Last Thursday Leishman Associates were pottering along with 40 ‘likes’ on their business Facebook page, never
dreaming that only a week later they would have just under 10,000.

An Easter egg giveaway touched the right buttons around the world on the popular social network, with
people jumping onto their page in droves, liking photos, sharing the page and asking questions of the
Tasmanian company.

Leishman Associates Managing Director Paula Leishman said she never dreamed her company would be a
social media ‘viral’ success story.

“We have been dabbling in social media for a while now as it becomes more relevant to our industry,” said
Mrs Leishman.

“We have had the Facebook page for a while and it had never really had a huge fan base, but after attending a
social media training course we have been pushing it more and to see that growth literally change overnight
was very exciting.”

Starting from just 40 ‘likes’ last Thursday the Leishman Associates Facebook page now boasts just under
10,000 with people from as far away as Canada, USA, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France and Germany
interacting with the page.

“I was sitting at home over the weekend just watching it gather momentum and texting Naomi, the employee
who set the page up, getting excited every time I refreshed the screen,” she said.

“What we didn’t expect was the overwhelming support and interaction that we would get from a simple
Easter egg giveaway that cost us just $70. Many of the entrants said they would donate it to charity if they
won and that prompted us to get another lot of eggs and take them down to Ronald McDonald House and the
Royal Hobart Hospital Children’s Ward.

“Whilst it has been a fantastic success it has also been a real challenge ensuring that everyone feels as though
they are heard and that questions on the page don’t go unanswered. It syncs nicely with our company motto
of ‘it’s all about people’

“It has only really settled down in the last 24 hours and at present we are now working out how to manage it
all moving forward.

“It has given us another fantastic platform to engage with people all over the world about what we do both in
Australia and internationally.”

Leishman Associates was established in 1994 by Paula Leishman. Since that time, the company has grown to
become one of Australia’s leading conference management companies, providing a full range of services
associated with the planning, organisation, management and implementation of memorable Conferences and
Events.
Leishman Associates Managing Director Paula Leishman