India Social Media Survey - Edition 1 by exchange4media.com and blogworks.in

1 Across the globe, the blog and social media environment is evolving rapidly, India is noexception The survey attempts to capture insights and learnings from Corporates and Marketers ofIndia to get a sense of what‟s really happening on the ground Results and analysis will help understand how our peers, from across India, view socialmedia impact on marketing and communication This will allow the industry to benefit from shared insights and make for educateddecisions2 The survey was jointly conducted by exchange4media.com, amongst the most respectedspecial interest publishing group in India and Blogworks – strategic social media solutions(http://blogworks.in) in December 2008 and January 2009 A detailed questionnaire, consisting of high impact questions, was hosted online tocollect responses from the desired audience – working professionals, executives, businessleaders from India E-mailers, advertising and word-of-mouth around the survey resulted in a total of 590started surveys; a response count of 363; and 267 completed surveys Survey forms filled in by participants who chose to remain anonymous (or filledgibberish), or those who did not meet the audience criteria were removed from theresults tally Statistical analysis of each question only takes into account valid responses to thatspecific question and not the total number of entries, thus allowing for a more preciseevaluation Trends are captured graphically; comments from participants are highlighted with nameswhere participants gave us explicit permission to quote them; and without giving awayidentities of participants, and organisations they represent, where participants did notwish to be quoted. We have also tried to draw trends, establish linkages: these arehighlighted3“We get to know our viewers' preferences when it comes to television viewing.Mentions of the channel and shows in a viewer's blog gives us a sense of likeabilityand willingness to spread a positive word on the same within their circle. Theseblogs and discussions on social networking sites have helped us pick the rightcontent for our English entertainment channel as well.”-- Manager - Strategy & Business Development, Entertainment Channel“Companies like CISCO, HCL etc are using Blogs to make an impact with theirstakeholders. The impact may be subtle and not measurable but it is still importantand will evolve into a conspicuous entity.”-- Gurpreet Wasi, COO, Retail Solutions Company“We created our community on Social Networks like FaceBook and Orkut and wehave seen significant increase (almost 40 per cent) in the number of referrals fromexisting players.-- Sachin Uppal, Marketing Director, Online Gaming site4© www.blogworks.in and www.exchange4media.com Only 4 per cent respondents stated that Social Media „enjoys very little credibility‟ Like in any other medium, it‟s not the tool but the voice/s associated with it that matter As more and more experts adopt Social Media, credibility is expected to go up further5© www.blogworks.in and www.exchange4media.comAn overwhelming 90 per cent of respondents believe that blogs and Social Mediaplatforms presently have an impact on business and marketing6© www.blogworks.in and www.exchange4media.comInterestingly, a clear majority of respondents (58 per cent) believe that Social Media willhave a „huge impact‟ on business and marketing, over the next year or two – a steep 37per cent jump from 21 per cent, who think it has a huge impact at present (see previousslide)7moc.aidem4egnachxe.ww wdnaniks.rowgolb.www© Clearly, organisations are now realising the reach and scope of Social Media and areprepared to use Social Media platforms like blogs, social networks, wikis, RSS, etc. Even as neo influencers like bloggers are targeted, traditional influencers – media,analysts remain key target for outreach8For nearly 90 per cent respondents,buzz and word of mouth are topdeliverablesfromSocialMediaactivitiesHowever, encouraging statistics showsorganisations and brands are clearlymoving towards a conversationalpath: Over 65 per cent respondentsthink Social Media can deliverinsights Over 61 per cent think SocialMedia can build engagements Over 46 hope to create betterproducts and servicesSocial Media is not a sales tool seemsto have been understood by most© www.blogworks.in and www.exchange4media.comorganisations. However, a lack ofunderstanding of this basic SocialMedia rule could otherwise provecostly.9© www.blogworks.in and www.exchange4media.com An overwhelming 85 per cent respondents agree that Social Media does have an impact on purchase decisions High involvement categories such as Automobiles, Gadgets, Mobiles, Healthcare, Travel, Finance amongst others will likely see higher impact than low involvement categories10