The fancy little Internet of the past has become the biggest force in business today, powerful enough to topple regimes. What was a luxury has become a necessity.
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| Image Source : businessinsider.in |
The total Internet user base in India is estimated to cross 700 million by 2020; that’s almost two in every three Indians with access. And by 2030, India will have more than a billion Internet users! Google India’s Managing Director shared at their annual event in 2018 that every month about 10 million new Internet users get on the bandwagon.India’s Internet user base is skyrocketing and will soon beat China’s. Further, more than 80 per cent users access the web on their mobile devices. No fancy computers to purchase, no commands to learn, and none of that keyboard and mouse business. Mobile phones with their touch interface have changed the way we imagine the Internet. An entire generation of users completely skipped the desktop Internet era and is experiencing the Internet for the first time on their mobile devices.
Now, the streaming of content happens on tiny interactive devices and we are able to participate, like, comment, share and engage with it. Things are far more democratic, but also far scarier for big brands who are used to one-way communication.
By 2030, India will have more than a billion Internet users.’
The mobile-first generation
Everyone in India starting from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high does have internet. This is the new digital world.A report from Mary Meeker (a venture capitalist; her much awaited annual Internet Trends report gives an overview of the entire industry) in 2017 stated that Indians spend 28 hours on their mobile phones, four hours on TV and two hours on print every week.* Internet speeds have reached 4G from 2G, and it has almost become a basic right to have connectivity today; so much so that in Delhi, ‘free Wi-Fi’ was a political promise made to win elections! If you check the top five most downloaded apps in the country, all five are social networking apps. Imagine millions of people, who have super cheap smartphones, which can run at least four apps, have social networking apps as their most frequented two apps.
India has already beaten the US to become the number one country in terms of number of Facebook users. Our WhatsApp user base is already in the multi-millions, LinkedIn has become the Facebook of the business world and just check Twitter any moment to see how it is shaping public opinion. Powering this phenomenal growth is the rapid adoption of smartphones, with India having the second largest number of smartphone users in the world (and it’s only a matter of time before we become the largest).
Social media consumption on mobile devices is increasing rapidly across the country. Everyone is hooked to their phones, day and night, sharing videos, memes, articles, photos and breaking news. The mobile revolution is completely changing the way we reach out to our users.
The power of content
At the centre of this massive storm is the rapid consumption of content. From updates on Facebook to funny jokes and memes on WhatsApp, everywhere you look people are consuming and sharing content at a rapid pace. Social media provides an open and democratic platform, but content is at the centre of it all. Content is what you’re consuming when checking reviews of a product on Amazon, it is the content of a video that compels you to share it with your friends, it is content in an open letter that incites you to take action, it is content again that you forward to your school alumni groups on WhatsApp, and content that attracts users to share and like your article on LinkedIn. Social media has made content so powerful, that you hold the power to influence millions in the palms of your hands. With every smartphone capable of creating audio–visual content and distributing it far and wide through an app, all you need today is a story, and you have your own way of going ‘viral’.
Content marketing on steroids
With the whole concept of media being disrupted in the last decade, and social networking apps taking up most of the time in a user’s life, content marketing has become the new playing field for marketers. Wherever user attention goes, the marketing budget follows. And viral marketing is like content marketing on steroids. It’s about catapulting your content to reach and engage with millions. Posting something on social media is one thing, but when your users start spreading your content like wildfire, when shares and comments on your content start snowballing, that’s viral marketing. Any piece of content which attracts tons of engagement from social media users, gets its wings to go viral. It could be funny pictures, memes, articles or videos.
‘Achhe din’ for Internet marketing
‘Viral marketing is like content marketing on steroids, and videos are dominating newsfeeds everywhere.
No wonder India is attracting tons of start-up capital and is fast becoming the most exciting place to be in. If you’re a student worried about your career or a start-up entrepreneur looking for a growth hack, or if you work or lead marketing for any big or small brand, it is time you accept the reality that the game will be won on mobile phones and social media, and not on TV or print. With all this excitement about ‘achhe din’ for India, there’s a big challenge that comes with it. Something we at IDM are very mindful of every day, something we all need to be aware of, when creating content.
Let us plunge into these achche din now.