Popular Social Networks in China, India and Africa
Today, social media has become a part of our lives in terms of communication and business promotion. Thanks to social networks, it is possible not only to keep in touch with family and friends, but also to promote any commercial project. There are international social networks that users from all over the world can join. However, there are exceptions, such as China, India and Africa, where only local platforms are used, given the cultural peculiarities of these countries.
Local networks and their characteristics
China, India and Africa have official access only to local social networks, the ecosystem of which differs significantly from that of the West. The local social networks of these countries have a number of peculiarities:
· local legislation that is taken into account when publishing;
· own emojis, emoticons and built-in features that are not used in Western social networks;
· separate social networks for communication with friends and for business.
Why local platforms are popular in these countries
The popularity of local platforms can be explained by the unique mentality of Asian people. For example, the Chinese honor their own traditions and prefer to listen and watch content exclusively in their native language. This is also true for Indians and African nationalities, who, thanks to local platforms, preserve their cultural identity.
Popular social networks in China
WeChat: a multifunctional platform for communication, payments and business
It's a universal option to stay in touch with friends as well as colleagues and business partners. WeChat supports a number of useful features:
· working chats with colleagues;
· a convenient payment system for transfers to individuals and organisations;
· a system of business notifications and advertising mailings;
· a QR code contactless payment system;
· dating application “People Nearby”.
WeChat supports all kinds of messages: text, voice, sending photos and videos, so the user chooses a convenient way of communication. This messenger has an interface in various languages, including English, Chinese and Russian.
Weibo: the Chinese analogue of X.com (Twitter until 2023)
This social network is suitable for making posts where users share their thoughts and opinions about what is happening in the world, publish articles on various topics. Thanks to Weibo, Chinese people timely get news about their country and the world, exchange opinions as well as forward interesting posts to other social networks and messengers.
Douyin: an analogue of TikTok
This platform is designed for posting short videos, often humorous. Its interface resembles the international TikTok in many respects: the video format is up to one minute, one can add comments, and it is possible to forward the video to another social network.
Popular social networks in India
India has local platforms for socializing, but citizens of this country also have access to Instagram* and WhatsApp.
In India, this messenger is also the most popular, because it has everything you need for full-fledged personal and business communication: the possibilities to create a chat, send a text or voice message, photo or video, as well as find out when the interlocutor was last time seen online. The only thing that distinguishes WhatsApp in India is special emojis, such as girls in saris.
Instagram*
This social network in India is popular mainly among business owners. However, there are also those in this country who share photos and videos from their lives, attracting the attention of followers.
ShareChat
This social network publishes regional content in local languages such as Hindi. It features local news, videos of concerts and other mass cultural events, interviews with local officials and showbiz stars.
Popular social networks in Africa
African countries have access to the well-known WhatsApp messenger and Facebook* social network.
In Africa, you can use this messenger to exchange messages with friends, colleagues and business partners. WhatsApp in Africa is also used for advertising.
Facebook*
This social network is quite popular in South Africa, Tunisia, Egypt and other African countries. Users are eager to share their photos and videos, publish and repost articles, including articles in local languages, as well as create commercial pages.
Moya Messenger
This program is characterized by low data consumption, so the pages there load quickly. In this messenger you can have private conversations or create group chats. The messenger has gained a lot of popularity, and even WeChat, with its multi-million marketing budget, has not been able to supplant it in South Africa.
Thus, local social networks nowadays have a certain potential. Local platforms are an opportunity to develop online communication in the country while preserving cultural identity.
*Facebook/Instagram is a project of Meta Platforms Inc. whose activities are banned in Russia.