Here’s How FMCG Brands Are Leveraging Language-First Social Media Platforms To Engage With Bharat
FMCG brands have always been at the forefront of identifying relevant audience segments and creating customized marketing strategies. Leading FMCG brands have been deploying a language-first strategy to reach and connect with Bharat - an audience segment that has become a critical pillar in the overall growth strategy for this industry.
Why is Bharat a driver of growth
Bharat, or online users who prefer Indic languages, is a must-have in the audience mix because of its sheer scale. 49% of urban active internet users prefer to consume online content in Indic languages*. Increasing digital penetration, lower barriers to using technology, language enablement on social media are few of the factors that have led to this rising scale of Bharat.
Bharat - The Neo India report decodes who Bharat is and how it behaves for brands and marketers. One of the key findings of the report was that Bharat loves shopping. Online shopping is among the top 3 activities that Bharat engages in.
This affinity is evident in shopping apps featuring in the top engaged app categories for Bharat.
One of the reasons why this behaviour is important for FMCG brands is due to Bharat’s interest in beauty and skincare, which is among the top consumption categories*. 39% of Bharat users have spent on Beauty and Skincare category online.
Bharat’s love for shopping is backed by its affluence. Its representation in NCCS A and B segments is over-indexed at 33% and 34% as compared to India (overall urban active internet users) at 30% and 33% respectively*.
How to effectively engage with Bharat
1. Be where Bharat is: Social media platforms are a critical part of its life. Bharat turns to social media not just to express itself, but also to stay updated with the latest news and for its shopping recommendations.
2. Speak in the preferred language: Creating communication in the preferred language of the core target audience should be at the heart of an impactful Bharat strategy. Brands that simply transliterate or translate will be left behind in the race of earning Bharat’s love and loyalty.
3. Respect cultural nuances: Brands need to respect and incorporate the regional cultural diversities into their communication strategy to resonate with Bharat. Instead of broadcasting a common message, it's imperative to weave in the regional peculiarities in the messaging.
Here’s how leading FMCG brands are winning over Bharat:
PepsiCo Beverages partnered with ShareChat to build awareness around the two new flavours of its product, Kurkure. The brand leveraged the platform’s native language capability and garnered a massive response within Bharat with more than 5000 user generated content (UGC). Read full success story on link
Vivel wanted to break the stereotypes around using body wash products such as they are time-consuming, need too much water, and require a loofah. The brand leveraged creator ads in Bengali and interactive web cards to address the misconception. Interactive web cards were instrumental in driving engagement and delivering better view-through rates. The campaign achieved its desired objectives with more than 80K impressions on web cards, more than 67 Lakh views of the creator ads and an impressive view through rate (VTR) of 69.7%. Read full success story on link
Godrej Expert Rich Crème wanted to widen its market penetration using digital channels, particularly within Bharat. For its Durga Pujo campaign, the brand leveraged full screen video ads and creator ads on ShareChat. Creator ads in Bengali ensured contextual message delivery through informative videos regarding hair colouring. With more than 60 Lakh impressions, the brand successfully utilized the Indic language social media environment and increased its awareness within Bharat. Read Full Success story on LINK
Cultivating valuable relationships with Bharat
Given Bharat’s love for social media platforms and it’s clear preference for regional languages, it’s critical for brands to collaborate with social media platforms that combine the two to tap into the potential of Bharat. .
Data Source:
Kantar ICUBE
YouGov Study for ShareChat, Dec 2021
Kantar NICS 2021
