Urban India shifts away from YouTube, WhatsApp, FB, and X
YouTube, WhatsApp, FB & X lost 5-15% users in India over 3 years, but Instagram and SnapChat gained, according to YouGov report
Sumit Rawat
In the latest report from UK-based audience intelligence firm YouGov, leading social media platforms - Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and X - have experienced a decline of 5-15% in user numbers across urban India over the past three years. Conversely, Instagram, SnapChat, and Reddit have seen an increase of 11%, 7%, and 3% respectively during the same period. LinkedIn maintains its user engagement at 38%.
The study highlights a shift in social media consumption habits, with Gen Z dedicating more time to these platforms compared to millennials. Instagram and Snapchat are particularly popular among Gen Z, while Facebook remains preferred among those aged 35 and above.
This evolving landscape poses challenges for marketers seeking to engage effectively with their target demographics. e4m has reached out to India teams of Google and Meta for their comments on the matter.
According to a report by Data.ai earlier this year, there was subdued growth in social media networks in India between 2022 and 2023. Despite this, top advertisers, including FMCG leaders, allocated over 25% of their digital ad spends to social media apps, indicating their continued importance in marketing strategies.
Paras Mehta, Business Head of MatterKind, notes a shift towards Instagram and Snapchat, attributing it to "social media fatigue" among users. Entertainment and sports content consumption is shifting from YouTube to over-the-top platforms, while news content is increasingly consumed on aggregator platforms, impacting traditional social media apps.
Shradha Agarwal, Founder and CEO of Grapes, observes a migration of traffic from Facebook to Instagram, with many users abandoning WhatsApp due to privacy concerns. However, Vishal Chinchankar, CEO Madison Digital and Madison Alpha, suggests that while there may be a drop in urban users, the overall growth of Meta and YouTube may be fueled by rural markets, potentially mitigating the impact on ad spends.
As brands navigate these shifts, there is a growing emphasis on utilizing digital platforms for broader outreach, signaling a dynamic period for digital marketing strategies.
