Viral Marketing - The best job in the world
Posted in General Business, Marketing on January 22nd, 2009 by Talita – Be the first to commentI’m sure you’ve heard of Tourism Queensland’s ‘Best job in the world’ campaign by now - $150,000 for a six-month stint as caretaker on the Great Barrier Reef’s Hamilton Island.
What’s involved? Key responsibilities include snorkeling, swimming, exploring neighboring islands and wildlife and reporting back to the world on your adventures via a blog and video diary… Sounds too good to be true? It’s not - this is a genuine job advertisement.
How do you apply? Send a short video explaining why you’re the best person for the job.
This is a brilliant viral marketing campaign that has gained enormous exposure across the globe since it’s official launch just 10 days ago in 18 countries. Since then, over 2000 video applications have been received and it is expected that more than 10,000 people will have applied by the February 22 cut-off date. The hype that has been generated appears to have even taken Tourism Queensland by surprise - the flood of visitors applying for the job caused the official website islandreefjob to crash on Wednesday.
They couldn’t have got the timing any better either - with bleak wintery conditions across much of Europe and the United States coupled with an even bleaker financial outlook, who could resist a dream job on a tropical island? This is a really great example of viral marketing (’word of mouth’). Whilst a lot of money was invested to kick start this campaign (with a fantastic website and an international launch) - it was viral marketing that really made the difference.
So how can you use viral marketing for your business?
- Make sure your customers enjoy a positive shopping experience.
Perhaps this goes without saying, but people talk. Some statistics tell us that a user will tell around 12 people about their online shopping experience. This is viral marketing in action - you want to ensure your users enjoy a positive shopping experience and spread the word. - Offer incentives to your customers to refer their friends
If you offer an incentive, there’s an even better chance that your customers will remember to refer you to others.
