217 and the previously mentioned number of cell phones in use in India for calculation)! By way of illustration, the U.S. has a cell phone penetration of 83%, France 89%, Germany 111%. It is estimated that the cell phone penetration will increase dramatically, with 18 million subscribes each year.

Another trend besides cell phone usage is micro-blogging: Twitter is popular in India, which makes Indians  #9 active Twitter users in comparison with other nations, such as the U.S. Additionally to Twitter a Sysomos study reveals SMS GupShup as atwitter-like service with more than 20 million users. This micro blogging site can only be accessed through SMS. Both, the heavy penetration of cell phones and a micro blogging-friendly culture, are strong indicators for an integrated marketing strategy.

India has got huge potential for marketing brands and products through social media. And yes, English is the official business language, with the country having a literacy level of 65,7%.

Our class literature Kiss, Bow, Or Shake Hands by Morrison and Conaway outlines India as a country with diverse religions, cultural habits and last but not least 14 other official languages besides Hindi. This could definitely cause a challenge for a nation-wide social media campaign.

It’s Whats in the Middle That Counts

After the U.S. and China, India ranks as the 3rd largest consumer market in the world!  That being said, it is not surprising that there lies enormous profit potential for companies looking to market to the people of India IF done correctly.

One key insight that brands should consider when looking to use social media to market to India is the ever-growing population of the “Middle-class”.  Some have reported an estimated 350 million “Middle-Class” people in the country while other experts report that that figure is a myth and in fact, (by American standards) there is only approximately 60 million “Middle Class” people living in India.  At any rate,  McKinsey and company predicts that by 2025 there will be 500 million middle-class Indians.  These reports offer a significant enough figures for any company or brand to seriously consider when proposing a marketing plan for their product or service in India.

Wikipedia defines middle class as:

The broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socioeconomically between the working class and upper class. This socioeconomic class encompasses the sub-classes of lower middle, middle middle, and upper middle, and includes professionals, highly skilled workers, and management. As in all socioeconomic classes, the middle class is associated with a shared and complex set of cultural values… In other class societies, middle class refers to people between the laboring masses and the ruling class.

Focusing on the right target audience and researching the behaviors and interests of that market will be the first step in any brand succeeding in marketing in India.  Companies who focus on this target group from a marketing standpoint will be positioning themselves for success, but what is the BEST approach to take to appealing to this audience?

The Middle Class has proven to be the drivers and innovators of  changes in India and what they like and prefer is clearly setting the precedence of what is demand and what is not in this country. The acquisition of  credit, cars (in which they can be chauffeured), condominiums and vacations are a few elements that are driving forces among this demographic group.

Appealing to these interests in such away that promotes Indian culture and values is what is fast proving to be the most effective strategy.  In other words, products that cater to the needs and interests of the people and making them  “Indian-friendly”.   For example:  Instead of chicken Nuggets, market Chick-pea nuggets.

On a final note, the readings suggest that Indians appreciate subtly and indirectness in their consumer marketing/advertising.  Using Social Media platforms, particularly those that  an be accessed by cell phone, can prove to offer the subtly and indirectness that is most appreciated in Indian culture as opposed to traditional media tactics because the content will be created and accessed by the people who are interested instead of being force fed to everybody at once.

Facebook, LinkedIn, and Mobile Phones in India

On July 2, Facebook announced a developer contest for India allowing Indian developers to show off their “web development skills by creating Facebook applications and Facebook Connect Integrations” with cash prizes distributed for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners.

India was not randomly chosen for this contest.  There are many intelligent, entrepreneurial software designers and computer savvy people in India who have yet to be reached by Silicon Valley.  Additionally, online social networking is very popular and on the rise in India.  Chilli Breeze Indian blogger Sreehari believes that, “Indians are in my opinion the loudest proponents of the Aristotelian theory of ‘Man being a social animal’… And we are inherently conditioned to search for others like us. Social Networking works out well for us in this regard, because it offers an interest-based segregation of individuals.”

Engineer and Manager of the Facebook platform, Ruchi Sangvi says that “India ranks second in the number of software developers with 3.9 million software developers… Facebook has experienced a tremendous growth in India.”  Facebook strategically chose India for this contest not only to increase usage of Facebook over Orkut (which is currently the leading social networking site in India), but also to increase usage of Facebook worldwide through the use of new and innovative apps made by brilliant minds (that have cash prize incentives…not too shabby!).

