Post on 26-May-2020
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Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2
OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN INDIA 3
SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE ACROSS DEMOGRAPHICS 4
SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE ACROSS TOWN CLASS 4
PLACES OF ACCESS 5
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCESS ON MOBILE DEVICES 6
ACTIVITIES DONE ON SOCIAL MEDIA 7
POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES 8
APPENDIX 9
ABOUT IMRB INTERNATIONAL AND IAMAI 10
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Executive Summary 1India, a land of over a billion, is home to a very small section that is connected to the
Internet. We are witnessing a significant growth in this number every year. In spite of
the many challenges associated with getting people online, India has embarked on
this mammoth journey. Slow and steady steps are being taken in the right direction
by the government and various organizations in this endeavor to get people on board
the Internet express.
Key Takeaways from the Social Media Report
Accessing Social Media is one of the key reasons why people access the Internet.
In fact for many people accessing the Internet for the first time, Social Media was
the reason why they embraced Internet.
As of April 2015, 66% of the 180 Mn Internet Users in Urban India access Social
Media. In Rural India, 33% of 25 Mn Internet users access Social Media.
Social Media users in Rural India have grown by 100% and in Urban India they
have grown by 35% since December 2013.
College Going Students and Young Men still form the 60% of the Social Media
users in Urban India. Similarly, almost half of the Urban Social Media users hail
from the Top 4 Metros.
70% of the Urban Social Media users access the Internet from their home.
Trend is moving towards accessing Social Media on the go through phones
(Smartphones as well as feature phones) and tablets. 16% of the Social Media
users in Urban India access the most when they are on the go.
Social Media companies as well as other companies operating in the Internet
space are encouraging users to access through their portable devices.
Facebook is the leading Social Media website with 96% of the Urban Internet
Users accessing it.
1 As of April 2015, there are 337 Mn Claimed Internet users in India. Out of this, there are 257 Mn Internet
users accessing at least once a month. This survey has been conducted among these Monthly Active Internet users.
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Overview of Social Media in India
35 urban cities and rural areas in 7 states were
covered as part of this study.
As of April 2015, there are about 257 Mn Internet
Users (those who have accessed the Internet in
the last one month) in India. Of this Urban India
has 180 Mn users and Rural has 77 Mn users.
What is encouraging about this is the fact that
since June 2014, Rural India has seen the number of Internet users grow by 33%
compared to the previous year. This number stands at 28% for Urban India.
Social Media usage features quite heavily on the
list of activities that these Internet users engage
in. Across India there are 143 Mn Social Media
users. Urban India has witnessed a 35% growth in
Social Media users and the total user base stands
at 118 Mn as of April 2015. Social Media users in
Rural India have grown by 100% in the last one
year and reached a base of 25 Mn Social Media
users.
According to the I-Cube June 2014 survey
conducted in 35 cities across Urban India, 84%
people claim to access Social Media on the
Internet. Across 7 states in Rural India this
number stands at 85% of the Internet users. In
fact, for a large number of people, Social Media is
one of the primary reasons for accessing the
Internet.
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Social Media Usage across Demographics
As expected, the largest segment accessing
Social Media consists of the College Going
Students. This segment is followed by the
Young Men. College Going Students and
Young Men usually form the set of early
technology adopters. Being the more tech
savvy lot they tend to easily pick up new
technology products that get launched.
Word of Mouth publicity (one of the best
tools in the consumer technology sector)
works very effectively with these two
segments.
Social Media Usage across Town Class
There hasn’t been much change in the
distribution of Social Media users across the
various Town Classes. Top 4 Metros
continues to account for almost half of the
Social Media users in Urban India. Next 4
Metros and Small Metros have an almost
equal contribution. Usage from Non Metros
and Small Towns is somewhere around 5%
of the overall Social Media users in 35 cities
in Urban India. Low awareness of Internet
and its uses is one of the key reasons why
we are not witnessing much growth
amongst the smaller Town Class.
