Facebook in India: Localizing for Growth*

            


Details


Case Code : CLBS066
Publication date : 2009
Subject : Business Strategy
Industry : Social Media
Length : 05 Pages
Price : Rs. 100

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Key words:

Localization strategy, localization, strategy, market leadership, social networking, unique visitors, reach, local language interface, transliteration, India, Facebook, MySpace, Orkut, Bharatstudent, hi5, ibibo, LinkedIn, PerfSpot, Bigadda, Fropper, comScore

Note

* This caselet is intended for use only in class discussions.
** More comprehensive case studies are priced at Rs.200 to Rs.700 (US $5 to US $16) per copy.

 

 


 


Abstract:
ICMR India ICMR India ICMR India ICMR India RSS Feed

In May 2009, Facebook, the world's leading social networking site, launched an Indian language interface that would enable members to navigate Facebook in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, and Malayalam. Experts felt that by increasing the site's relevance to local markets through local language interface translation, Facebook had been able to grow rapidly in the international market. However, some analysts wondered whether Facebook's localization strategy through the introduction of the Indian language interface would lead to any dramatic increase in its user base in the country.

Issues:

 » Globalization
 » Growth strategy
 » Localization strategy

Introduction

In May 2009, Facebook.com (Facebook), the world's leading social networking site, launched an Indian language interface that would enable members to navigate it in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, and Malayalam. Analysts viewed this move as the social networking site’s endeavor to increase its audience in a fast growing market.


Earlier in mid-2008, Facebook snatched away the market leadership position in the social networking space from MySpace.com with 132 million unique visitors in June 2008 (a growth of 153 percent on an annual basis), according to comScore, Inc. (comScore)...

Questions for Discussion:

1. Do you think embracing Indian languages will help Facebook increase its popularity in the country? Give reasons to support your answer.

2. What else should Facebook do to improve its presence in India further?





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