CONTEXT
ShareChat, catering to a diverse and multilingual user base across India, faces the challenge of ensuring its voice and tone resonate with all users while maintaining a consistent brand identity.
SOLUTION
ACKNOWLEDGING THE DIVERSITY
India is rightly famous for its diversity and different ethnicities all over the country. Like how there’s no single strategy that would apply to the markets in every region of India, the messaging techniques too vary from region to region.
While we have witnessed the diversity & the range of uniqueness that each language offers, the common denominators bonding them are equally prevalent too.
Be it scripts or vocabulary, each of the language family has a familiarity that complements well with the other languages in the group.
So how do we establish this aspect of familiarity in our messaging effectively, while staying authentic to the local preferences?
THE APPROACH – COLLECTIVISM
Indian society as a whole is collectivistic and promotes social cohesion and interdependence.
Collectivism as a whole endorses group goals, such as family integrity, harmonious relationships, and the well-being of the group
The concept of collectivism does a great job in identifying common themes and principles that contribute to the values, attitudes, beliefs and norms of the society
Collectivism as a whole echoes the ethos of a community. Even though the user groups may be divided by linguistically
It’s a great technique to instill effectiveness in a diverse landscape like India, while doing justice to individualism too.
Following are the scenarios where collectivism thrives in India & these use cases can be used to effectively identify & apply in the regional messaging practices
1) Regional collectivism
2) Community collectivism
3) Social collectivism
4) Familial collectivism
Fundamentals of ShareChat voice & tone
Culture
Being India’s leading language first social media platform, our voice emanates from the rich cultural diversity, collectivism & heritage of India. This is what defines our platform from others & forms the fundamental voice & tone.
Community
We are not a platform built for communities, rather a platform that is built by communities. Hence it is of utmost importance to understand how the community speaks & talk to them in their language and meet them on their terms.
Consistency
All the conversations & the ideas should be Infused with the attribute of consistency maintained across all messaging scenarios. Which is based on the well-sought understanding of culture & community.
Messaging characteristics
A quick get
Communicate the message in the easiest & the most effective way possible
Positive
Maintaining the element of positivity is not about being nice, but rather about building credibility & establishing a mindset that helps users build a factor of closure towards ShareChat.
Reflective
Of the community, people or user mindset. Only then there will be effective association.
Key contributions
Directed comprehensive research to identify user needs, preferences, and engagement patterns.
Developed detailed personas to ensure targeted and effective messaging across various communication channels like videos and banners.
Standardized the communication strategy across 15 languages, ensuring cultural and linguistic nuances were respected and effectively incorporated.
Coordinated with multilingual teams to harmonize messaging, fostering a unified brand identity across diverse linguistic audiences.