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Places of Access
Three quarters of the Social Media users
mention that they access Internet from their
home. Home is also the main point of access for
majority of the users. Social Media access on the
go on mobile devices (like phone and tablets) is
also on the rise with 18% usage. With a drop in
price of Internet packs and devices
(Smartphones, Tablets) becoming more and
more affordable we can expect the usage to
further increase on the mobile medium.
IMRB I-Cube primary survey conducted in June
2014 indicates that Social Media access through
previously conventional points have gone down.
Availability and access to high speed internet connection in offices was one of the
prime reasons why it was a much used avenue for accessing Social Media pages
which are usually heavy on images and videos. Access through mobile devices has
brought about a behavioral change in the users.
Similarly, unavailability of an internet connection or a device at home was the major
reasons why people used to visit Cyber café. Current scenario of the Internet and
device market has badly affected this service industry as can be seen from the survey
results. Only about 1 in 10 social media users claim to still visit Cyber café for
accessing the Internet.
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Social Media Access on Mobile Devices
According to the IMRB I-Cube 2014 survey there are 37.7
Mn Mobile Internet Users spread across 35 cities in
Urban India. From the survey it has emerged that 61% of
these users access Social Media on their mobile. The fact
that almost two thirds of the users are already accessing
social media through their mobile is a promising sign.
With the expected increase in mobile traffic the number
of users accessing social media on mobile is only bound
to increase.
As has been observed over the last few years majority of
the new Internet users have been accessing the Internet
primarily through their mobile phone. Use of mobile
phones for internet access has suddenly made the
Internet accessible to the masses across lower Town Class as well as the lower SEC.
Investment required for accessing Internet has decreased drastically. Going by this
trend it is only natural to assume that a large majority of the Internet access will be
through mobile devices in the years to come.
Compared to the traditional media, engagement levels on a mobile device is much
higher. An average user interacts with the device a large number of times throughout
the day. This coupled with the increase in social media usage has compelled social
media marketers to invest heavily on the mobile medium. A single social media
account gives the user the option to sign up on a large number of websites. This has
made the process of signing up, sharing, exploring and discovering a lot easier for the
user. This has also benefitted the marketers by providing them with a rich user
profile allowing them to divide the market into finer segments. Not only has this
facilitated better targeting but has also allowed the marketer to communicate with
specially curated communication content.
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Activities done on Social Media
Over half of the Social Media users are really active in the online world. Top activities
include maintaining a profile and updating status. Nowadays, social profiles have
reached a point where they can make or break a career. 39% users mention using
Social Media to improve their business/ career.
Ability to login to various websites using sign in details of other popular social
networking websites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn has made the registration
process really easy and hassle free for the user. More and more people are actively
participating in various online discussions, public forums are blooming and social
media is catching up with mass media. Social Media has given voice to the common
man. It has become easier for an individual to get in touch with large companies
through these avenues.
Activities where the user is a passive participant and not an active contributor are
also quite popular. 46% of the users mention using Social Media to learn about the
latest news and trends across the world. Online launch of new products and services
has gained traction. Relatively low investment compared to the traditional media
helps the business attain a higher ROI (Return on Investment). 43% of the social
media users claim that they use Social Media to learn about new products and
services available in the market.
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Popular Social Media Websites
India is the second largest market for Facebook after the United States of America
and it is the most used social media website in India. Facebook is largely perceived as
a medium that can be used for expressing oneself. Sharing of content (e.g. articles,
news, videos, games etc.) happens largely on Facebook. Considering the high
engagement of Facebook, most consumer end businesses invest a lot in Facebook
marketing.
Opening a Google account automatically creates a Google+ profile of the individual.
This single login also gives access to all the Google services. This functionality makes
it really useful for a large number of users. Google+ also provides the people with
one of the popular forms of online entertainment – YouTube. Google+ is not the
preferred medium when one wants to express oneself.
