Mumbai: Widespread access to technology and the internet has secured a strong foothold of online workshops on platforms such as Paytm Insider. The format is one of the most significant categories on the ticketing platform, growing exponentially since the past year.
Paytm Insider has carved a place for itself in the digital space with its interactive and entertaining event formats. This was evident when the lockdowns induced by the pandemic witnessed a paradigm shift from offline workshops to online and the platform saw a 60% increase in digital workshop listings.
Leading workshop categories on the platform range from – music & dance, skill development (storytelling & poetry, acting & theatre, writing, digital marketing, content creation, film-making, make-up), hobby and passion (cooking & baking, beauty & fashion, sustainable living, gardening, and home improvement), infotainment for children (science, technology, arts, and personality development), health & mental wellbeing (yoga, mindfulness, meditation) to – financial management (personal finance, stock markets, cryptocurrency).
Deepti Bansal – VP – Kommune India, says, “Digital learning has opened up a whole new world of audiences. Since people are no longer restricted to workshops conducted in their neighborhood, the potential audience size has greatly multiplied for workshop conductors. One is no longer targeting people in the locality but targeting a global audience. With Paytm Insider being extremely instrumental in helping us reach newer and wider audiences for our extensive formats and topics, we believe digital workshops are the future.”
Some of the popular workshops which have translated well online on the Paytm Insider platform include:
- Dance workshops conducted by Natya Social Dance, Shiamak Davar’s Institute of Performing Arts and others.
- The Dharavi Dream Projects After School of Hip-hop | Music & Street Art Workshops featuring Noxious D, Naezy, Divine, D-Cypher and many more.
- Spoken-word, poetry, podcasting, screenwriting, and many more categories of workshops by Kommune featuring Roshan Abbas, Megha Rao, Satyanshu Singh, Yahya Bootwala and other personalities.
- The Coalition Workshops (Talks & Discussions for Creators by Creators) featuring influential industry names like Tanmay Bhatt, Amit Tandon, Sorabh Pant, Rajeev Masand and many more.
- Make-up Masterclasses by M.A.C Cosmetics India.
- Curated food workshops by industry experts – Le15 with Chef Pooja Dhingra, Palate Culinary Academy hosted by Chef Rakhee Vaswani, Hunger Inc with Chef Heena Punwani and Chef Hussain Shahzad to name a few.
- Paytm Money – Finance & Investing Masterclasses provide expert advice, training on investments and more.
Apart from free workshops, the tickets range from ₹99, ₹299 to ₹499, with premium workshops priced at ₹999+
Team Natya Social said, “The switch from offline to online was uncertain, but adapting to the digital platform was necessary. The connectivity offered by the digital medium has vitally contributed to fulfilling students’ dream of learning with us and thus, paving the way for the growth of a global community seamlessly. Moving forward, we aim to activate the online class model in lockdown-like situations and teach dance to those passionate about it across the globe without affecting revenue.”
Pooja Dhingra, Founder & CEO, Le15 said, “I was initially apprehensive about online workshops, but the digital format has performed well for us. Adapting quickly to the online platform drew a large audience who were thrilled about easy access to diverse cuisines and chefs. The digital platform allowed us to know people from all over the world, the only drawback, being unable to taste the dishes we made in class. I’m eager to explore future possibilities of an online experience, host more exciting workshops and connect people globally through their shared love for food!”
The culmination of the internet and education has opened up a floodgate of opportunities for people to gain new skills and update themselves. Online workshops cost relatively lower and are time-saving, providing more value for money and a rich learning experience for the audience. They are easily accessible as per one’s convenience from the comfort of their own homes.
Varun Khare – Business Head, Live Entertainment (IPS & Partnerships) – Paytm Insider, says, “Diverse online workshops offered on our platform are now at people’s fingertips, transcending geographical borders and time zones. Workshops on financial management, cryptocurrency, theatre, film-making, sustainable living, mental wellbeing and more have found a way to translate well digitally. The digital format also gives organizers the ability to conduct live workshops and Video On Demand masterclasses, thus facilitating increased opportunities for audience engagement and an altogether enriching experience.”
