On 13th May, the information and broadcasting ministry issued a draft ad policy guideline for government ministries and the department to improve social media outreach.
According to the guidelines, social media platforms will be determined by the Bureau of Outreach and Communications (BOC) which is the main organization for the government paid outreach campaigns.
As per the guidelines, social media platforms with 25 million unique users will be eligible for government ads so as to reach out to more people through its awareness campaigns particularly during this time of worldwide pandemic making sure that people are aware what the government is doing with respect to the relief campaigns organized and also about the budget and during of the campaign.
The new policy guidelines stated that the BOC id involved with implementing all Central government ministry’s advertising. Furthermore, social media platforms seeking involvement with BOC for government advertisements shouldn’t be blacklisted under the period of suspension by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology or any other department or autonomous bodies. BOC will participate in the bidding process for buying space for government messages as well as determining which social media platforms are applicable in accordance with the planned outreach activity of the client ministry.
The need for advertising on these platforms is necessary as the majority of the Indian population is somewhere or the other accessing the social media platform. The new policy also reflects upon the fact that social media platforms play a major role in the growth of digital India. Furthermore, a standardized policy prevents improvised decisions.
The department would place 100% funds in advance with BOC which is non-negotiable as any default in payment by one ministry or department may adversely affect social media campaigns and so if the actual expenditure exceeds the planned expenditure, the balance shall be paid the BOC or the client ministry.
The norms drafted for social media advertising platforms not only help us to connect to the public but also helps to facilitate a targeted approach to reach out to the desired set of people in a very efficient and cost-effective manner without any hassle.