iWorld
The influence of social media on crowdfunding: Amplifying causes in the digital era
Mumbai: The social media landscape has become an undeniable force in shaping our lives, transforming how we connect, share, and pursue our goals. This digital revolution has extended its influence to the realm of fundraising, creating a powerful new avenue for individuals and organizations to bring their ideas to life: crowdfunding. These initiatives can range from entrepreneurial startups and innovative products to charitable causes, artistic projects, and more.
Crowdfunding themes that garner more visibility on social media platforms often revolve around social impact, personal journeys, innovative projects, humanitarian causes, tech innovations, community initiatives, and personal development. These themes evoke emotions, offer unique experiences, and address societal needs, making them highly shareable and relatable. Successful campaigns typically feature authentic storytelling and a clear call-to-action, captivating a diverse online audience and fostering widespread support.
Social media has always been a boon to people’s lives. This digital revolution has also impacted fundraising, giving us crowdfunding. It’s a powerful way for people and groups to get support for their ideas. With the help of social media, creators can reach a large audience worldwide, gathering support and resources in a new and different way from the usual methods of fundraising. Social media platforms, which were initially designed for personal connections, have expanded their roles and become essential tools for businesses and organizations. Crowdfunding, in particular, has experienced a significant transformation due to this evolution. In the past, crowdfunding relied on reaching out to small communities with limited scope. However, with the widespread use of social media, crowdfunding campaigns can now tap into the extensive reach and focused engagement features of these platforms.
Social media provides numerous benefits to crowdfunding campaigns, acting as a crucial tool for raising awareness, building communities, and securing financial support. To begin with, social media platforms provide a broad outreach, enabling advocates to engage with a worldwide audience and widely disseminate their initiatives. Through engaging content such as videos, images, and compelling stories, crowdfunding campaigns can capture the attention of potential backers. The interactive nature of social media fosters direct communication between creators and supporters, enabling real-time feedback, addressing queries, and building a sense of community around the project. Moreover, social media serves as an effective promotional tool, enabling the rapid dissemination of campaign updates, milestones, and behind-the-scenes content. The viral nature of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can result in campaigns gaining traction and going viral, reaching audiences far beyond the initial network.
Crowdfunding platforms strategically leverage social media platforms to amplify their campaigns and foster community engagement. By building and nurturing communities around specific projects or campaign categories, these platforms create a sense of belonging and shared interest among potential backers. Social media also serves as a dynamic space for real-time interaction, enabling crowdfunding platforms to respond to user comments, share updates, and actively participate in conversations. Additionally, they harness the power of influencers and paid advertising to extend their reach and connect with a broader audience. By incorporating elements of social proof, educational content, and interactive challenges, crowdfunding platforms enhance the visibility and success of campaigns, ultimately creating a vibrant ecosystem that empowers creators and backers alike.
The era of traditional fundraising methods, such as bake sales and car washes, has given way to a new landscape where an in-detail designed social media campaign has the power to transform a simple idea discussed at a kitchen table into a globally supported phenomenon. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram play a pivotal role as virtual megaphones, magnifying the voices of creators and bridging the gap between them and audiences that extend far beyond their local spheres. In this contemporary setting, the reach and influence of social media have reshaped the dynamics of fundraising.
The once-constrained scope of fundraising efforts has expanded exponentially, allowing causes to resonate with diverse audiences globally, ultimately propelling grassroots initiatives into the realm of internationally recognized and funded endeavours.
The following are majorly used tools in boosting crowdfunding platforms.
1 Amplifying Your Voice: Social media empowers your network to become your advocates. Share your campaign with friends, family, and followers, sparking potential “viral” reach. If your story resonates, shares can propel your message to a vast and supportive audience.
2 Building a Community of Care: Connect directly with your supporters! Share updates on your medical journey and express sincere gratitude for their contributions. This fosters a sense of shared purpose and encourages continued support, building a powerful community around your cause.
3 Streamlining Donations: Social media platforms enable easy and secure online donations, making it convenient for anyone to contribute. This increases the potential for success by reaching a wider audience and accelerating fundraising efforts.
