Large Digital Platforms such as
Google, Microsoft, YouTube and Facebook have stepped up their efforts to engage
the non-English speaking Internet user by speaking in multiple tongues for a
few years now. However entertainment is still the driving force behind much of
the user engagement. Now many are looking at ways to lock in the next wave of
Internet users with language support for critical services, thereby increasing
user stickiness and brand engagement on their platforms.
Nearly 500 Million Internet
non-users are likely to go digital if Internet is provided in a language of
their choice. In the next four years, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil and Telugu
speaking Internet users will form 30 per cent of the total Indian language Internet
user base, according to a Google-KPMG report on Indian languages (2017).
Internet platforms are turning
polyglots not just because they see the rising importance of tapping into a
user base that exists far beyond the top tier cities, but also brands are
looking to ride their services to expand the customer base or improve employee
efficiencies. Cab aggregator Ola has implemented language localization across
the board to an extent that around 80 percent of the drivers use the language
in the vernacular format. Google recently rolled out support for a number of
languages on their proprietary keyboard or G-board.
Social Media has played a key role
in driving the language train. Facebook has been actively prompting users to
post content in their local language for years now. YouTube is collaborating
with content creators across major cities like Hyderabad and Mumbai through fan
events and creative spaces in order to encourage regional content.
There are 300 regional language channels
on YouTube in India with over a million subscribers mark. Almost 70% music and video
streamed online, 50% of messaging service usage and 50% news consumption across
the country is done in regional languages. Globally, China managed to achieve
the highest number of Internet users by using Mandarin script content, so much
so that Chinese is the second most popular language on the Internet after
English. In contrast, Indic content accounts for barely 0.1 % of the worldwide
Internet content.
The potential for brands across the
spectrum, not just advertisers and entertainers is huge. At present, barely 15%
ticket booking, 17% online job searching and 21% banking services consumed online
is done in regional languages. This reflects the restrictions of access of such
critical Internet service in Indic, which in turn is limited Internet
penetration in rural India and amongst the economically weaker section. Out of
481 Million Internet users in India almost 335 Million consume online content
in Indic languages.
Bengaluru
based technology startup Reverie Language Technologies, which provides Language
as a Service (LaaS) solutions notes that a user’s online journey starts with
content consumption, followed by engagement, which is followed by transactions
or conversions. When the number of transaction-users grows, businesses will
start looking into providing them with relevant localized solutions to solve
their pain points. With 200 Million rural users coming online this year, companies
will have to take efforts to help these users navigate through the digital
world.
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