Twitter is still growing in India with its awareness being relatively low compared to
the other two. This service is largely used for expressing oneself. It ranks low on
Networking and Sharing. But the biggest advantage that Twitter enjoys is that
majority of Twitter users access it through mobile devices and it takes less time for
news to go viral on this medium.
LinkedIn is growing rapidly in India. It ranks really high on business networking. Both
companies as well end consumers use LinkedIn extensively to search for new
opportunities (jobs, candidates, sales leads etc.). This feature has allowed it to create
a niche for itself and it does not look like it will be displaced from its position anytime
in the near future.
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Appendix Cities by Strata
Top 4 Metros Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai & Kolkata
Other 4 Metros Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad & Pune
Small Metro (More than 1 Million Pop.)
Coimbatore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Visakhapatnam, Patna, Guwahati, Kochi, Vadodara, Indore, Surat, Nagpur
Non Metro (Between 0.5 to 1 Million Pop.)
Aurangabad, Belgaum, Aligarh, Bhubaneswar, Raipur
Small Town (Less than 0.5 Million Pop.)
Alappuzha (Alleppey), Ujjain, Behrampur, Faizabad, Panipat, Ranaghat, Baleshwar, Philibit, Amreli, Chickmagalur
Definition of Demographic Segments
DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTS
DEFINITION
School Going Kids Kids studying in school and above 8 years of age; they are in the age group of 8-17, although, a small portion could be over 18 years
College Going students Youths studying in college (graduate, post-graduate and doctoral); most students are in the age group of 18-25, although a small proportion will be below 18 and over 25 years
Young Men Men in the age group of 21-35 years who are not school or college-going students; this segment includes all those who are employed as well as unemployed
Non-Working Women Women in the age group of 25-38 years of age and are not working; this segment includes housewives as well as non-working young women who are not school or college going students
Working Women Women in the age croup of 21-58 years and employed outside home
Older Men Men in the age group of 36-58 years employed or otherwise
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About IMRB International and IAMAI
About IMRB International
ETech Group | IMRB (a specialist unit of IMRB International) is a research based consultancy
offering insights into IT, Internet, Telecom & Emerging Technology space.
Our continuous link with industry and a constant eye on the pulse of the consumer ensures that
we can decode the movements of technology markets & consumers. To our clients we offer an
understanding of the present market environment and a roadmap for the future.
About Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)
The Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI] is a young and vibrant association with
ambitions of representing the entire gamut of digital businesses in India. It was established in
2004 by the leading online publishers, but in the last eleven years has come to effectively
address the challenges facing the digital and online industry including mobile content and
services, online publishing, mobile advertising, online advertising, ecommerce and mobile &
digital payments among others.
Eleven years after its establishment, the association is still the only professional industry body
representing the online and mobile VAS industry in India. The association is registered under the
Societies Act and is a recognized charity in Maharashtra. With a membership of 125 Indian and
MNC companies, and offices in Delhi and Mumbai, are well placed to work towards charting a
growth path for the digital industry in India.
Contact Details
Nilotpal Chakravarti – Associate Vice President IAMAI Delhi number Tel: +91-22-24954574 | http://www.iamai.in
Contact Details
ETech Group | IMRB
IMRB International
‘A’ Wing, Mhatre Pen Building
Senapati Bapat Marg, Mumbai
Tel: (91)-22-24233902
www.imrbint.com
Research Team for this Report
Tarun Abhichandani, Group Business Director
tarun.abhichandani@imrbint.com
Abheek Biswas, Insights Director
abheek.biswas@imrbint.com
Keshav Sunder, Research Manager
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COPYRIGHT
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DISCLAIMER
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care to compile the information and material contained in this research work. Provided however,
IAMAI does not warrant that the information and material contained in the research work, or any
part thereof, is designed to, or will meet any person’s requirements, or that it will be error free or
free from any inadequacies, incorrectness, incompleteness, inaccuracies, or bug free. IAMAI hereby
disclaims any warranty, express or implied, including, without limitation, any warranty of non-
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