State to engage social media influencers for outreach initiatives

The decision was scripted in the digital media advertising guidelines issued by the government last week

MUMBAI: Ahead of the local body polls in the latter half of the year, the state government has decided to engage social media influencers to spread the word about its many outreach programmes, as it feels, influencers manage to shape public discourse through their content. The decision was scripted in the digital media advertising guidelines issued by the government last week.

State to engage social media influencers for outreach initiatives

To take the initiative forward, it has put social media influencers in four categories: mega influencers who have over 10 lakh followers, macro influencers with up to 10 lakh followers, micro influencers with up to one lakh followers and nano influencers whose numbers swing between 100 to 10,000. Each category of influencers will be engaged in specific campaigns through which the government is looking to target specific demographics, said a senior official from the Director General of Information and Public Relations (DGIPR).

“The government aims to empower digital creators, acknowledge their role in modern communications and enable them to amplify key initiatives for wider and more inclusive outreach, through transparent partnerships,” the official added.

“In an era where digital communication dominates public discourse, the state government, through DGIPR, has established a structured framework for digital media advertising,” said the official. The government will collaborate to disseminate information about its initiatives, policy decisions and citizen centric programmes, including welfare schemes and the course of action to be followed by citizens at a time of calamity.

“So if we have to reach out to maximum people, digital media is an effective medium. By engaging them, we can also get an ambassador to speak on our behalf on particular subjects,” Brijesh Singh, principal secretary, DGIPR, told HT.

The guidelines are not limited to social media influencers but also dwell on publishing advertisements on reputable websites, content publishing portals, news portals, educational sites, business websites, e-commerce platforms, health and lifestyle platforms, entertainment and sports portals, government websites among others, he added.