In recent times, the chiefly US owned and operated social media sites have been attracting exponential traffic, prompting media moguls to spend fortunes on the purchase of hot properties like Youtube and Myspace in order to protect their advertising revenues.
Now in Australia, Getalife.com.au is spearheading a new wave of social media sites that will force tourism and entertainment market players to rethink their business and marketing strategies.
Or so says Jelle Marechal, founder of Getalife.com.au: “More than an online or virtual meeting space, the site brings members together for real life experiences.The site offers innovative ways for people to connect with each other based around sporting, cultural or recreational activities – a bit like a combination of a networking site like Friendster with an events listing site. But what makes us stand out is the fact that all our activities and groups are created by the members themselves: a wine-tasting trip, a theatre visit, sailing lessons or just a drink."
Getalife appeals directly to a growing number of Australians that are not attracted to ‘official’ clubs, commercial tour operators or experience retailers, but look for alternative, contemporary and independent ways to expand their social networks and organise their leisure time. Jelle Marechal: “Getalife is just a tool to them, a way to set up their own informal events, groups and tours.”
In just 2,5 years Getalife has grown, via word of mouth, to 29,000 members who have created more than 6500 activities. On any given day, Getalife’s calendar now features more than 200 activities like bushwalking, wine tasting, Russian dance parties, soccer or gallery tours.
A number of Getalife’s groups have become very active and creative. Take the “The Sydney Booklovers”, arguably the most active readers club in NSW. The 100 members of the Foodies, Gourmans and Cuisine Junkies invite each other to their favourite local restaurant once a month. The 1000th group to be started on Getalife, by a Canadian who arrived in Sydney just four months ago, has now 80 people helping him find the “restaurant-that-serves-the-best-pizza”.
Jelle Marechal: “What Youtube.com is for home video, http://www.last.fm/ for music, Blogger.com for blogs, MySpace for personal home pages, that is Getalife.com.au for activities and events: people cutting out the middle man to exchange experiences in the real world... on their own terms.”
“Why would I pay $150 for a seat on a bus tour to the Hunter Valley, when I can just as easily find 3 locals to share a ride,” says Wiebe, recently arrived from Germany. “Via Getalife, I have been on a weekend trip to the Blue Mountains, went snorkeling near Seal Rocks and went on a canoeing weekend on the Kangaroo Valley.”
C2C marketing proposition
With observers predicting a continuing increase of the online advertising spent, Getalife is ready with a unique advertising proposition. Jelle Marechal: “Our ads are integrated throughout Getalife’s content offering, they are an essential part of our user proposition, with the advertiser able to effectively contribute to a positive user experience. We can drill down and position ads for foot gear before eastern suburbs bushwalkers, or car rentals before people who tour wineries in Adelaide or even sun tan lotions for beach volleyball players in Perth. Getalife offers a unique way to link a brand with fun experiences – and advertisers’ best shot at adding a viral, C2C marketing component to the marketing mix.”
Sydney, 18 June 2007
social networks
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