The numbers from Tourism Australia are staggering – 3,184,016 'Likes' with 395,424 talking about it on its Facebook page (as at time of writing), 1,400 photos posted on its (Facebook) wall per week and 500 to 1,000 photos uploaded via Instagram per day.



Throw in its official Pinterest page with its 1,100+ followers, and it's no wonder Nick Baker, Tourism Australia's executive general manager marketing (pictured below left), believes that social media has become the most powerful and effective marketing tool for the tourism board.

Speaking to WIT at the Australian Tourism Exchange in Perth earlier this month, Baker said that sharing photos and experiences through social media has a strong emotional appeal. It "just works", he said, paraphrasing the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs.

Hence, his decision to launch the latest version of "There's Nothing like Australia" on Facebook first before rolling it out to other channels.

First launched in 2010, the campaign evolved to leverage on technology and social media and was relaunched globally earlier this month.

The "revamped" advertisement made its debut on its Facebook page giving its fans the opportunity to view it first and share it on their social network.

The ad - which included scenes filmed in the Bungle Bungles in The Kimberley, Sydney's Harbour, Melbourne's Southbank, Uluru, the Great Barrier's Lizard and Hayman Islands, Freycinet in Tasmania and South Australia's Kangaroo Island – has garnered more than eight million views globally since its unveiling.

On YouTube, it was viewed 175,000 times with 240,000 views on Tourism Australia's website - australia.com

An interactive app of the ad developed for the tablet has been downloaded more than 6,000 times.

Full story:

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