INDIANS NOW SPEND MORE TIME ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES THAN ON PERSONAL EMAIL

By: Adrian Terron, VP, Nielsen & Suhale Kapoor, EVP, AbsolutData

Social Media in India is growing at 100 percent and is likely to touch 45 million users by 2012

One third of India’s online consumers are aware of brands that have an online presence; over 50 percent of social media users perceive brands that have a social - media presence as being “innovative”

Social Media has now become part of everyday life for a majority of online Indians. According to a study on social media usage by Nielsen conducted in collaboration with AbsolutData, nearly 30 million Indians who are online consumers are members of social networking sites and about two-thirds of them spend time on these social networking sites daily. More importantly, Indians spend more time on social media than they do checking personal email. According to the study, an equal number spend up to an hour on social networking and email. However while just 8% spend between an hour and three hours on personal email, 20% spend the same time on social media sites.

Seemingly, social media is now ingrained in the way tech savvy Indians live their lives. With its ability to play multiple roles in an individual’s life by enabling shared experiences, creating linkages between communities and satisfying the need to be networked, the role of social media  in creating a deeper engagement is a boon to marketing.  Infact the study shows a third of online Indians access non traditional video outlets on the web for a range of activities. The social web appears to have gone beyond supplementing communication. Online Indians today are using social media to facilitate activities that range from leisure like entertainment, improving their livelihood through job searches and even researching prospective partners.

Social Media gathers momentum as brands join the bandwagon

Based on the current rate of growth and the intention of online Indians to participate in social media, the study estimates that over the next six months 45,000 online Indians intend to join social networking sites each day.

When asked about the awareness of brands on social media, a fourth of online Indians were able to recall brands using social media. Of those consumers who are on social networking sites, a small but growing number claim to be following brands on these platforms.

This is an indication of the fact that no single brand ‘owns’ the social media space and that the opportunity to become a ‘social’ brand is overwhelming. Given that, it would be safe to say having a social media presence connotes ‘innovation’ ‘customer friendliness’ and a sense of ‘cool’, and that  brands should only ignore social media at their own peril.

Brand engagement through social media on the rise

Nearly 40 million Indians are using online reviews to inform their purchase decisions – 67 percent of Indians who are on the web use online reviews to help them make purchases. As personal opinion gains currency on the social web, online users are seeking various outlets to express themselves, be it blogs or social media sites.

Increasingly, Indians also want brands to communicate with them using social media. 60 percent Indians who are social media users are open to being approached by brands, indicating that social media has the ability to change the dynamic between brands and consumers who are typically time-starved and may consider traditional forms of advertising obtrusive and undesirable.

This emerging behavior points to the fact that brands need to deliver on consumer expectations much more than ever before, especially in a world where consumer opinion and brand advocacy, or criticism is propagated through social networks much faster than ever before.

About the study

The study was conducted through on an online survey on a sample population of 2000 people from all walks of life spread across top five metros and Tier 1 cities in India. The survey was administered across the country via India Speaks, a proprietary internet based panel managed by AbsolutData Research & Analytics.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related assets. The company has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information on The Nielsen Company, visit www.nielsen.com

Chart 1: Activities performed on social networking websites

Chart 2: Online offers consumers expect from Brands and Companies

Chart 3: Qualities that describe brands/companies that have social media presence

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