A little known “secret” is that LinkedIn will soon follow Facebook’s open platform for app development according to Reid Hoffman.  Hoffman, co-founder and chairperson of LinkedIn, has high aspirations for his business networking site.  In an interview with Kamla Bhatt, Hoffman confesses that LinkedIn will soon open its platform for users to create useful business-related apps.  He believes this will positively add to functionality and create new interfaces for its users worldwide.

A few months ago, LinkedIn launched its very own iPhone app.  This is particularly important for India where mobile phones are on the rise (particularly SmartPhones).  Additionally, LinkedIn has created new abilities for its groups function and Hoffman promises that there are more big releases to be announced in the near future.  I will certainly stay tuned!

The addition of a LinkedIn iPhone app is definitely on the right track to further penetrate the market in India. India is the world’s fastest growing mobile phone market with 400 million mobile phone users currently, and 10 million additional subscribers per month.  Further, NPR reported in 2007 that people in India weren’t just using their mobile phones for business, but for entertainment purposes as well, including music and video downloading and sharing (since Broadband internet access is not universally available), and even dating.

The Huffington Post reports that it is India’s youth that is helping to fuel the increase.  Although teen and young adult dating in India is still taboo and PDA is looked down upon, the mobile phone is “extending the possibilities of romance for a whole cloistered generation. It is becoming a symbol of freedom from parental power and a rite of passage in urban India.”

Even though teens and young adults from India are focused on using their mobile for dating and flirting with memebers of the opposite sex (which would otherwise be forbidden), I am confident that this will only lead to further innovation from this young generation as they age.  With early exposure to mobile phones (especially the SmartPhone) to get what they want, these youngsters will realize what potential it holds.  It is wise for us all to keep our eye on India, as I believe that we have yet to see the depth of what innovative technological assets they bring to the social networking table.

Branding And The Caste

The Indian caste system has been in use for many years. Although some Indians (generally the younger generation) fight to change the system, most accept it for what it is. Caste refers to the breed, race or kind of person. Indians expect people to respect the caste system and often marry and die within their caste.

This is generally not an issue in India because Indians put more weight in feelings and emotions opposed to hard facts. Indians respect the opinions of family members and friends and do not tend to go against their wishes.

There are five different levels of the system:
• Brahman: the priestly or “occupational” class
• Kshatriya: Warriors and rulers, senators, presidents, majors, born from the chest of Brahman.
• Vaishya: Farmers, merchants, lawyers, doctors
• Shudra: Unskilled workers
• Harijans: Untouchable or child of God.

Indians are becoming accustomed to getting products built for their needs. They are realizing and enjoying the fact that brands are customizing their products to suit Indian’s individual desires. Shouldn’t the messaging and social media be the same?

In order to be successful throughout India, tailoring messages to individual castes – without patronizing one could benefit the brand. Because Indians like to do for themselves, often refusing help from others, they will appreciate the fact that the brands are understanding and accepting of their culture – without being insulting or crossing the line.

Rural is the Way

It’s all about potential. Any brand wanting to tap into an Indian market,  has the opportunity to grow widespread if targeting the rural areas of India. Let’s paint the picture.

It is a devastatingly lower  number of online users in India, so launching a full online media campaign to reach the Indian market would lack visibility to an overall target audience. Statistics show that only about 1 in 10 Indians use the Internet on a regular basis. All in all that is roughly 100  million people tapping into the online world. This is an insignificant comparison to the excessively large mobile phone users, which on average receives 8 million new subscribers each year.  Which is why a promising influx of mobile marketing has taken off in India. Yet, many companies have been apprehensive about looking to this medium due to the National Do Not Disturb (NDND) Registry of telecom regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) which seeks to curb unsolicited commercial communications (UCCs).

Why not entirely online? The  infrastructure is one of the biggest setbacks in growing the Internet usage in India. Phone cables and lines are usually old and have poor quality. In rural areas, however, there is literally no connection at all. This has been one of the actual contributing factors for wireless phone services prosperity.

Second, the target audience for most consumer products are feeling the brunt of the economic downturn.  These are the online users specifically in those metropolitan areas of India. Yet, it is a massive and untapped demographic open for contact. Many companies are now focusing their efforts to reach the rural areas in India. Rural areas form 72% of the total households, which means 720 million customers that companies and brands could target.

