Indian Social Media Landscape

I love YouTube. I think it is a brilliant concept and has given an avenue for self expression like no other. A random search on YouTube will reveal videos ranging from the truly useful to the sincerely bizarre. Some of my all time fave videos on YouTube include Where is Matt, everything from Common Craft and Bridal Skincare (what can I say… I am partial!). Infact Where is Matt with hits to the tune of 20,057,638, has got so big that Visa used it for their traditional TV campaign! Three cheers to the power of online video…

In India too one can see companies making the shift, with brands like Fevicryl owning a vault of over 50 DIY videos, each serving the purpose of helping a consumer understand how to use the product.

Now that marketers are increasingly planning to invest on online videos to reach out to their consumers, they also need to understand how to get more people to watch these videos.

I am sure you must have read my first five predictions on the socio-economic changes that the world will see with use of social media. The next set of five predictions that I have written are  relevant in the realm of social media medium per se.

1. First time use of social media through Mobile:

Majority of people world over will surf the Internet and social media for the first time in their lives using mobile phones. Mobile phone penetration is increasing rapidly in most countries and along with the its value added features like streaming. In India, close to 10 million subscribers are being added every month. These small towns will skip landlines and opt for cell phones directly. These towns will take technology leap in a manner of speaking. Simultaneously, several companies are in the process of launching social networking sites for mobile. Put these two together and you could see this prediction come true.

I predict that in 2009 itself, several small towns and rural areas will experience Internet & social media for the first time through cell phones and not through computers.

In one of our earlier blog post, we had explained the use of online videos for the brand. The post explained the distinct benefits this medium provides for each brand. We shall illustrate that with a case study of an Indian Client – Kaya Skin Clinic.

Indian Case Study:

Kaya Skin Clinic offers specialized and customized skin solutions (products & Services) to its consumers. They were pioneers in their field as they introduced scientific approach towards skin care treatments. Today, Kaya skin clinics are present all across India and in key Middle East markets.

One of their service offerings is Kaya Bridal. We had decided as part of social media strategy to engage with its consumers by creating visual content. It was important for the customers to understand the process and benefits of it especially during their special occasion of marriage.