By Ram Kumar Kaushik
In the era of reality shows, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot is on a look out for real life brand ambassadors of his welfare schemes through social media contests. The tea beneficiaries of his welfare schemes would be the brand ambassadors, who would publicise the schemes and how they have impacted the lives of commoners. The government is likely to distribute Rs 2.75 lakh every day for a month for 103 videos posted on social media. These videos have to be beneficiary centric and should highlight the benefits of the schemes. Videos can be posted on any social media platform tagging state government. This will not only engage people but they will also discuss these schemes in detail to post creative videos.
“We want people to share their experiences about the welfare schemes, rahat camps and the impact of government schemes on this lives. There will be daily cash prizes for such videos which will encourage others to avail the benefits of the schemes. The first prize would be Rs one lakh while second and third prizes would be Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively. Apart from that, there would be 100 consolation prizes of Rs 1000 each,” the official said.
The government would set up a panel of jury, which will rate the videos uploaded for the contest.
“This is a unique way of advertising where the money is being spent not on the medium or platform but the people who are using the platform. Money will go directly to the beneficiary's pocket if he has uploaded the video or in the account of those who have made the video,” the official said.
Roping in social media influencers
The government is also tapping social media influencers for promoting its welfare schemes. It has recently issued a notification allowing advertisements to social media influencers ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 5 lakh per month on their channels. The influencers have been categorised into four groups. While Group A will comprise users with a following of at least 10 lakh followers, Group B influencers must have 5-10 lakh subscribers. Influencers with 1-5 lakh followers will qualify for Group C while those with over 10,000 followers will be categorised under Group D.
Group A influencers will be entitled to a maximum monthly payment of Rs 5 lakh for running government advertisements, while Group B, C and D influencers will get advertisements worth a maximum of Rs 2 lakh, Rs 50,000 and Rs 10,000 per month, respectively.
According to the notification issued by the Rajasthan government last week, social media influencers will have to provide proof of their activities on social media. Influencers in Group A should have posted at least 100 videos or 150 posts in the last six months while the requirement is 60 videos or 100 posts in Group B, 30 videos or 50 posts in Group C, and 15 videos or 30 posts in Group D.
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