If you’re going to reach them, the Indian Knowledge @ Wharton,  best described it has using the four A’s: Affordability, awareness, availability and acceptability. You have to reasonably price your products. In order for rural Indians to generate any conversation or loyalty to your brand, they have to be able to afford it.  ITC or the Indian Tobacco Company has been able to prosper from this very idea. An ITC representative states that,

“The level of affordability in rural India is low. For consumers to buy products, you have to first put more money in their pockets. We are creating a virtuous circle of higher income, higher productivity and higher consumption.”

Companies are going to have to make an investment to connect with the people in rural communities.  If they choose to invest in social media outlets, they have to understand how to reach them. It may take some groundwork before being able to generate online socially. Yet, if asking Vijay Rayapati, the people of India would love companies and brands to have more of a social presence.

Web 2.0 Goes Bollywood-for GOOD

Paper Planes by M.I.A.M.I.A. Paper Planes

Many Indian NGOs are abuzz online, using social media—particularly Web 2.0 (or mobile) technology—for social change. In India, Web 2.0; and mobile technology seems fated to catapult funding for India-based cause initiatives and among one group in particular—the Buntys and Bablis—the fastest growing market in India, and potentially the most influential consumer market in the world.

The real Indian market does not lie in the metros or the villages, according to Ashok Rajgopal of Earnst & Young, who believes that the Indian urban growth story until now has been driven largely by metros. And contrary to popular belief, it is not the urban Indian who drives trends, but the long-ignored Buntys and Bablis who collectively comprise the future market, not just of India, but arguably of the world. “Bunty and Babli” are popular names for boys and girls in small-town India, drawing their inspiration from a 2005 Bollywood film titled Bunty Aur Babli, which follows the wild road trip of its two ambitious title characters, whose origins lie in small Indian towns.

Fifty-one districts in India have at least one town with a population of more than 500,000. Together, they have twice the market potential of the four metros (Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata) combined. And this year, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) says the ratio of spending to earning is higher in Tier II towns such as Nagpur, Jaipur, Surat and Coimbatore than it is in the metros. Here, over 23 million Indians – more than the population of Australia – will number among the country’s wealthiest citizens.TrendsNiff reports that India’s population is 1 billion people with more than 200M mobile phone users. This figure is growing at nearly 100% year-on-year, and rural subscriber growth is taking the lion’s share of it. Additionally, roughly 73% of mobile Indian consumers are spending online which means there is no cultural or widespread aversion to engaging in online transactions.

The article, “Emerging Rural Mobile Market in India,” provides extensive research on the growing marketplace for mobile industry in rural India, which is expected to surpass 500 Million users by 2010 with an addition of about 5M to 6M subscribers every month.

Reliance Mobile — which has an active subscriber base of over 35M and 20M Reliance World application enabled hand-sets — executed a pan-India ad campaign from mid August to mid September, 2007, on Reliance Mobile’s phone network for Fari and Lovely Scholarships, which generated around 50,000 leads—60% were from tier II and III cities.

Nokia has recently launched a range of services called Nokia Life Tools currently for India only, and designed specially for the consumers in small towns and rural areas of India. Nokia, too, recognizes India as one of top emerging mobile markets.

The WATblog believes mobiles become more powerful and networks become faster, it opens up the vast world of the Internet to mobile advertising, but could mobile giving be next?

Using mobile technology, people can give $5 from any country in a matter of seconds using their handset. According Jim Manis, President and CEO, Mobile Giving Foundation, “Half a million dollars were given via mobile last year, so mobile giving is showing great promise,” he said. “It’s a great way for non-profits to raise money, communicate with donors and engage them wherever they are.”

In a recent article by SocialEdge, three mobile trends empowering social entrepreneurs in emerging markets included: reporting and response to human rights violations; access to opportunities and knowledge; and giving communities new ways of addressing issues and contributing to the health of the community.

The Indian spirit of giving can be linked to religion, and even Indians living abroad have been influenced by Western philanthropic ideals. And according to the Charities Aid Foundation, the Oxford-educated second and third generations of the wealthy Indians abroad, as well as the rural Buntys and Bablis in India, want to be innovative in their philanthropy. Mobile technology has the potential to facilitate this desire by changing the sources and forms of traditional giving via mobile technology.

