Facebook is leaving no stone unturned to attract Indian advertisers in order to boost revenue from its second largest user base. It is offering services such as free email support for queries regarding advertising and advice on improving sales to the users in the region.“We really need to help them see how Facebook pages and advertising will help grow their businesses,” said Andy Hwang, Facebook director of small- and medium-sized businesses for Asia Pacific.The social networking site has 132 million users in India, second only to the US with 193 million users. However, according to analysts, the payoff has been meagre in the former: it earns 15 cents on each Indian user every quarter, as compared to $7 to $8 per user in the U.S.Facebook launched its operations in India in 2010 and has been putting a lot of effort to change its revenue scenario in the country. It recently said that the efforts have started producing intended results.However, Indian advertisers still prefer traditional television advertisements and are apprehensive of advertising on social media, analysts said.“Advertisers in India are not warmed enough to social media as a concept of marketing,” said Neil Shah, Counterpoint analyst.Facebook launched its Internet.org initiative in India in August 2013 in order to connect the two-thirds of the world without internet access. Analysts said that several Indian advertisers are in rural areas with an unreliable internet connection.The present Indian government is pro- social media as Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself uses Facebook to provide updates on the government’s workings.“It is undeniable that a pro-social media government is good for the industry,” said Jaideep Mehta, vice president and general manager for International Data Corporation Southeast Asia.
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