Top Shared Posts by Indian Brands on Facebook 2017 - And what you can learn from them

Rohit Uttamchandan shares data backed takeaways basis Top Shared Posts on Facebook by brands in 2017.

Creating great content that gets widely shared is a constant challenge that social media and content marketers face.

Here’s a list of some of the top shared posts by Indian brands on Facebook in 2017, with key takeaways, that will help you create awesome share-worthy content for your brand pages in 2018.

The list has been created by analyzing over a 100,000 posts shared in 2017 by over 500 leading Indian brand pages on Facebook. The pages analyzed do not include publishers who are purely into the business of news and entertainment content creation (Buzzfeed, ScoopWhoop, Logical Indian, AIB, TVF, MTV etc).

Before we get to the list, here are some key takeaways:

1. It’s video all the way!

Twelve out of the 14 posts listed below are videos. Video is a much more engaging format than images and links and Facebook has been favouring video in the newsfeed as well. Video consumption on Facebook is only going to grow further, so focus on creating more engaging videos for your brand pages in 2018.

2. Vernacular language content drives higher engagement:

Nine out of the 14 posts listed below are not in English!

The video by Tanishq has content in six different Indian languages while Ixigo’s How To Speak series also has content in six languages. The video by Chola Finance posted in English was shared 3000 times, while the same video translated to Hindi was shared over 78,000 times.

Vernacular content on digital is here to stay and should be a key part of brands' marketing strategies for 2018.

3. Create/Optimize for sound-off:

Nine out of the 14 posts listed do not require sound to be understood.

A large percentage of users watch Facebook videos with the sound off. Ensuring your video makes sense when muted will help drive greater engagement.

4. Storytelling is key:

With Facebook continuing to push video (Facebook’s VP for Europe, Middle East & Africa, Nicola Mendelsohn has said Facebook may become “all video over the next five years”!), brands that tell riveting stories through video content will see their engagement skyrocket.

5. Social Issues and causes trigger shareability

Six out of the 14 videos listed either build awareness around a social issue or take a stand for a cause.

6. In-your-face selling does not work on social media:

None of the posts listed below (with the exception of DC Design) are directly selling anything. Their primary objective is to engage and add value to their audience in some way or the other and, in the process, drive brand visibility and recall.

In fact, most of the videos do not even have their brand logo show up until the last few seconds.

If your objective is to get people to better engage with and share your brand content on Facebook in 2018, refrain from making your content revolve only around your product, service or USPs. Focus on content that informs, educates, entertains or establishes a connect with your audience and that will trigger shareability.

Also Read: #SocialThrowback : Top 50 social media campaigns from 2017

7. When you find success, do it again!

Not every content piece will get widely shared - that’s a hard fact. But once you find something that resonates with your audience, keep doing it until it stops giving results. Ixigo’s How to speak series, listed below, is a classic example of this.

List of Top Shared Posts on Facebook

1. Oriflame - Women’s Day 2017 - 180k shares

This video from cosmetics brand Oriflame celebrates the superwomen in our lives and urges us to recognize their efforts and pay a tribute to them.

https://www.facebook.com/oriflamein/videos/1424003094305942/

2. Tripoto - #LifeGoals - 173k shares

A very relatable post - it is something a lot of us wish our lives were. This is one of the only two non-video posts in this list!

https://www.facebook.com/tripoto/posts/1200001933419523

3. Ixigo - How to Speak Malayalam in a minute - 137k shares

One of India's leading travel brands, Ixigo has always been very creative with its social media content. They posted a one-minute video on How To Speak Hyderabadi in Sep 2016 and it got over 73,000 shares.

With the insight that a lot of travel buffs would engage with similar content in other languages, they posted a video on How To Speak Malayalam in March 2017. This got over a 137,000 shares.

https://www.facebook.com/ixigo/videos/10155092606043270/

They then replicated their success with these two languages with videos in Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati and Tamil - all of which have over 10,000 shares.

