Unconfirmed reports are coming in, which suggest that Twitter (TWTR) is about to announce its first Indian acquisition:ZipDial. As per our sources, the deal will probably sit somewhere between $30 and $40 million (Rs 180-240 crore), and speculations are rife that it will be announced later this week.

Photo Credit: PR, Screenshot/ ZipDial

Although the report also mentions that Facebook is also in talks with them, but considering the business model of ZipDial, it makes more sense for Twitter to make the move, rather than Facebook.

January seems to be a lucky month of Indian startups, as last year, around the same time, Facebook had made theirfirst India acquisition when they bought Little Eyes Labs.

ZipDial is a unique startup founded in 2010, which specializes in the mobile marketing and user intelligence niche,the foundation of which is based on missed calls.

The modus operandi is pretty simple, yet absolutely brilliant: Advertisers and marketers are provided a phone number which they can advertise on billboards, newspapers, digital mediums and any place that might might get some eyeballs from their targeted audience. Consumers are asked to place a missed call to that number, following which they can get special offers, news and other information from the advertisers.

In short, consumers can ‘follow’ a brand or a special offer simply by placing an unanswered call.

Considering that missed calls are a huge phenomenon, both commercially and socially, this idea clicks. The beauty of ZipDial’s business model is that, even those with feature phones can use the facility, and become instantly connected with the brand. As per various estimates, missed call based businesses are currently Rs 500 crore worth of the market, and Twitter should want to tap into this value as early as possible.

Why Twitter should acquire ZipDial, not Facebook

Twitter, which is a micro-blogging site, is basically a broadcasting medium with limited content space. Celebrities and brands who are connected on Twitter can easily broadcast their messages within 140 characters, and it is more effective in mobile based advertisement in India, compared to Facebook (FB).

Phone SMSs also having limited characters, and in a way, Tweets were inspired by SMSs. Hence, when a brand or marketer shares a short 140 character Tweet, it can be perfectly synchronized as an SMS as well, which is what ZipDial is aiming to do.

Last year, Shahrukh Khan had initiated a campaign in association with ZipDial, wherein fans were asked to place a miss call to a number in order to connect with him. Once the user place the missed call, he was able to get all Tweets shared by Shahrukh. And the campaign was a huge hit.

If and when this acquisition is finalized, we should see lot more celebrities and brands using services like ZipDial’s for simple advertising and marketing solutions designed to connect with millions of phone users, without spending a fortune.

Although Facebook has realized the potential of this feature and have already introduced missed call based campaigns with Gillette, there hasn’t been much action after that. But statistically, more people use Facebook on mobile in India, compared to desktop, and this can be the reason Facebook is also trying to acquire ZipDial.

Stay tuned for the latest update on this exciting development, which can prove to be a big boost for the Indian startup community.