Historically speaking, many Indians do share a widespread distrust for NGO’s due to a lack of accountability for the way donations have been managed in the past. Therefore, Indian NGOs need to build public credibility with greater transparency in their operations; and technology-based solutions for rural areas will allow prospective donors to channel philanthropic contributions, and will have a significant effect on helping to increase the volume of donations received by Indian causes.

Perhaps organizations like our next client should consider implementing a text-to-give option which allows mobile users in India and abroad to engage in the typically small mobile donations that can add up to major revenue.

Any mobile giving Plan for this market; however, should account for the need for NGOs to build relationships with donors to make them more comfortable donating, which Web 2.0 is uniquely positioned to excel at.

Additionally, there are still infrastructure considerations particular to rural India, especially with regard to expanding the availability of 3-G speeds. Therefore, India needs to really work to create the regulatory environment to facilitate the creation of the next-generation wireless infrastructure and service.

India Means Business-Big Business

Nope, It’s Not Twitter

The Indian Market with its one billion plus population, is quickly become a worthy market for brands to promote or increase product awareness.  The use of cellular phones in India is proving to be a profitable tactic to reach its large population.  With over 400 million mobile phone users currently, and 10 million more added each month, India is the world’s fasting growing cell phone market—with India’s youth substantial contributing to their usage according to the Huffington Post.  

 In order for brands to position their products better to the Indian population, they will need to market themselves through the use of cellular devices and micro-blogging sites such as SMS GupShup, a Twitter-like service that quickly reaches the 20 million users they serve in India.  SMS GupShup added advertising to text messaging three months ago and already they account for 400 million monthly text messages, which according to Techcrunch.com average out to around five percent of the total Indian market.

 The power for brands to target Indian audiences through this SMS-based service is influencing their recognition and increasing sales.  For example there are billboards in India that describe how easy it is to buy multiplex movie tickets by SMS or text messaging.  So, just image if this were a product you were trying to market for your company.  On the SMS GupShup there a few options I want you to be aware of that companies can use to promote a product or brand to their users.  1.The ads/message you market out to the public aren’t coming from an unreliable source to the user’s cell phone, as you would see in other versions of social media.  The ads are used as an extension to the personal message which increases the mobile user’s response to read it.  2. The ads/message can be placed according to geographic regions of India—depending on the area you want reach in India—they can be targeted around the interest of the mobile user.  For example, if you are an art company and you have a user who is an art lover, your ad can be place in that particular group.  3. The cost of advertising is extremely beneficial in comparison to other traditional means of social marketing.  The ads/message associated with mobile phones remains longer than print or broadcast options.

 There are about 40 million personal computers in India but the use of cell phones is still 10 times higher than PCs.  For brands the use of social media tools such as blogging, emails and Instant Messaging does not communicate to users as great as microblogging for advertising, publishing or self-expressing.  Cell phone users are more prone to use the SMS text messaging service since there are many areas throughout India that still received limited reception. As for micro-blogging, it could be very advantageous for companies using SMS GupShup to target audiences.

Social Media Doesn’t Mean One Size Fits All

Many experienced marketers have known for some time now the importance of personalizing and customizing marketing and communication strategies to fit the needs of consumers. And while this trend was somewhat slow to develop in India, it has finally caught on.

According to an article titled “Made for India: Succeeding in a Market Where One Size Won’t Fit All” and published by University of Pennsylvania’s business school Wharton, “ As Indian consumers became more aware of trends and advancements in technology, they began to demand similar sophistication. More important, they wanted products built to their needs. That meant not just automobiles, household appliances and consumer electronics, but also mobile phones, foods and apparel.”

Photo courtesy of Ogilvy Design UK

So how is this related to brands wanting to use social media to reach an audience in the Indian market?

The answer is S-T-P. Segment. Target. Position.

According to the Web site Marketing Teacher, “a marketer would firstly segment the market, then target a single segment or series of segments, and finally position within the segment(s).” These principles relate especially well to social media. Here’s how:

Segment. Brands must have a very good understanding of not only who audiences are but also what they are doing, what types of social networking sites they are using and what makes them different. By segmenting audiences into various sub categories based on social media usage patterns, brands are then able to target them more effectively.

