A recent study has shown that the increased use of networks in India will soon cause the sector to take off.

Though social media marketing is already a tremendous affair in many parts of the world, it has yet to truly take off in India, where the network influence is still considered to be in its infancy.

A recent study has shown that the use of this communication is finally starting to take its first steps in that country.

That being said, it looks like Facebook is and will continue its dominance over social media marketing in the country. A recent report issued by the Internet and Mobile Association of India has revealed that among all users of social media in the country, 97 percent use Facebook. Moreover, the average frequency of use over mobile is every day of the week.

Though this isn’t surprising to many, social media marketing itself has yet to take off there.

These numbers may seem normal for many countries where Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others have already made themselves mainstream, but this is representing a considerable shift from previous years in India, says the founder of Brandologist, Saurabh Parmar, who is also a digital marketing professor.

At the same time, Parmar has questioned the accuracy of previous studies that have been performed regarding social media marketing and the use of the networks as a whole. In this most recent data from the Internet and Mobile Association of India, the data shows that there are 62 million users of social media as a whole in India. However, according to Facebook’s own data – not used in the study – there are 62 million Facebook users.

That would suggest that every single person who is using social media in India is also using Facebook, and it has called the accuracy of the study into doubt.

The study also placed Google+ as the second most popular place for consumers to be exposed to social media marketing. It said that approximately 35 percent of the number of network users are using that platform. However, Naga Chokkanathan pointed out that “If this is true, then this is a surprise. All along we were thinking that social media are dominated by people from big cities, and we have been targeting content, advertisements and offers for them.” Chokkanathan is a social media and customer experience management consultant.

All in all, what could be agreed upon is that there is a great deal of potential for social media marketing in India, and that the surface has only been scratched so far.

Google updates Shopper application to help promote mobile commerce

Google has been working to establish a dominant presence in the world of mobile commerce for some time. The company’s Google Wallet has made mobile payments more available to a wide range of consumers, but many people are still demanding comprehensive mobile commerce services that make mobile payments more convenient. In order to accommodate the needs of consumers, Google has updated its Google Shopper application, introducing new features that may be well received by those that prefer to shop online.

App includes updates search features

Google Shopper 3.2 is the latest version of the application. At its core, the application allows users to find products and compare prices for products offered by several retailers. In previous versions, users could find a wide range of products through the application’s search engine, but sorting through the results of this search would often be problematic. One of the new features of the Google Shopper application allows users to sort the results of their search so as to find the products they are most interested in more easily.

Application designed to improve in-store experience

The application is equipped with a variety of features that are designed to improve the in-store shopping experience. The application can scan barcodes and is equipped with voice recognition software that makes it easier for consumers to find the products they are interested in. Searching for product reviews has also been improved in the latest version of Google Shopper and users can find video reviews via YouTube through the application. Users can access GPS technology in order to find the best deals on products offered at local stores as well.

Google continues to show interest in mobile commerce

Google is investing heavily in mobile commerce and part of this involved encouraging consumers to make use of applications like Google Shopper. Mobile commerce is more than simply purchasing products using a mobile device; it also involves mobile shopping. Google expects that its improved Shopper application may help consumers become more acclimated to mobile commerce and the convenience it offers.