Meta, Google  turn up the heat on short video platforms

Indian short video platforms may be running out of time to effectively monetize their platforms as Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram muscle into the space.

The two companies have said they are renewing their focus on short videos, while Indian startups are still acquiring users in their growth phase.

On 26 July, a tweet from Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, confirmed the platform’s shift in focus to video, and the same was reaffirmed by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other top executives at its earnings call a day later. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, also said in its earnings call earlier this week that YouTube Shorts was averaging 30 billion daily views globally and that the company was “excited” about the opportunity it presents.

The moves may be motivated by the runaway global success of Bytedance-owned TikTok, but industry experts say that they will surely put Indian platforms under pressure. Not only do Instagram and YouTube have huge user bases through their traditional platforms, but they also have proven and matured monetization tools and technology that influencer marketing experts and creators prefer to grow platforms.

The big two, according to experts, are the “go-to” options for advertising. Some influencer firms even say that they tell their clients to avoid smaller short-video platforms. “If you ask me, the removal of TikTok from India has only helped Instagram and YouTube. And now, they will get bigger,” said the head of an influencer marketing firm.

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