Businesses started off the year with regular expectations of growth, with all their usual plans set in place. However, going into March and the subsequent months, it became a different story across several sectors, with scores of companies getting overturned due to the impact of the lockdowns and restrictions on movement.

Since March, people realised the effects of excessive screen time, and the toll it could take on them. Remaining indoors for long durations, viewing phone and computer screens for hours at a stretch, has led to exhaustion and ill-health. In contrast with this, audio appealed to millions of users, as they were once again able to listen to content passively while performing other chores. It is reminiscent of our experience with radio, but with a lot more options and quality content to pick from.

We observed the trends closely and aligned our content as per the growth we were seeing in each of the categories. Since April, we witnessed a significant spike across all growth metrics, as we were able to adapt to user requirements by providing the right content at the right time. We recorded a growth of 300% in terms of our user base, while the number of creators on Khabri grew by five times user session time grew by more than 200%, as users were listening to a greater number of content pieces.

While each of these platforms cater to different interests, we have succeeded at creating a holistic ecosystem for the next generation of creators and users. Some of the key areas of interest in our categories since April have been in motivational content, news, career information, and knowledge-based content. While it is a broad definition, they have been provided a plethora of content choices.

The pandemic has wreaked havoc for students across the country and blind students have been impacted the most. Their access to education had been cut off after the lockdowns, which made us identify the  challenges. We launched the #VoiceofBlinds campaign, as we believe that every student needs access to schooling and entertainment. We facilitated audio-based learning for the blind students, connected with the community, started a helpline, and increased accessibility for thousands of blind students. When it came to product functions, we introduced special content experiences, recommendations, and playlist features, in a bid to assist users with curated listening lists, so that they listen to better content. Influencers too find our content creation tools easy to adopt.

The year 2020 has given podcasters and content creators a platform that did not exist earlier, as they had relied on YouTube even for audio content. We expect more creators to launch channels on our platform, as they can prove themselves and reach larger audiences.

The writer is COO, Khabri