India 'Most Significant' Country for New Features Across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Top Executive Says

India is the most significant country for Meta in terms of all the new things that feature across its platforms — Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, a top company official said. Meta has also provided a great opportunity for numerous brands and millions of creators to express their creativity and build audiences in India through short-form videos, said Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships for Facebook India (Meta), adding that India is a very critical market for the company's platforms from multiple dimensions. A lot of new product learning and incubation is done in the country, and 'Reels' is an example of that. Chopra also said that this is the market where the firm has done the most amount of testing of new product features.

"India is the most significant market where the focus is for all the new things that we are doing across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp," he told PTI, speaking on the sidelines of Meta's annual 'Creator Day', which was recently held for the first time in Kolkata. The event celebrates creators and gives them a chance to create, collaborate and learn from each other, he said.

Chopra said 'Reels' (short-from videos), which was launched two years back, has gained massive popularity in India, including tier-2 and tier-3 cities. "India is the lighthouse country for 'Reels' for Meta globally. As per a new research report, around 200 million people are spending about 45 mins per day on short-form videos, and this figure is estimated to go up to 600 million people. Reels is helping creators express their creativity, passion, and build audiences and followers that relate with them through the content," he said.

Short-form videos have also become a potent medium for brands to promote their products on Facebook and Instagram, Chopra told PTI, adding that Reels provide a different and authentic kind of voice for brands to engage with users, he said.

"Digital advertising is a highly performing means for brands (large and small). It's an efficient way to grow... In India, more than 50 per cent of the followers for the businesses that are on Instagram are coming from tier-2 and tier-3 cities; so a company can reach out to these markets by being on Instagram and Facebook," he said.

He also said that a lot of music trends have been happening through short-form videos, as artists make use of the '1 Minute Music' format on Instagram to get "tremendous" distribution.

"We believe that cricket, Bollywood and music define a lot of culture in India. So, we continue to invest closely with partners who create these IPs (intellectual property)," he said.

Meta recently announced a partnership with the ICC that would enable people to watch the best match moments and highlights of the Men's T20 World Cup, through clips on 'Reels' on Instagram and Facebook.

Chopra said the tech conglomerate takes constant measures to rein in the menace of fake profiles and the spread of misinformation on Meta's platforms.

"Putting a check on fake profiles and spread of misinformation is a constant area of investment for us. We are proactively taking down millions of fake accounts, and have a large organisation that ensures we are responding appropriately to complaints. We also help users become more secure about their own accounts through new security features," he said.