India’s marketing and advertising scene is both fascinating and difficult. A diversified nation like India has a wide range of crucial information that brands should be aware of before entering the country. India has over a billion population with a wide range of needs and desires. Gaining entry to this market may be both challenging and exciting from a digital marketing perspective.
As a country with high internet penetration rate, consumers in India turn to online channels when doing brand research. The main channels they use for this are social networks, search engines, mobile apps, consumer review sites, brand websites, and video sites among others. These channels can be easily-dominated by brands new to the market through the help of digital marketing strategies.
Digital tactics have been used in the majority of India’s businesses, which effectively brought successful campaigns. Therefore, companies should now think about launching their marketing and advertising initiatives on digital platforms. The India market presents a challenge because of the fierce competition, but it also offers fantastic opportunities. You simply need to be aware of what to do, who to contact, and what the proper steps to take are.
You’ve come to the right place if you’re seeking information on how to market in India. In this article, we have compiled the best tips for digital marketing and advertising in India, straight from AJ Marketing founders Arthur Sabalionis and Joon Kim. Let’s take a look!
The 7 Best Tips for Digital Marketing in India are:
- Implement transmedia storytelling techniques.
- Research about your competitors in India.
- Start with your consumer–try community-driven marketing.
- Collaborate with local influencers and experts in India.
- Create viral-worthy contents on social media platforms.
- Increase your website visibility through the use of SEO.
- Partner with cutting-edge digital marketing agencies in India.
Tip 1: Implement transmedia storytelling techniques.
The India population uses a wide array of devices and platforms each day. While more than 96% of them own smartphones, a large portion also owns televisions, desktops, gaming consoles, and VRs. If you think you can launch the same content over and over throughout these different media, then you’re mistaken.
Transmedia storytelling is a technique that uses modern digital technology to tell a single story or story experience across various platforms and mediums. This simply means adapting to the medium in order for your message to appear more personalized and engaging.
For example, if you’re using digital billboards, then you must make sure that you’re creating an image that the audience remembers. Meanwhile, if you’re using television, then you may want to impart an impactful story. On the other hand, if you’re using social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube, you may want to start creating conversations.
In short, the founders of AJ Marketing believe that a single campaign can produce different effects, reactions, and engagements from consumers in India, depending on how your brand adapts to the medium.
Tip 2: Research about your competitors in India.
Researching about your competitors should be a natural stimulus if you’re newly-entering a foreign country. If you want to stand out among the rest, then knowing what’s in and what’s out in India should be one of your first steps.
Business research is essential for brands unfamiliar with a certain terrain. Business research includes competitor analysis or competitive analysis. This means finding competitors in your business and learning about their various marketing methods to determine your company’s advantages and disadvantages. It is also essential in determining your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses in comparison to your own.
As of June 2022, there are over 1.48 million registered companies in India. Whatever industry you may be in, thousands of other brands have surely come before you. The right thing to do is to learn from their mistakes and best practices in order to come up with your own, effective digital marketing strategy.
Tip 3: Start with your consumer–try community-driven marketing.
While broadcast and newspaper commercials were the most popular forms of marketing prior to the pandemic, post-pandemic times have seen the rise of a new array of marketing possibilities. Social media and digital marketing taking center stage, along with community-driven promotions.
The foundation of community-driven marketing is to forge sincere connections and engage with the audience in worthwhile campaigns. This simply means turning your consumers from mere audiences into a community. Instead of treating your consumers as mere numbers, treat them as people who are very important to your business.
It’s easier to understand this concept through the use of examples. The founders of AJ Marketing noted the important lessons which brands can learn from McCain.
McCain is a leading frozen foods company in India, which produces food like french fries, nuggets and cheese. McCain implemented community-driven marketing in order to drive consideration for McCain as an everyday snacking option, and not merely for occasional consumption. McCain collaborated with 68 parent communities that have a combined membership of nearly 2.2 million. The campaign was successful in attracting over 43K meaningful UGCs for the brand, generating over 30K McCain mentions.
