ShareChat, Chingari, Instagram Reels have most of their audiences in small towns

Short-video platforms such as ShareChat, Chingari and Instagram Reels are immensely popular in India's small towns and non-metro cities, where users spend more than half an hour a day watching content on travel, food, and festivals.

A recent Ficci EY report has captured these trends on content consumption, geographical concentration of the audiences, and their demographic profile.

It reveals that nearly 7 in 10 consumers, or 68% to be precise, of short-video platforms are based in tier-two cities like Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kota and Patna, where the popularity of the format is twice as high as tier-one cities.

Further, a user spent on average 37 minutes everyday watching these videos in 2023, up from 33 minutes in 2022. For the youth, travel and entertainment are the most preferred content categories, while more than 70% of videos consumed is less than 30-second long.

Also Read: Content studios, OTT services tap short-video platforms for marketing campaigns

Surge in demand for relatable, culturally-diverse content 

“We have observed a surge in demand for relatable, culturally-diverse content that resonates with users from non-metro areas. Creators are tapping into regional languages, local traditions, and every-day life experiences to create content that speaks directly to these audiences," Sumit Ghosh, CEO and co-founder, Chingari, said. "From showcasing local cuisines, traditions, and festivals to addressing social issues prevalent in small towns, content creators are actively engaging with this demographic,” Ghosh added.

Some of the genres and categories that have been particularly successful among small-town audiences on the platform include comedy skits featuring regional humour and dialects, dance performances incorporating folk and traditional forms, and daily-life vlogs offering glimpses into the lives of people in small towns, he said.

Also Read: Homegrown short video platforms clock user base of over 250 million: Report

A Meta spokesperson said creators from small cities and towns are bringing forward their perspective, taste in fashion, and flavour of food, and that’s appealing to their local and hyperlocal audience. “Short-form video content made this possible, as it democratized creativity across India. Anyone, anywhere, could display their talent on Instagram and is able to be discovered by large and diverse audiences,” the spokesperson added. Cashing in on topical events, for a recent IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, five creators from the east came together to give live commentary and banter on an Instagram Broadcast Channel that appealed to their respective followers, the person pointed out.

Instagram is a photo and video-sharing platform owned by Meta.

On Roposo, content featuring Bollywood-inspired shopping and hip-hop styles, amongst others, has garnered significant engagement, said Mansi Jain, senior vice-president and general manager of the shoppertainment platform. Genres like fashion, DIY (do-it-yourself) tutorials, and cultural storytelling resonate particularly well with users from small towns, Jain added.

“Creators are increasingly focusing on concise and impactful storytelling within brief time frames, capturing viewers' attention quickly and holding it throughout the duration of the video. They are utilizing rapid transitions, snappy edits, and engaging visual effects to maintain viewers' interest and prevent boredom. Further, many are prioritizing strong hooks at the beginning of their videos such as intriguing visuals, catchy music, or compelling opening lines that immediately draw viewers in and encourage them to continue watching,” said GBS Bindra, chief business officer at Hipi. Hipi content often encourages viewer participation through interactive elements such as challenges, and duets, Bindra added.

Read also: Streaming platforms tap original hits for regional appeal

To be sure, small-town audiences in India are an extremely aspirational bunch, looking for content that is not only mainstream entertainment but also contributes to self-development, whether it's motivational content, upskilling, pursuing their passions, learning from experiences, or even journaling, said Niyati Merchant, co-founder and chief operating officer at Arre, a media tech company. Arré Voice, the company’s short-audio app, gets a significant engagement from tier-two and tier-three audiences, who create and consume content that ranges from poetry, music, shayari, jokes and humour to mental health, women’s health, personal experiences, relationships and dating, travel, and more. “Tier-two and three audiences are also most comfortable creating content in their regional language or dialect. The most popular languages of content creation on Arré Voice are Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, English, Malayalam, and Kannada, in that order,” Merchant added.

Overall, relatable and fun themes are received well across the short video community and platforms are also investing in tools that help creators.  “Light-hearted content has proven to win the attention of the small-town audiences and that’s evident from the 17% viewership of comedy content on Moj. Relatable romantic content, too, finds a large audience on our platform with romance holding a massive 15% share of viewership,” Shashank Shekhar, senior director, content strategy and operations, ShareChat and Moj, said. 

ShareChat and Moj are owned by Mohalla Tech, a digital entertainment company.

Creators are encouraged to use Moj lenses that enhance the visual quality of videos, Shekhar said. Besides, music options available on the platform allow creators to use catchy sections of trending audio, creating a recall effect. Feedback loops and data analytics also play a crucial role in content formats that resonate best with the audience. “The average duration of the top 100 most played videos on Moj is 15.6 seconds and the median duration is just 12 seconds despite allowing for 60-second videos to be posted. We constantly share these insights with our creators so that they build anticipation with the audience through their content in the initial moments of the video itself. Moreover, our AI-powered recommendation engine understands a user's evolving preferences and targets them with relevant content,” Shekhar added.