Social media acts as a powerful catalyst for crowdfunding, providing a significant boost to campaigns in various ways. First and foremost, it serves as a promotional tool, enabling crowdfunding platforms to share captivating stories, multimedia content, and campaign updates, reaching a vast audience. The interactive nature of social media fosters community building, allowing creators to engage directly with potential backers, answer queries, and build a supportive network around their projects. Leveraging influencers and targeted advertising on platforms like Facebook and Instagram expands campaign visibility, attracting backers who align with specific interests or demographics. Social media platforms also facilitate the sharing of success stories and testimonials, building trust and credibility. Overall, the dynamic and viral nature of social media amplifies the reach and impact of crowdfunding campaigns, turning them into widely recognized and supported endeavours.
The author of this article is Ketto India co-founder Varun Sheth.
iWorld
Netflix celebrates a decade in India with Shah Rukh Khan-narrated tribute film
MUMBAI: Netflix is celebrating ten years in India with a slick anniversary film voiced by Shah Rukh Khan, a nostalgic sprint through a decade that rewired how the country watches stories. The campaign doubles as both tribute and reminder: streaming did not just enter Indian homes, it quietly rearranged them.
Roll back to 2016 and television still dictated schedules. Viewers waited weeks, sometimes months, for favourite films to appear on prime time. Family-friendly filters narrowed options further, and piracy often filled the gaps. Then Netflix arrived, softly but decisively, carrying a catalogue of international titles rarely seen in Indian theatres and placing them a click away. Old blockbusters and new releases suddenly coexisted on the same digital shelf.
The platform’s real inflection point came in 2018 with Sacred Games, a breakout series that refused to dilute India’s grit for global comfort. Audiences embraced its unvarnished tone, signalling readiness for stories that did not need box-office validation or censorship compromises. What followed was a steady procession of relatable narratives. Competitive-exam anxiety fuelled Kota Factory. College relationships unfolded in Mismatched. Everyday pressures, not grand spectacle, proved bankable.
Language barriers thinned as foreign series arrived with Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubbing, expanding viewership beyond urban English-speaking pockets. Marketing mirrored the shift. For global releases such as Squid Game, Netflix leaned on regional creators and influencers to localise buzz and make international content feel native.
The library widened beyond fiction. Documentaries stepped out of festival circuits into living rooms. Stand-up comedians found scale. Established filmmakers, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali with Heeramandi, embraced the platform’s long-form canvas. Subscriber numbers swelled to 12.37 million in India, according to Demandsage, and behaviour followed suit. Late-night binges became routine. Friday release rituals loosened. Watch parties turned solitary screens into social events.
Economics demanded adjustment. Early subscription pricing carried a premium aura that deterred many households. Over time, Netflix recalibrated plans to align with Indian spending sensibilities, conceding that accessibility is as critical as content. To extend momentum around marquee titles, the platform also experimented with split-season releases, stretching anticipation and watch time.
The anniversary film, narrated by Shah Rukh Khan, captures the linguistic shift that mirrors the cultural one: from “Netflix pe kya dekha?” to “Netflix pe kya dekhein?” The question moved from recounting the past to planning the next binge. In ten years, Netflix morphed from foreign entrant to familiar fixture, exporting Indian stories abroad while importing global ones home. The remote no longer waits; it chooses, clicks and moves on. In the streaming age, patience is out, playlists are in, and the next episode is always one tap away.
e-commerce
Tulasi Mohan Padavala elevated to Associate Director at Blinkit
Gurugram: Blinkit has elevated Tulasi Mohan Padavala to associate director, capping a three-year climb inside the quick-commerce firm and signalling confidence in an executive steeped in ecommerce, category management and on-ground sales execution.
Padavala shared the update publicly, saying he was “happy to share” the promotion, a succinct announcement that nevertheless marks a notable step up within one of India’s fastest-moving delivery platforms. The new role follows nearly three years at Blinkit, where he most recently served as senior category manager from February 2023 to January 2026, focusing on strategic sourcing and assortment planning.
