'Bharat users’ driving the short video boom

Bite-sized content is leading to an array of possibilities as the short video boom matures in the country. According to a recent study, the Tier 2 and lower ‘Bharat users’ are driving all these tech-fuelled habits, spreading across social media to OTT to the craze for short videos.

A recent analysis of this trend by RedSeer revealed the small-town users have a preference and account for 70 per cent of all transactors in India. And the opportunity for monetisation here is immense.

While it is a no-brainer that short video is the fastest-growing segment in entertainment, and user engagement not just in India but all over the world, the trends analysed by RedSeer in the country are unique. For example, the growth was found to be undiminished despite the out-of-the-blue ban on TikTok, the then short video market leader, by the government after the Ladakh clashes in 2020. The void was quickly filled by homegrown players like Josh, and the sector has actually witnessed a three-fold growth since then.

While the decrease in attention span amongst digital users fuelled the short form content space, it was noticed that it did not lose any of its stickiness to other forms of digital engagement like news, OTT and social media.

But it is in the hinterland that there seems to be the maximum potential. While India has approximately 83 crore internet users, a significant 83 per cent originate from Tier 2 and even smaller cities and towns, according to RedSeer. It is this ‘Bharat user’ who is playing a pivotal role in shaping India’s digital ecosystem, not just consuming content, but defining trends — while English and Hindi were the initially popular mediums, small town India’s preference for regional language has seen a spurt in such content in the short video space.

RedSeer found that India’s short video platforms see at least a 30-minute daily engagement on average, with more than 60 per cent of these users coming from middle to high-income households, offering further monetisation opportunities to content creators and influencers.

Another big advantage of short videos? They are easily consumable during work breaks (or even during work!) and leisure time. A homemaker from Faridabad, Haryana, summed it up best when she gushed, “Short-form videos are highly entertaining. I watch them at least 1.5-2 hours every day, whenever I get time off from the house chores and children!” No wonder, anyone from marketeers to conventional media sources are zeroing in on the sector with new eyes, hoping to cash in.