Saturday 1 March 2014

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As India User Base Nears 100M, Facebook Hopes To Earn Big Revenue From SMBs

India is set to become Facebook’s biggest market in terms of number of users later this year, but don’t expect that to translate into ad dollars for the Palo Alto company anytime soon. India’s online advertising market maxes out at around $360 million, making it difficult for the company to translate this horde of users into a billion-dollar business.

Companies like Facebook and Twitter are not new to this problem – their biggest user markets (mostly outside of the U.S.) are not necessarily top revenue sources.

But Facebook sees immediate opportunity to earn big ad revenue by targeting India’s around 50 million SMBs who are increasingly becoming tech savvy and leveraging their smartphones to connect with potential customers.

“It’s a huge opportunity and we’re just getting started. We are building products and features that target the needs of SMBs who can start with us for as little as $5 daily,” said Andy Hwang, Facebook’s director for SMB business in Asia Pacific.

India has around 50 million SMBs, and many of them such as Kaya Skin Clinic, and smaller retailers including Pigtails and Ponys are now spending over $5 a day with Facebook, Hwang added. Online fashion retailer Yepme is another such early Facebook customer that has seen its ‘likes’ touch 4 million recently.

“With a minimum advertising budget on Facebook, we got around 33,000 likes in a span of one month,” said Nivedha Charles of Pigtails and Ponys. The startups sells handmade hair accessories.

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