Target. Once the market is segmented, brands must begin targeting them with specific messages and by using different channels. Blasting out generic Twitter messages, You Tube videos and posts across all social networking sites just won’t work. Audiences must feel connected in a personal way to the brand and subsequently brands must show audiences that they “get” what the audiences specific needs, wants and demands are. Brands must make sure that social media outreach is integrated and not used just because a specific channel exists.

Position. After audiences are properly segmented and effectively targeted, a brand’s final strategy must be to position the brand in a favorable way in the minds of consumers. If a brand fails to implement this final piece, the segmentation and targeting efforts are lost. In terms of social media, this means positioning a brand favorable in the minds of consumers and doing so in a customized way. Social media and networking sites allow brands customization, but only is proper research is conducted. Additionally, if the brand does not properly position itself, a more social media savvy competitor surely will.

In environments such as India, these three marketing fundamentals must be considered before executing any sort of social media or digital communication plan. Brands must learn a new adage – social media isn’t a “one size fits all” solution.

India Calling…

The population of India is not the only statistic that continues to grow. The demand for sophisticated technology is booming and the desire for commercialized goods is increasing as well. The attitude towards foreign companies (specifically American) is generally positive (63 percent of Indians have a positive feeling towards the United States) and this presents a great opportunity for organizations looking to penetrate the market.

When crafting a marketing plan you generally want to know 1. Who of the general population has the ability to purchase the product 2. How do you reach them?

The Indian Government claims that a third of its population is “middle-class” but according to Gunja Bagla in a post from MarketingProfs.com, “By American standards, there are probably around 60 million Indians who qualify as middle-class”. This is still a huge market for a brand to capture and when implementing a social media strategy it is essential that you go where the conversation is already happening. For India, all signs point to the cell phone.

Cell phones are having an enormous impact on the lives on Indians across the country and between castes. This BusinessWeek article recounts how the cell phone has doubled the business of tradesmen in rural India who can now complete an order in 60 seconds as opposed to two weeks. The cell phone has become a fixture that the poor are willing to pay for given the doors it will open in allowing them to conduct business on a bigger scale.

According to Idea Celluar, the cell phone has become the fifth most important household expenditure item after food, clothing, shelter, education. The  Indian Celluar Association predicts that by next year two-thirds of Indians will own a cell phone and by 2010 the subscriber base will reach 450 million.

It is predicted that connection to the internet via phone will surpass the PC if it has not already. The cell phone is clearly a powerful way to reach the consumer, the trick is to to create tools that are relevant to the customer but drive the brand as well. Last week we learned that in Sweden, you can pay your taxes via text message, which sounds like a dream to many of us, but it is a reality there and it is brilliant.

In India, a company can implement social medial tools using text message alerts, phone apps and social networking tools to connect to its target audience. For example, with a cell phone, a master weaver in India is now able to communicate with vendors and clients about shipments. Eventually – he will want to send this product to his customer. It is safe to assume that there is not a FedEx drop-box up the road from this mans shop. However, this brings an opportunity for FedEx (or another shipping provider) to connect with the tradesman via text message or create a phone application. This feature will update the consumer with current delivery schedules or delays/changes to the remote delivery areas. This could be a huge asset to the tradesmen who may have to take a day out of his schedule to reach the drop-box and coordinate shipping schedules between other vendors and clients.

Whatever the brand, the key is to find a way to become not only relevant but also useful to a consumer in any country or region. The power behind social media is the ability to connect directly with the individual and and in doing so make the experience unique and positive.  ^JT

Social Media for the Great Indian Treat

Upon researching marketing and social media in India, there were numerous stories about successful marketing campaigns that worked in India because companies paid attention to the desires of the local people. An example is Pizza Hut’s “Great Indian Treat” product range, their “first completely localized menu.”

Another example is McDonald’s introduction of the mutton and chicken Maharaja Mac in place of the Big Mac. By offering products, whether food or otherwise, that keep in mind the needs of Indians, companies can help increase their brand worth and achieve success. Case in point, Pizza Hut has been named the most trusted food brand in India, ahead of all other global brands for the past 5 years. They’ve paid careful attention to the desires of their customers and it has paid off.

