How ShareChat is helping local brands with language-focused advertising

As regional language media consumption soars during the lockdown, social media app ShareChat goes full throttle with brand integrations.

Local language social media platform ShareChat is engaging with hyperlocal brands, as well as helping established brands reach a wider audience through local language focused advertising campaigns, as its monetisation strategy takes hold. And at a time when brands are struggling to keep customers engaged in a meaningful manner, they find that focusing on local concerns and speaking in local tongues could help bridge the gaps.

“We have been witnessing a healthy growth since we opened our platform for brand integrations,” said Sunil Kamath, chief business officer, ShareChat. “Our regional strength in Tier 2, 3 and 4 cities, coupled with our unique UGC (user generated content) proposition for brands, is opening new marketing avenues for marketers who want to connect with regional first audiences.”

Much like what video-sharing app TikTok has done, ShareChat and several others are mining the large, mobile-first market in small towns. The 2020 State of the Mobile report by App Annie, a global analytics and market intelligence firm has found that India is right on top, when it comes to app downloads. Between 2016 and 2019, there was a 190 per cent increase in downloads by Indians, which is the highest in the world. Compared to this, globally, downloads went up 45 per cent and China at second place, grew at half the pace at 80 per cent.

Break it down further and for the majority of downloaders, the internet is an entertainment zone with the time spent on entertainment apps in India growing 80 per cent between 2017 and 2019. Also mobile-first emerging markets such as Indonesia, Brazil and India continue to spend the most time in mobile each day. And France, India and Canada saw strong growth with the average user spending 25 per cent more time in mobile each day in 2019 than in 2017.