How does India use social media?
In India, around 462 million people are online. That’s only 34.8% of the total 1.3 billion population, but India has the second most social media users in the world. Since 2015, the country has experienced a 30.5% increase in social media users.
Mobile data, or access to the internet on a smartphone, has become affordable and ubiquitous in India. In 2017, 1.06 billion persons, 79% of the population, had a mobile subscription. Just by looking at those numbers, we can say that accessibility of the internet in India will become widespread in the next few years.
As per the 2017 statistics, there are more than 260 million social media users in India. Among those active users, Facebook is the most prominent social network with around 241 million users. The next largest social platform is LinkedIn which has 42 million users. The third largest network, with 23.2 million active users, is Twitter. Moreover, Google.co.in is the most visited site in India, followed by Youtube.com.
India – Largest user base of Facebook
Social media users in India spend most of their time on Facebook. India has the most extensive base of Facebook users with 241 million users followed by the United States with 240 million users.
Rajesh Prabankhar, an analyst, reports that users of social media in India are mostly young urban males below the age of 34.
LinkedIn – 42 million users in India
LinkedIn is the second most popular social network in India with 42 million users. It is just behind the United States which ranks number one regarding users.
The business head of LinkedIn in India, Hari Krishnan, said in an interview that the use of mobile devices has changed a lot in LinkedIn users’ behavior. They mostly focus on four key things – user profiles, inbox, groups, and status updates.
YouTube – The second most visited site in India
Many young people in India are running YouTube channels. They have become full-time YouTubers and are turning it into a profession.
If we talk in broader terms, video consumption is also on the rise. YouTube is the second most visited website in India as per Alexa.
Isn’t Twitter famous in India?
Only 17% of the total social media users in India use Twitter. However, we have witnessed an increase in the number of Twitter users in recent years. Presently, Twitter has around 23.2 million active users per month.
Who is famous on Twitter in India?
Based on follower count, here are the top 3 accounts on Indian Twitter:
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi: 41.9 million followers
- Indian film actor and producer Shah Rukh Khan: 34.8 million followers
- Indian film actor Amitabh Bachchan: 34.0 million followers
User’s behavior in India
According to a report, the behavior of social media users in India is not dissimilar from rest of the world. 53% of users look for sales and discounts, 50% of users wish to know about industry trends, and 48% wish to seek advice on using or maintaining products and services.
Biggest brands in India
The most prominent brand on Facebook, according to Socialbakers, is State Bank of India. State Bank of India has the most number of fans with 15,221,645 likes on their Facebook page.
The second most popular brand on Facebook is Samsung Mobile India with 156,507,479 likes on their page. Tata DoCoMo comes in third with 12,827,231 likes on their Facebook page.
The most popular brand on Twitter is the Indian commercial bank Yes Bank with 3.33 million followers. Number two is Ridlr Mumbai, a mobile ticketing app, with 3.1 million followers. The State Bank of India is also a famous on Twitter with the third largest follower base of 3.24 million followers.
Most innovative social campaign on social media
The 2017 campaign “Indian Food League” was run by the snack brand Hippo. It was simple, but the idea was innovative for Indian fans. The focus was on India’s love for cricket and putting regional dishes against each other.
The campaign was run in 2017’s cricketing season and depended on the understanding that families and friends eat together while watching cricket. Using Facebook and Twitter as the hub of their campaign, the company encouraged users to comment on a virtual chalk sheet that shows the day’s menu.