Further research of Indian social media makes it clear that mobile technology is very big in India. So if Indians are so enamored of Pizza Hut, what’s to say Pizza Hut can’t initiate a mobile campaign? What better way to use social media than to tie in the trust of Pizza Hut with the love and reliance of mobile phones. This campaign can be as simple as signing up to have specials or coupons texted to you. Sign up can occur either on the Pizza Hut Website or on a dedicated fan page on Facebook or other social network.

In fact, Pizza Hut India may be on the verge of such campaigns. Here in the U.S., Pizza Hut posted a job for a social media intern. If Pizza Hut is engaging in the available social media tools here in the U.S., there’s a good chance they might pass along the ideas to their worldwide partners. Pizza Hut India is aware of social media and is using it to hear from customers and respond to feedback. Monitoring consumer feedback is an important part of branding and has no doubt helped Pizza Hut retain their trusted-brand status and market share for five years. As the company grows, they will need to ensure that quality and service remains at a high level lest they lose the trust of the Indian consumers.

When it comes to social networks, there are 194,563 fans on the Pizza Hut, Dhaka Facebook fan page. Though the site doesn’t have much activity, that is a huge amount of fans. Oddly though, those numbers run counter to a blog post about Indian Facebook fan pages. In researching fan pages on Facebook India, the author states that  few brands are represented because

People do not connect with brands, they connect with topics. They like to associate only with brands that have a cult. So brands like Apple and Victoria’s Secret Pink are right up there. For brands to have fans, offline activities are far more important than online activities and integration of these activities with online activities is important as well.

That is a consideration for Pizza Hut to think about, especially as other brands become more aggressive in their marketing to take some of Pizza Hut’s share. So to successfully use social media, perhaps a mobile application can help lead to the offline activity of going to a Pizza Hut restaurant, and in turn that would get people talking more about Pizza Hut online (maybe on the Pizza Hut fan page). All in all, it appears that for social media for brands to succeed in India, the marketers need to continue focusing on traditional marketing techniques while shifting some focus to digital media to keep pace with popular new tools.

Social Media from Shakespeare to Gandhi

In Julius Caesar, Mark Antony said “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.”  Perhaps this is the reason that the leadership inside so many companies is reluctant to engage in social media.  Often no good deed goes unpunished.

The Kiruba Incident is a case in point.  This incident that played out on Twitter last month involved a customer of Cleartrip - an online travel service based in Mumbai and established in 2006.  Last month,  one of their customers named Kiruba tweeted about Cleartrip.com failing to book his ticket to Malaysia properly and accused them of taking his money.

Quickly, Kiruba’s post was retweeted and people began piling on. Cleartrip has a presence on Twitter and considers itself a “customer-centric company,” so they immediately responded to Kiruba’s post, took ownership, got to the bottom of the problem and corrected it. Ultimately there were 40 negative posts on Twitter and only 5 positive ones, prompting the company to ask: “Why is social media such a hotbed of negativity?”  These kinds of incidents embody the main reason companies are reticent to wade into the social networking pool – FEAR.

In March, 2009, an India Social Media Summit was held in Mumbai and its keynote speaker, Suhel Seth likened social networking sites to human tribes.  He said ” Social networking sites also preset a very rabid view of the society.  So, advertisers have to be careful about where they advertise. Brands should be partnering with a media that is controllable.”  

His quote surprisingly contradicts what most say about social networking sites – they cannot be controlled. Companies are often unable to contain negative fall out from consumers whether it is deserved or not and regardless if  – like Cleartrip - they immediately move to be as transparent and responsive as possible.

Geoff Livingston, author of now is gone, who also teaches Georgetown’s Social Media for Social Good class, has addressed this barrier to social media in his blog, the Buzz Bin.  He cites fear of losing control, negative feedback, legal repercussions and utimately fear of change that keeps communicators from championing and winning the battle for adoption of social media tools inside their companies.

Perhaps as we study India this week, we will learn a lesson from Mahatma Gandhi who, according to blogger Esha Madhavan, was “the first person in India who had taken up social networking heavily for a greater cause.” As it relates to social media, we would do well to follow Gandhi’s advice and  “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Question of the Week: India

Every week the members of the class will answer a new question on this blog. We’ll focus on a different region of the world for each week throughout the rest of the class.  Here is this week’s question:

From your reading and research on India, highlight one key insight or finding you found unique and interesting and discuss what implications it has for brands wanting to use social media to reach an audience in the Indian market to promote their products or services.