Tip 4: Collaborate with local influencers and experts in India.
Influencer marketing in India is at its peak, with premium content creators taking project after project. Brands in this country actively seek out content creators due to their undeniable audience reach, audience trust, and authenticity.
Indian social media users choose to swipe around their phone displays for a variety of reasons, including to keep up with the lifestyles of influencers and celebrities. These consumers utilize websites like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook to discover products to buy and brand-related content. This online behavior lends support to influencer marketing being an effective marketing strategy across India.
Arthur and Joon has provided us with the best tip when choosing the right Indian influencer to represent your brand. These influencer marketing gurus want to remind brands not to get distracted by the influencer’s follower count. Rather, check on whether the influencer can actually make their audience buy your product or service. Remember, influence is way different from popularity.
Tip 5: Create viral-worthy contents on social media platforms.
When something goes viral online, it usually happens as a result of a snowball effect: someone sees something they like, shares it, then some of their friends see it and share it, and so on. The use of viral marketing in India is an effective strategy, given the population’s online behavior.
One of the top reasons why Indians go on social media is to find content, see what’s being talked about, and to share content with their peers. With this type of habit, brands must utilize social media platforms and create content that is both original and engaging–something that evokes the emotions of the Indian population enough to make them touch the “share” button.
An example of a viral advertising content in India is the Gulf Oil Lubricants’ “Dhoni x Dhoni.” In this video, Dhoni was having a conversation with a 2005 version of himself, and the two of them reminisced on their journey to success. Dhoni’s 2021 self served as the host, while the 2005 Dhoni was the interviewee.
Dhoni is an Indian pro player of cricket, a sport loved by the whole country. Due to its heartwarming and unique content, the video was a viral success with more than 5 million views on YouTube and thousands of shares across other platforms.
Tip 6: Increase your website visibility through the use of SEO.
47.2% of Indian internet users utilize search engines for their brand research needs. The most popular search engine in the country is Google, followed by other informative platforms like Wikipedia and Quora. Hence, if you want Indian consumers to be aware of your brand, you have to make efforts to top the Google results.
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a tried-and-true method that is still effective today. Simply said, SEO is the process of producing content with the goal of improving one’s search engine ranking. This can be accomplished by using keywords, researching algorithms, and staying current with Google’s content suggestions. Content optimization has a ton of benefits, including improved internet visibility and cost effectiveness.
Tip 7: Partner with cutting-edge digital marketing agencies in India.
Last, but the most important digital marketing tip, is to find a local marketing agency to partner with. The agency you choose must be a cutting-edge marketing company which does away with traditional techniques, and is more adept to digital strategies.
Businesses can easily execute tips 1 through 6 by collaborating with a local agency. Having a local marketing partner is a strategic choice because they have the necessary expertise and experience in India. They have on-ground and insider knowledge you cannot easily find in books or online. This improves the effectiveness of your campaign, and guarantees that no time, money, or effort is lost.
The creators of AJ Marketing think that they can serve as your greatest partner in India. Leading influencers in India work with AJ Marketing to develop revolutionary marketing strategies the population finds unique and engaging. This agency can evaluate all local factors in India, including the country’s language, culture, politics, economics, and even laws.
With this, Arthur and Joon believe that they can help you truly speak to the India market. Lastly, you can learn more about marketing and advertising trends in India through the AJ Marketing blog.
Conclusion
Entering India may be a pass or fail situation for brands unfamiliar with the country. Although doing business in India may lead to promising results, it may also lead to immense campaign failures because of the competition, the different culture, and the different consumer behavior. Even when a brand already knows that digital marketing is the way to go, extra effort and research must be exerted for the brand to see success.
Good thing we interviewed digital marketing gurus in India who have imparted their knowledge to us. The seven tips listed above can help your business in its next digital marketing campaign. We wish you all the best!
