Facebook now has 65 million users in India

Social networking monolith, Facebook, currently has 65 million monthly active users in India, according to Kirthiga Reddy, director (online operations), Facebook India.

“Facebook had a user-base of eight million when it started its office in India in 2010, and 65 million monthly active users is the number that we have today to share and connect,” she told mediapersons in Hyderabad on Thursday.

At present, Facebook has key products and innovations for India, both on desktop and mobiles, Reddy said, adding that the social network was now available in nine different languages on phone and 10 languages, including Hindi, Telugu Marathi, Kannada and Gujarati, on desktops.
 
Facebook, which employs less than 4,000 across the globe, today announced the opening of its new office with a floor space of approximately 66,000 sft in Hyderabad.
 
Facebook co-founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that the company had passed the one-billion user milestone globally, making it the first social network to reach the 10-figure mark.
 
“Over eight years, we have over one billion people spending time … sharing and connecting … on the social network platform globally. Of that, 600 million use it from their mobile devices,” she said. “Our goal is to make sure that we have a fantastic experience not just on smartphones but also on feature phones.”
 
Stating that Facebook continuously innovates to create products like Ads and Sponsored Stories in News Feeds for marketers, Reddy said Facebook Exchange (FBX), Sponsored Results and Offers, its new products, were further driving loyalty. “These are getting 40% conversion via Facebook than any other source,” she said.
 
Citing the example of Mumbai-based Chumbak.com, Reddy said 25% of the retailer’s online revenue came from Facebook.
 
“Chumbak has seen 5X RoI on its total advertising spend on Facebook, and 40% of its website traffic comes from Facebook,” she said. “We drive results for marketers. A study across 63 campaigns globally (on Facebook) witnessed 5X RoI (return on investment) or better in 49% of the campaigns.”
 
The online advertising spend in India is growing at 25% year-on-year and Facebook’s reach can be a strong platform for marketers, Reddy said.