KOCHI: The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has taken a leaf out of top politicos and business honchos who hire back-up teams to handle their Twitter and Facebook handles and the agency is now on the look-out for an agency to actively carry out anti-corruption campaigns on social media and other online platforms.
A top officer at the VACB’s Thiruvananthapuram headquarters said the government had given its nod for roping in a private agency for the purpose. “The proposals for extending the Zero Tolerance towards Corruption to the social media and online platforms has reached the next stage. We have invited bids for engaging the agency which will help us conduct an online awareness programme. Since there has been a jump in the number of those active on social media, it will help us connect with the target audience in terms of digital reach with creative inputs,” he said.
The agency will have overall charge of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) social media handles’ management and maintenance. This will include creating the text for the posts, posting them online and undertaking innovative campaigns.It will also be responsible for Online Reputation Management and Social Listening. The agency will have to come out with innovative campaigns to support and sustain the image of the VACB’s digital brand.
The agency selected will have to come up with 10 posts on Facebook, 14 on Instagram, 20 on Twitter, one on YouTube, and 250 on WhatsApp in a week.All the posts and queries received between 10 am-5 pm should be replied within 30 minutes and non-relevant ones should be redacted without delay.The agency is required to boost the visibility of Vigilance apps on Google Play Store to promote maximum downloads by the users known as App Store Optimisation.
Besides, the agency shall be responsible for multichannel online marketing technique focused on reaching a specific audience on their smartphone, tablets, or any other related devices via WhatsApp, websites, email, SMS and MMS, social media or mobile applications. Push notification service for Android devices also will have to be developed.
Though the VACB launched the Whistle Now app, it failed to click despite providing an avenue for squealing on administrative corruption. Arising Kerala, another app by the VACB, was launched a year ago.The VACB had also set up an online facility to lodge complaints on its website.A dedicated WhatsApp number and a toll-free number to report corruption too have been unveiled by the anti-graft agency.