How Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp Drive Meta, Marketing and Advertising News, ET BrandEquity

India has an estimated 100 million social media content creators across channels. However, recent estimates suggest that less than 0.2% of his content can be monetized.

Social networking giant Meta, which has brands such as Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, plans to capitalize on this opportunity. Sandhya Devanathan, vice president and head of meta for India, told ETBrandEquity, “We want to provide more monetization opportunities for brands and creators, and we believe the time has come to bring brands and creators together. I feel it,” he said.

Harvest time for creators

Devanathan added that the focus so far has been on supporting creators. “A lot of our training focused on giving them the tools and techniques through training initiatives like Born on Instagram and helping them create reels. We’re changing gears to help you connect with your brand.”

Meta is also exploring ways to power its creator tools with generative AI. For example, how can a company create advertising as one of its use cases to remove friction from the process? “But I think it applies to creators as well,” Devanathan said.

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The optimism in her voice comes from the statistic that 40% of all companies advertise Reel as a format. “A lot of the work[content creation]that happens on Reel is driven by creators. Over the past three years, we’ve seen the brand gain momentum and creators coming of age,” says Devanathan. She combines it with consumer intent. She said about 77% of users made a purchase after watching her Reels. “Is ad spending catching up with that?” I think there’s a way to get there. But it will happen,” she said.

The company is always looking for ways to make its platform more meaningful to connect and engage with what interests its users. “We are widely aware that the strategy works for us,” Devanathan said, detailing why the format of Instagram Reel, which was first launched in India, has been replicated on Facebook. .

“We have noticed that consumer behavior is rapidly changing to meaningfully consume even short-form content. , it was on the surface that we logically moved to Facebook,” said Devanathan.

She said the future looks promising with digital consumption continuing to grow in India, with an estimated 650 million people expected to consume short-form video content by 2025. “I think this trend will continue,” she says.

Say goodbye to AI and business messaging

“We are investing heavily in AI in a very meaningful way to ensure that people participate in the content they care about. We are also using some of the AI ​​investments that we made on things like that to actually shop,” Devanathan said. For example, businesses can optimize app installs, cart additions, and more.

But a big role will come in the area of ​​business messaging. “Business is really very excited about messaging,” said Devanathan, hinting at the potential impact on India’s 63 million small businesses.

The company has taken a few steps from the basics of sending DMs to businesses on social media, the most basic form of business messaging. “We are now working with small businesses to download apps, set up catalogs, and reach audiences very quickly and for free. Think of it as a replacement for storefronts and websites.” said Devanathan.

Of course, the company is equally committed to leveraging opportunities with large corporations and the public sector. Finance, retail and public infrastructure are big sectors and the company already has a lot of support. “There will be more investment in this area because we are very excited about the prospect of knowing how hundreds of millions of Indians can find their way into business,” said Devanathan.

Enabling commerce

Of the 190 million consumers who already shop online, Devanathan said, “Not everyone likes apps.” She added, “As we go deeper into Bharat, WhatsApp is already firmly entrenched.

She added that people don’t just connect with each other. “They are connecting with communities and special interest groups.

With performance marketing budgets under pressure, can business messaging help network giants make up for lost ground? “I can’t imagine moving away from performance marketing. I’m getting more and more questions about how can I get the best return on my dollar? In the midst of that business his messaging is definitely It plays an important role.”

She added, “The economic headwinds have made us much more likely to look for real business results. I hear you want it.”

The future of Whatsapp Pay

Meta executives claim their company’s role is to enable companies to connect with their users. India currently has 190 million online shoppers. By 2026, this segment is estimated to reach his 400 million people. “Additional shoppers will not come from metropolitan areas, but from across the country. We’re partnering with companies to create these experiences across the board, and it’s exciting to see them all come to life,” said Devanathan.

Talking about the future of WhatsApp as a payment gateway drew mixed reactions in India, but Devanathan was quick to defend the platform’s potential.

“We see payments as a complement to what is already happening on our platform. So far, we’re learning from it, and what stands out is that we’re financial inclusion enablers.In the rest of the country, with the introduction of WhatsApp Pay, we’re is very encouraging and encouraging.We have adopted about 1,200 villages in Telangana.We have trained villages on how to use WhatsApp for digital transactions.We have WhatsApp Pay. I am very pleased with the success of ,” she said.

Devanathan added, “What makes the experience on WhatsApp much easier than just using it as a messaging platform? As we work with WhatsApp and brands to bring those experiences to life within the WhatsApp app platform, we believe WhatsApp Pay will do a good job of making it more seamless for users.”

The future of the metaverse

Devanathan said the Metaverse is a long game. “Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of the Metaverse is still 10 years away, but we’ve been saying it’s been a while. is AR, isn’t it, over 700 million people around the world are using AR effects on our platform, I think it’s an opportunity for developers and companies to create for that, and it’s India It can happen anywhere else.”

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