Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships for Facebook India spoke on the sidelines of Meta’s annual ‘Creator Day’ in Kolkata
Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships for Facebook India spoke on the sidelines of Meta’s annual ‘Creator Day’ in Kolkata
India is the most important country for Meta in terms of all the new stuff coming to its platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, a top company official said.
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Meta has also provided many brands and millions of creators with a great opportunity to express their creativity and build an audience in India through short videos, said Manish Chopra, director and head of partnerships for Facebook India (Meta).
“India is a very critical market for our platforms from multiple dimensions. A lot of new products are learned and incubated here, and ‘Reels’ is an example of that… this is the market where we’ve done the most testing of new product features.
“India is the main market where the focus is on all the new things we do on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp,” he told PTI.
Chopra spoke 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 the opportunity to create, collaborate and learn from each other, he said.
Chopra said that “Reels” (short of videos), which launched two years ago, has become hugely popular in India, including tier-2 and tier-3 cities. “India is worldwide the lighthouse country for ‘Reels’ for Meta. According to a new research report, about 200 million people spend about 45 minutes a day on short videos, and this figure is estimated to reach 600 million people.”
“Reels helps creators express their creativity and passion and build an audience and followers who connect with them through the content,” he said.
Short videos have also become a powerful medium for brands to promote their products on Facebook and Instagram, the official said.
“Reels” provide a different and authentic kind of voice for brands to engage with users, he said.
“Digital advertising is a high-performing tool for brands (big and small). It’s an efficient way to grow… In India, more than 50 percent of companies’ Instagram followers are second-tier and tier-3 cities; so a business can reach these markets by being on Instagram and Facebook,” Chopra said.
He also said that many music trends are happening through short videos as artists use the “1 Minute Music” format on Instagram to get “huge” distribution.
“We believe that cricket, Bollywood and music define much of the culture in India, so we continue to invest closely with partners who are creating these IPs (intellectual property),” he said.
Meta recently announced a partnership with the ICC that will allow people to watch the best match moments and highlights from the Men’s T20 World Cup via clips on ‘Reels’ on Instagram and Facebook.
On fake profiles and the spread of misinformation on Meta platforms, Chopra said the tech conglomerate is constantly taking steps to curb such a threat.
“Monitoring fake profiles and spreading misinformation is a constant area of investment for us. We proactively remove millions of fake accounts and have a large organization that ensures we respond appropriately to complaints. We also help users be more secure about their own accounts by through new security features,” he said.