Top 8 Social Networks in Russia

By: Eric Nelson Posted on Mon, 13-07-2020

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The digital world has a lot to offer. With the mesmerizing websites to blogs and videos, there's a lot an online user can do. Thanks to technology and the internet, people can communicate with each other in the blink of an eye without leaving the comfort of their home.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, etc. dominate the world of social media but some countries do not follow the traditional social media networks. They prefer to create their social networks and prefer their local replacements over these otherwise popular networks.

Russian Social Networks are on the Rise

Russians always had a thing for manufacturing. Technology is something that comes handy to Russian users. So the difference in Russian social networks is far more visible just like Chinese social networks. The difference becomes more prominent for branding and marketing strategies as well. So if you ever wonder to enter the Russian market, you are in for a great challenge to overcome the language barrier with professional Russian translation services.

It is interesting to see how the use of social media networks differs from region to region, so if you are more than interested to initiate your business in Russia, it's better to understand the role-play of their social networks as well.

Vkontakte

So far the most popular social media network is VK. With an active 97 million users this platform resembles Facebook a lot. Users' profiles, file sharing, photo and status updates, etc. are the most basic functions of this network.

Once you upload a video or a photo you can use them for different purposes and share the resources with users as well. In the beginning, VK faced some legal scrutiny due to copyright issues. But now users are complying with the rightful laws and the matter was solved at hand.

OK.ru

With over 71 million users, Ok.ru is most popular among older social media users. Also known as Odnoklassniki, meaning “classmates”, it is the second most famous social media network in Russia.

Similar to VK, users are allowed to create public profiles, find friends, and update their status and images, and so on. However, what makes it more unique than VK  is that it's more like a reconnecting platform for the classmates (as you must have guessed by now), and that way you can reconnect with your ol' buddies and fellows with whom you lost the touch over the years. 

Moreover, you can also make audio or video calls! On special occasions, you can send virtual gifts as well so it makes it all pretty exciting right?

Moi Mir

It translates into My World. Quite similar to VK (yes, once again), you can share your images videos and music and games too.

But there is something that makes Moi Mir special. It is much of an extension of the email provider mail.ru and therefore it was hard to target a specific niche with strong players already in the play. Luckily, it now has 5.4 million users!

It’s easy to create groups with the Group Tab on the upper right corner of the screen and you can participate in group chats

Facebook

With the regional differences at hand, Facebook is not so popular network in Russia, but it does now boasts with 50 million users!

What changed? Well, Facebook targets a wide number of regions, but some always nag through due to cultural issues or laws. Facebook is constantly working on evolving its features and policies which makes it a hard target by many organizations but it does fully comply with the user's need. Therefore, now you understand the increase in users.

Facebook targeted the specific niche to involve in the Russian world i.e. it targeted business conversations. A smart play led with an increase of 30% business-related conversation played a huge role in revitalizing business mergers and updates.

LiveJournal

What is the super trend of the 21st century? Blogging!

Blogging platforms are taking over websites by the swipe and Live Journal is one of the most disused blogging platforms in the world.

But wait – Russia is not letting go of this platform any time sooner. One thing to understand is, not every platform is popular in every country. Some are more likely to disappear in use but some stick to niche countries. Live Journal still sets an example by sharing personal blogs and gives values to share opinions thus creating an affiliation between the readers. 

Several online services support LiveJournal integration in Russia, so if you want to interest viewers in your products and services this one of the most effective methods.

Twitter

Like Facebook, Twitter is another classic social network that had to sting a bit in the beginning. With approximately 13 million users (as compared to other countries it is quite low), twitter no has most engagements per author!

Surprises come in many forms, right? Twitter may still not be the limelight of social media networks, but tweeting will never get old. So yeah it is the 6th most popular social media network and mostly influencers are drumming the use which in return is becoming a major investment for brands and other businesses.

Rutube

It rhymes with YouTube – a social media platform famous for vlogging and sharing and uploading videos of all content types. As YouTube has a drastic range of users all over the world, it is the most famous social network for videos. Likewise, in Russia, Rutube is licensed to share the video content and user uploads. 

Most users are Russians and it highly targets the local online users, therefore, making it a hot commodity for Russian content. Translators are over the world have used this platform to their advantage to keep up-to-date with the language slangs and cultural context.  

Instagram

Instagram is one of the most popular social media networks that took charge of influencers, bloggers, and especially photographers!

So what makes you think Russians will stand behind it? No, not! With rapid use, there are no 40 million users (mostly females) in Russia. The shift in popularity is due to its convenient tools and use of stories and other features that enhance the quality of pictures and videos.

Among other social media networks, the ease of use and users' privacy for the content became the most sought out reason for the users to create Instagram accounts. Now stories sharing options are also available! So do you think you can resist using Instagram?

Social media shaping internet

No one can resist the use of social media networks these days. Even to promote your brand or business you have to localize your image according to the region. If you want to invest in the Russian market, understand all the basics and foremost the use of social media networks. And if you need professional Russian translation services, we are here to help!