The learning - when you find something that resonates with your audience, do it again, And again, And again!

4. Oppo India - #YourBestDiwaliGift - 116k shares

Honestly, IMHO, this video has nothing really “shareworthy” about it. It is a classic example of engagement bait - urging users to share an ordinary piece of content with a bait that they could possibly win something. Facebook has announced in December 2017, that they are cracking down upon this practice to ensure high-quality content in the Newsfeed.

https://www.facebook.com/oppomobileindia/videos/1966105326970603/

Oppo has (mis)used engagement bait throughout 2017 to drive shares on its content:

Not something you want to try going forward, especially after Facebook has officially come out in the open about it.

5. Chola Finance - Life Lessons you can learn from an ant - 78k shares

This video from Chola Finance inspires its audience of small business owners and entrepreneurs to learn life lessons from ants and “Enter A Better Life”, in sync with their brand tagline. The video was first posted in English and got a little over 3000 shares. The same video, translated into Hindi, received over 78,000 shares - a clear indication of the potential in the vernacular content space in India.

6. Hero Motocorp -  #HeroSalutes the heroes behind the heroes - 75k shares

This video from Hero Motocorp salutes the families of soldiers who sacrifice so much and support them, so that the rest of us have our rights and freedom protected. The video evokes a strong sense of patriotism and empathy and triggers shareability.

https://www.facebook.com/HeroMotoCorpIndia/videos/1337209903043156/

Also Read: How long can a brand sustain itself on the patriotism bandwagon?

7. Tanishq - The sacred bond of marriage - 68k shares

Tanishq’s video on the emotions that parents go through when their daughter is getting married has content in 6 languages - connecting with audiences in different parts of the country.

https://www.facebook.com/Tanishq/videos/1563316577030400/

8. DC Design - DC's take on the iconic Bullet - 60k shares

DC Design - a company that customizes vehicles as per customer requirements came posted their take of the bullet. Targeted to bullet aficionados and auto enthusiasts, this post definitely struck a chord with them.

9. Axis Bank - #MuhPeTaala - 56k shares

Part of Axis Bank’s #MuhPeTaala campaign, the video is a very engaging and creative way of telling people not to share their ATM pin, CVV and OTP with anyone.

https://www.facebook.com/axisbank/videos/1553398258081643/

10. Via.com - Unsolved mysteries of the Puri Jagannath temple - 49k shares

Travel aggregator Via.com’s video shares seven unsolved mysteries of the Puri Jagannath temple in Orissa.

11. Micromax India - Tiranga App - 48k shares

The video brings up three social issues - child labour, garbage disposal and disrespect to the national flag, and in the process urges people to go digital and share their passion for the country through their app.

https://www.facebook.com/micromaxindia/videos/1651234824886680/

12. Mirinda #ReleaseThePressure - 41k shares

A part of Mirinda’s #ReleaseThePressure campaign, the video drives awareness about exam-related depression in kids and teens and urges parents to pledge that they will not put undue pressure on their kids to score marks in school and college exams.

https://www.facebook.com/mirindaindia/videos/1425007930842884/

13. Bewakoof - Tag your engineer friends - 29k shares

This humorous post targeted to engineers is something a lot of them would relate to.

14. Vicks India - Gauri Sawant - 29k shares

A video created by The Logical Indian for Vicks India - it tackles two social issues of adoption and child labour. The video was reposted by The Logical Indian and got over 68,000 shares on that post too.

https://www.facebook.com/VicksIndia/videos/1133359230123994/

Are there any other widely-shared posts (> 30k shares) from Indian brands which you think should feature on this list? Let me know in the comments below.

Wish you all the best for your content creation efforts in 2018!

Disclosure - The author led the team that ideated and created the video on "Six Life Lessons you can Learn From an Ant" for Chola Finance.

The article is authored by Rohit Uttamchandani and was first published here.