The promotion places Padavala in Blinkit’s mid-to-senior leadership tier at a time when the company continues to expand its rapid-delivery footprint and sharpen category economics. His brief tenure as associate director began in January 2026, with responsibilities expected to span category growth, supplier strategy and cross-functional execution.
Before Blinkit, Padavala spent a short but intensive stint as global ecommerce manager at Wholsum Foods, the parent of Slurrp Farm and Millé, between November 2022 and February 2023. There he worked on digital marketplace expansion and online retail operations, adding a direct-to-consumer and international ecommerce layer to his résumé.
A longer stretch at Amazon shaped much of his cross-border commerce experience. As business development manager for Amazon’s India Global Selling programme from February 2021 to October 2022, Padavala helped Indian D2C brands enter the North American market. His remit ranged from seller recruitment and category revenue management to coordination with industry bodies, regulators and logistics partners. Key outcomes included launching more than 50 D2C consumable brands in the United States, driving a cumulative gross merchandise sales figure of $1m in FY21-22, tripling sales for participating brands during Prime Day through marketing and visibility levers, growing the monthly recurring revenue of more than 10 newly launched sellers from zero to an average $20,000 each, and negotiating ecommerce partnerships that reduced initial launch costs by 20 per cent.
Padavala’s earlier career was forged in the field rather than the dashboard. At Coffee Day Group, he spent close to five years across multiple sales leadership roles. As sales manager in the Greater Delhi Area from July 2019 to January 2021, he led vending-machine and consumables sales for small and medium enterprises with a team of more than 15 assistant and territory sales managers, managed over 2,000 clients, drove upselling and cross-selling, maintained channel partnerships and ensured timely collections. Prior to that, he served as area sales manager in Delhi between May 2018 and June 2019, handling south and east Delhi markets, and earlier in Hyderabad from April 2016 to May 2018, where he led Andhra Pradesh sales for the vending division, supervised service and logistics functions and managed a base of more than 600 machines with a four-member team.
His professional arc began with internships that combined analytics and process improvement. At Boehringer Ingelheim in 2015, Padavala analysed the impact of brand extension on the drug Pradaxa, identified key performance indicators through market research and assessed sales forecasts, recommendations that drew positive responses in pilot studies. Earlier, at Genpact in 2014, he automated manual sales-order backlog reporting using VBA and Excel, increasing efficiency by 800 per cent, and worked on benchmarking metrics within supply-chain planning processes.
From automating spreadsheets to scaling cross-border ecommerce and now steering quick-commerce categories, Padavala’s trajectory tracks the evolution of India’s retail economy itself. Blinkit’s bet is clear: blend data, discipline and delivery speed. The promotion formalises what his career already suggests. In the race for instant commerce, experience that moves from warehouse floors to global dashboards is no longer optional. It is the engine.
e-commerce
Bharatpe plays a super over as Rohit Sharma fronts T20 push
MUMBAI: When the stakes rise and seconds matter, even payments need a match-winning finish. That’s the cue for Bharatpe, which has rolled out Super Over, a nationwide campaign led by Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma, timed neatly ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The campaign draws a straight line between the pulse of cricket and the pace of everyday digital payments. A new brand film taps into India’s emotional bond with the game, while positioning UPI as the quiet hero that keeps daily transactions ticking along at match speed.
As part of Super Over, users making payments via Bharatpe UPI can bag daily rewards ranging from match tickets and signed merchandise to a chance to watch a T20 World Cup fixture alongside Rohit Sharma himself. Both consumers and merchants are also assured Zillion Coins on every eligible transaction, adding a little extra sparkle to routine payments.
Behind the scenes, Bharatpe is also batting for safety. The platform is backed by Bharatpe Shield, a fraud-protection layer designed to offer enhanced security, comprehensive coverage and dedicated support aimed at helping users transact with greater confidence as digital payments scale up.
Announcing the campaign, Bharatpe head of marketing Shilpi Kapoor said Super Over mirrors the aspirations of everyday Indians, combining speed, security and instant rewards to make UPI transactions feel both reliable and rewarding.
The campaign will play out across digital platforms, social media and on-ground activations nationwide, staying live through the T20 World Cup season proof that in cricket, as in payments, timing is everything.
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