Why marketers should focus on Indian
language content for consumers
Indian language content drives almost
twice the engagement and exponentially increases the reach of online content.
English once dominated the internet in India, but not anymore. According to the 2001 census, there are more than 1,600 dialects spoken in India, with 22 official languages recognized by the government. Interestingly, only 8% Indians read English language newspapers while others prefer consuming news in their local languages. Clearly, these regional languages are now taking center stage, and the internet, too, is transitioning into a diverse amalgamation of Indian languages.
According to a recent Google-KPMG report, India has 234 million Indian language users online while only 175 million are English language users. The Indian language user base is poised to account for 75% of India's internet user base by 2021. These projections are set to have a profound impact on the existing and future content on the internet, where a paradigm shift is now imminent.
Trends in Indian language consumption on the internet
Rapidly growing internet penetration, affordable mobile data connections and improving digital literacy have appeared as the key drivers for the growth of Indian language content within the internet ecosystem. It is interesting to note that apart from digital content platforms, several chat applications, online government services, digital payment services, classified ad platforms and e-tailing platforms are witnessing a steadily growing Indian language user base. Currently, 68% internet users feel that Indian language content is more reliable than English.
However, there is a huge gap between the
demand and supply of quality Indian language content across categories from
digital news to online payment platforms. 60% internet users claim that limited
Indian language content acts as a major obstruction in the adoption of online
services. Currently, therefore, internet-based enterprises are losing out on a
lot of businesses and have a large untapped client base.
But the current scenario of scarce Indian language content is rapidly transitioning. In fact, Indian language content drives almost twice the engagement and exponentially increases the reach of online content. So, the transition from English to Indian languages will benefit content creators as well as brand manager experts for SMEs.
SMEs go regional to capture more users
As brands comprehend the persuasion power of Indian languages, regional contentis increasingly being leveraged to increase brand recall through vernacular-based digital advertising. The aforementioned KPMG report suggested that 88% of internet users respond more proactively to advertisements in Indian languages rather than those in English.
Additionally, Indian language users find it challenging to read product descriptions and reviews in English. Research suggests that the share of digital advertisements in Indian languages is set to increase from 5% to 35% by 2021. This proves to be a massive opportunity for SMEs.
Thanks to the evolving internet and smartphone penetration, SMEs are rapidly transforming into internet-first enterprises. SMEs largely target the semi-urban and rural sectors, comprising a population that prefers using Indian languages over English. Undoubtedly, this population will respond more favorably to digital advertisements and e-tailer interfaces utilizing their local language. In fact, over 50% of offline shoppers claimed that they were more likely to access e-tailers if they offered an end-to-end Indian language interface.
Therefore, through local language content, brands have an increased chance of successfully engaging with their users and escalating sales.
The future of Indian language on the internet
90% of new internet users over the next five years, are projected to be Indian language users. Adding to that, the government is planning to propagate digital literacy among 60,000 rural households by 2021. The adoption of Indian language content across categories such as entertainment, news, online shopping and digital payments will consequently skyrocket. Businesses will continue to capture a larger share of consumers by giving them access to quality Indian language content.
This gargantuan shift in the language consumption trends within the internet will push e-commerce firms, digital entertainment platforms, online payment platforms and other internet-based players to continually invest in creating content that covers the most consumed regional languages. The creation of vernacular-based content will lead to higher internet inclusion, especially among the rural population in India, and hasten India's journey towards becoming a truly digital country.
By Vishal Gupta (The author is co-founder and CEO of content sharing platform Momspresso.)
But the current scenario of scarce Indian language content is rapidly transitioning. In fact, Indian language content drives almost twice the engagement and exponentially increases the reach of online content. So, the transition from English to Indian languages will benefit content creators as well as brand manager experts for SMEs.
SMEs go regional to capture more users
As brands comprehend the persuasion power of Indian languages, regional contentis increasingly being leveraged to increase brand recall through vernacular-based digital advertising. The aforementioned KPMG report suggested that 88% of internet users respond more proactively to advertisements in Indian languages rather than those in English.
Additionally, Indian language users find it challenging to read product descriptions and reviews in English. Research suggests that the share of digital advertisements in Indian languages is set to increase from 5% to 35% by 2021. This proves to be a massive opportunity for SMEs.
Thanks to the evolving internet and smartphone penetration, SMEs are rapidly transforming into internet-first enterprises. SMEs largely target the semi-urban and rural sectors, comprising a population that prefers using Indian languages over English. Undoubtedly, this population will respond more favorably to digital advertisements and e-tailer interfaces utilizing their local language. In fact, over 50% of offline shoppers claimed that they were more likely to access e-tailers if they offered an end-to-end Indian language interface.
Therefore, through local language content, brands have an increased chance of successfully engaging with their users and escalating sales.
The future of Indian language on the internet
90% of new internet users over the next five years, are projected to be Indian language users. Adding to that, the government is planning to propagate digital literacy among 60,000 rural households by 2021. The adoption of Indian language content across categories such as entertainment, news, online shopping and digital payments will consequently skyrocket. Businesses will continue to capture a larger share of consumers by giving them access to quality Indian language content.
This gargantuan shift in the language consumption trends within the internet will push e-commerce firms, digital entertainment platforms, online payment platforms and other internet-based players to continually invest in creating content that covers the most consumed regional languages. The creation of vernacular-based content will lead to higher internet inclusion, especially among the rural population in India, and hasten India's journey towards becoming a truly digital country.
By Vishal Gupta (The author is co-founder and CEO of content sharing platform Momspresso.)
https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/why-marketers-should-focus-on-indian-language-content-for-consumers/66050720
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