Going mobile-first via Facebook

By Santosh Jangid

Whether it’s banking on the go, catching up on news or flicking through friends’ holidays photos, mobile is the device that has people’s time and attention. It has transformed the way people around the world connect, share experiences and discover new things. Many of the first-time users of internet in India are coming via mobile phones.

This presents a huge opportunity for brands as Facebook has over 166 million monthly active users, of which over 95 per cent users log in via mobile. Facebook is at the heart of a mobile-first shopping journey and can play a significant role to help brands and advertisers reach out to consumers who form a huge and core target audience for them. Speaking to the media in Mumbai on Monday, Umang Bedi, Managing Director, Facebook India started off the session by saying,“Our journey has been focused on connecting people. They said the world is going mobile but that is not correct. The world has gone mobile. India is leading the way on mobile purchases.76% use mobile for e-commerce for exploration, 76% use mobile for shopping, 74% use mobile to post purchases and 42% use mobile to transact/purchase. 90% consumers who seek information on Facebook are likely to buy the product. Facebook is at the heart of mobile-first shopping journey and Facebook users are heavy mobile shoppers. 9 out to 10 e commerce shoppers are active on Facebook.”

Facebook has partnered with India’s top 100 advertisers wherein they have launched their products or engaged with consumer on Facebook which has led to conversions. Some of them include Mondelez, Kingfisher, Tanishq, Goibibo, Adidas, Garnier, Durex, Shopclues amongst others.

Kingfisher launched a new drinks brand on Facebook, bringing its personality to life through vides, photos and slideshow ads aimed at youth on mobile device. Similarly, Goibibo used Facebook, audience network and Instagram to reach Indians on mobile on a massive scale, driving over 15x more installs in three days.

Said Siddharth Banerjee, SVP Marketing, Vodafone on Vodafone’s key learning using digital: “It’s not just about digital marketing in a box but about doing digital marketing in real world. I see three trends in this. The first one being understanding the marketing trends, i.e., What will Facebook/Twitter deliver to my business. The second trend is reorienting creative. We at Vodafone have always understood the value of good story telling. In the last few quarters, we have brainstormed on how to make thump stopping at Facebook. And the third trend is area measurement. Area measurement has enabled us to put more funding. We brought the pug back because the pug connected with our audiences.

Speaking about future of mobile first and digital marketing in India, Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network said ,“Video is very important for us and with JIO and Vodafone coming in market, the data cost will fall and once that happens, the lines between  digital and outdoor and other mediums will blurry. Everybody who predicted 40% will be digital will be proven wrong because by 2020 I think 80-100% will be digital.”

Adding on to what Bhasin said, Siddharth Banerjee averred:’We see great opportunity with m-pesa in the future. We are seeing huge spurs with the payment banks now available. In the future, There will be many Indias within India. There will be a leap from 2G to 4G and we will have the services, offerings to power the road to digitalisation.”

“As the shift to mobile accelerates in India, businesses have to be faster in adopting mobile strategies that reach people at every step of the fragmented commerce journey. We are committed to helping businesses grow .Whether it’s brand building, generating demand, driving leads or sales, we are focused on helping business unlock growth opportunities and help them move their business through solutions that drive results.” said Umang Bedi, Managing Director, Facebook India.

“Mobile, in India, is becoming an integral part of doing business, not just for communications. In some ways, the recent demonetisation decision of the government will further accelerate this process and as a country we will leapfrog a generation, thanks to mobile. It is an integral part of a consumer’s life and brand and purchase decisions. At Dentsu Aegis Network, we want to be at the cutting edge of this revolution, along with our partners like Facebook, to bring the learnings and best practices to India and provide a world class product to our clients” said Ashish Bhasin, Chairman and CEO Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia.