Making Rural Affairs Relevant

India’s younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about rural India. People's Archive of Rural India is on a quest to change that by extensively reporting from the countryside.

The Challenge:

PARI's ambitious endeavour was already gaining respect within academic circles thanks to their meaningful coverage and the popularity of its founder, P. Sainath. Yet, their coverage wasn't generating the kind of traction it deserved on social media.

Razial Media was asked whether we can solve this. We said, "Yes!" and took over their entire gamut of social media operations in October 2019.
 

The Strategy:

The strategy hinged on three simple ideas:
 

1. Distill articles into shareable multimedia content using videos and illustrations.
    

2. Build honest, non-fiscal rapport with influential Twitterati and credible Redditors.
    

3. Put out informative photo albums about niche stories on Facebook.

We set their digital handles ablaze with hard-hitting videos, designed compelling infographics, curated catchy albums, and struck public conversations with their readers. All of this helped PARI build a strong, lively, and actively engaged online community.

Implementation

Shareable multimedia content

PARI had a diverse range of stories, which deserved to be read and shared across social media. But we realized we needed to pique the curiosity of potential readers on the internet.
 

To address this, the crux of the article was packaged in easily understandable, instantly shareable posts. Even a cursory glance would explain the topic while drawing in their interest. The creative interplay of text and images are the key to this. The website traffic swelled, as people kept coming back for more.

Compelling Twitter Threads

Stories about rural India suffer from an image crisis. Urban people are very detached from the joy, struggles, and ingenuity of village life, clubbing it as a homogenous pasture.

In truth, rural India is one of the most diverse places on earth. It is this that was conveyed with story threads, by opening up their perspectives and quickly dispelling the cliched narratives around the hinterland and the back and beyonds.

Building Non-Fiscal Rapport with Audience

In today's crowded digital space, paid trends and influencer-fuelled campaigns are commonplace. Few succeed to break out of the cacophony. However, nothing beats organic growth as it is built on trust - incrementally, compounds periodically.

PARI needed friends and supporters who believed in their ideology of telling tales of everyday people. We reached out to brave, conscientious, and honest voices on the social networks. The storytelling was amplified by their generous support. 

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Money didn't change hands, yet thoughts spread.

The Results

Departments Engaged

VIDEO PRODUCTION

ILLUSTRATIONS

ANALYTICS & sEO

Videos & Design