Why Marketers should focus on Indian Language Content

English once dominated the Internet in India, but not anymore. According to the 2001 census, there are more than 1.600 dialects spoken in India, with 22 official languages recognized by the government. Interestingly, only 8% Indians read English language newspapers while others prefer consuming news in their local language. Clearly, these regional languages are now taking center stage, and the Internet too is transitioning into a diverse amalgamation of Indian languages.

According to a recent Google – KPMG report, India has 234 Million Indian language users online while only 175 Million are English language users. The Indian language user base is poised to account for 75% of India’s Internet user base by 2021. These projections are set to have a profound impact on the existing and future content on the Internet, where a paradigm shift is now imminent.

Rapidly growing Internet penetration, affordable mobile data connections and improving digital literacy have appeared as the key drivers for the growth of Indian language content within the Internet ecosystem. It is interesting to note that apart from digital content platforms, several chat applications, online government services, digital payment services, classified ad platforms and e-tailing platforms are witnessing a steadily growing Indian language user base. Currently, 68% Internet users feel that Indian language content is more reliable than English.

However, there is a huge gap between the demand and supply of quality Indian language content across categories from digital news to online payment platforms. 60% Internet users claim that limited Indian language content acts as a major obstruction in the adoption of online services. Therefore, Internet based enterprises are losing out on a lot of businesses and have a untapped client base. In fact, Indian language content drives almost twice the engagement and exponentially increases the reach of online content. So, the transition from English to Hindi languages will benefit content creators as well as brand managers experts for SMEs.

As brands comprehend the persuasion power of Indian languages, regional content is increasingly being leveraged to increase brand recall through vernacular based digital advertising. Additionally, Indian language users find it challenging to read product descriptions and reviews in English. Research suggests that the share of digital advertisements in Indian languages is set to increase from 5% to 35% by 2021. This proves to be a massive opportunity for SMEs.

90% of new Internet users over the next five years are projected to be Indian language users. Government is planning to propagate digital literacy among 60,000 rural households by 2021. The adoption of Indian language content across categories such as entertainment, news, online shopping and digital payments will consequently skyrocket. Business will continue to capture a larger share of consumers by giving them access to quality Indian language content.

This shift in the Indian language consumption trends within the Internet will push e-commerce firms, digital entertainment platforms, online payment platforms and other Internet based players to continually invest in creating content that covers the most consumed regional languages. The creation of vernacular based content will lead to higher internet inclusion, especially among the rural population in India and hasten India’s journey towards becoming a truly digital country.