We’re excited to share a new research paper from 360i’s Insights & Planning group, entitled “Global Twitter Trends: India.” This whitepaper is the second of a multi-part series in which we explore the social media habits of three emerging global markets: Brazil, India and South Korea. It follows a 2013 report that compared Twitter habits across the U.S. and U.K.
This whitepaper explores the role of culture when it comes to how, where and with what purpose people in India engage on Twitter, and how their engagement compares to other markets. These findings can be used as an indication of Indian consumers’ engagement on social media overall, and offer important implications for marketers targeting Indian consumers on Twitter.
Below is an executive summary of our key findings. You can read and download the full report here.
As India experiences a rapid growth in its middle class, a burgeoning youth population and an explosion of Internet and mobile adoption, its social media landscape is quickly expanding. While urban Indians are becoming increasingly globalized, they still maintain their traditional Indian roots and values, leading to a unique cultural mix of the West and the East. This cultural blend is mirrored in their presence on social platforms.
Key Findings
- Indians use Twitter to find a sense of community online and to meet like-minded people who share their interests. Twitter is regarded as an open medium to interact with a world of strangers. Indian Twitter users generally feel comfortable following and conversing with people they do not know if they believe they can form a meaningful connection or discuss their passions and opinions with them.
- Twitter users in India view the platform as a news aggregator and content curation tool. This group uses the Twitter timeline to stay abreast of news and believes that Twitter is the fastest way to access this information. They also find the RSS feed-like interface convenient for reading news in real-time. Indians follow trusted news sources, Influencers and thought leaders on Twitter, and rely on them for frequent updates on their respective areas of interest.
- People in India do not often offer strong opinions about companies, but still enjoy engaging with companies on Twitter. Indians are motivated to stay up-to-date on their favorite brands and products, but do not often express their feelings about them online. Instead, they tend to use Twitter as a customer service tool to converse with brands and talk about offers, discounts, critiques and service standards. Contests are of particular interest to Indian consumers on Twitter.
- Indians use Twitter when they need to break the monotony of a typical workday. They use free time at work to catch up on what’s happening in the world, and to see what their followers and friends are posting. Currently, users tweet from smartphones, desktops, laptops, and tablets. Smartphone users are the most active segment, since they can tweet at their convenience or while on-the-go.
Read and download the full report: “Global Twitter Trends: India.”
Research Credits:
Co-Authors: Claire Charron & Radhika Nihalani
Contributors include: Ronak Sheth & Evann Clingan
