To leverage the wide reach of social media platforms, the Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative Society (APCO) has tweaked its marketing strategy to find wider acceptance for the handloom products of the indigenous weavers and tap the global market.
Handloom is the second most dependent sector after agriculture in the State, and APCO buys and sells handloom products from handloom societies through its chain of showrooms.
“We have tied up with the online marketing giant Amazon to take forward our handloom products and universalise them through social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram and Telegram. The idea is to create awareness among people on the high quality and durability of handloom products,” said B.R. Ambedkar, Managing Director of APCO.
He said to promote the products, short films would be posted on all social media platforms to reach out to the consumers with complete information about the range of products being introduced to suit the changing trends and fashions.
He said complete information about these rich weaves were made available on www.facebook.com/apcofabricsap, www.twitter.com/apcofabricsap, www.instagram.com/apcofabricsap, www.youtube.com/apcofabricsap and on the showroom's official website www.apcofabrics.com.
Promoting indigenous weaves
Mr. Ambedkar said the campaign was aimed at making everyone a partner in the drive to promote indigenous weaves that have been an integral part of our cultural ethos for generations. He said since handloom lovers were spread across the world, they would be able to access the information and encouraged to buy them.
A team was being constituted to handle the social media posts in the initial stage, he said, adding that APCO garments would be made available in all the e-commerce sites in the days to come. He said the department expected a significant boost in the sales of handloom products through this initiative.
