Social media has fundamentally changed the way brands and their customers communicate. It is easy to determine what exactly customers are doing online. What there is little information about is why customers do what they do. The 18th study in a series by exact target explicitly deals with the behaviour of India online customers.
Basically, one has to distinguish between three types of interaction types. The subscribers who subscribe to a newsletter via email, the fans who like a page on Facebook and the followers who follow their favourite brand or person on Twitter. Indian seems to be an exception in global comparison. Each channel has its own specific advantages and disadvantages, as well as peak usage times and different user types. In contrast to the global trend that says that email marketing is becoming less and less important, this type of advertising is still extremely successful in India. 49% of those surveyed state that they made a purchase decision through email advertising. 94% of all adult India internet users have subscribed to at least one newsletter. More than anywhere else in the world.
In comparison of Social Media, liking at least one Facebook page (34%) and following a Twitter channel (7%) scored very poorly. In view of the figures from the previously published studies, it becomes clear once again that India Internet users use Facebook more cautiously than their globally surveyed colleagues. 77% of Brazilians, 55% of Australians and 45% of British people follow at least one brand on Facebook. However, these numbers do not mean that Indians are more averse to liking. It is more due to the lower number of active Facebook accounts among India Internet users. Time and again, discussions about privacy and data protection have caused a stir in India, which could explain the inhibited and cautious behaviour on the social network.
The morning behaviour of the users reflects the priorities of each individual. Which platform is called up first after getting up is a strong indication that this source of information is the most important for the user. Even if 71% in India check their e-mails first, that does not mean that other platforms are not used at all.
Still, Facebook and Twitter are trendy among young people. For 18- to 24-year-olds, social media is the first thing they see in the morning. Only then are the latest e-mails obtained and other channels checked. This trend is not noticeable in the older groups. There, checking e-mails dominates the morning.
Just as important as knowing the morning routine of your customers is to understand the rhythm in the evening hours when the day turns from business to leisure. E-mails continue to play an important role here. After the channel has been used to answer customer requests or product inquiries, it is used to communicate with friends in later hours. Despite the 37% drop compared to the morning, email remains the most widely used medium. News and entertainment programs are also checked for the latest reports (26%) and social media usage increases slightly compared to morning consumption.
Social Media, The tendency among older users for e-mails to be a fundamental component of communication could be due to the fact that both business and private matters can be processed via the same medium at the workplace. This is usually not the case with social media channels. It does not seem surprising that 18 to 24-year-olds are the least likely to be driven to buy by e-mail. They are more likely to be influenced by the added value of social media sites that lure with lifestyle and trend products and want to bring about an image transfer. At least 32% of the respondents wanted to be kept up to date by companies via Facebook. The incentive is to get to know the latest products directly and to activate exclusive access (25%).
Even if the Twitter community is very small, it is still very influential. Not only on the virtual platform, but also in real life, Twitter users are often influencers or decision-makers and often sit in management positions. This urge for connection, education and source sharing is often accompanied by a tendency to use critical words. Twitter represents the interface between business and private content and is the most balanced medium in the survey with 42% of insider knowledge and 41% of social aspects.
Conclusion
In summary, it can be said that the e-mail channel is still very important, especially in India. With regard to marketing, the express permission of the user must be obtained, as they can otherwise react negatively to unwanted advertising. Therefore, advertising should be personalised and specially tailored to avoid wastage. Facebook, on the other hand, continues to be a platform for interacting with brands, where exciting content attracts attention. Critical approaches should be kept open to Twitter users in order to give them the opportunity to influence their own followers. For more in-depth information transfer, you should direct them to the official website, or to the Refer Facebook page .d