How Twitter Is Expanding Its Footprint In India

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TWTR: Twitter logo
TWTR
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By 2022, we estimate Twitter‘s (NYSE:TWTR) international monthly active users will cross 400 million and will be four times of the estimated monthly active users in the U.S.  We estimate that advertising revenues from international markets will be nearly $3.5 billion in 2022, growing at a rapid pace from $700 million in 2015. International markets are a key driver of growth for Twitter and the company is taking active steps to capture a large audience in these markets. Recently, Twitter announced a partnership with Lookup, an on demand platform that lets users connect with local businesses in India. [1] Through this platform users in certain cities in India can inquire about goods and services, book appointments and transact with local shops and restaurants via a tweet. In a country which will soon overtake the U.S. in terms of the number of internet users [2], Twitter accounts for only 17% of its social network users. [3] We believe this partnership with Lookup which allows users to do “more” with Twitter will help attract more users in India.

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According to eMarketer, only 1.8% of the Indian population uses Twitter, and this number will increase to only 3% by 2018. [3] Given the low internet penetration in India and a limited number of users having Twitter accounts, its reach in India is fairly limited, providing a huge potential for growth. Through the integration with Lookup, Twitter is trying to tap into this growth market by allowing users to transact with local retailers, who have been brought online by Lookup. Twitter will act as a communication engine for these transactions and will work more like a concierge or a personal assistant. The ability to order products from local stores while following news on Twitter could attract more users to the platform in India.

Twitter is definitely increasing its focus on India and given the huge potential of growth in terms of number of users in the country this appears to be the right strategy. Earlier in 2015, the company tied up with Kotak Bank which launched its #hashtag banking services on Twitter and added services like movie pre-booking. Twitter also tied up with India’s mobile service provider Reliance Mobile which allows users to pay bills and recharge their mobile connections via Twitter. [1]. The company is working on innovative techniques to engage its users and provide conveniences to generate more traffic. These steps could boost Twitter’s popularity in the region and the company is taking steps to gain from the growth of internet users in India.

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Notes:
  1. Do more with Twitter in India, Twitter Blog, December 23, 2015 [] []
  2. India on course to overtake US next month in Internet user base, Livemint,  November 30, 2015 []
  3. Twitter accounts for only 17% of Indian social network users, The Hindu, January 2015 [] []