Intuit isn’t dumb. In fact, they’re freakin’ brilliant.

They’ve got this thing going called the “Love A Local Business” contest. A local business can win a $35,000 grant – a dream for an entrepreneur. I mean, THINK what you could do with that money! All that’s needed is votes from people who know your business. Yes, it’s an unadulterated popularity contest.

My husband does amazing stonework, providing dreamscapes for homeowners and commercial applications. He also does water features and rainwater harvesting. We run the business together. We do a pretty good job. Well, he does an incredible job, and I just try to be a shortcut for him so he can concentrate on what he does best. On the side, I do writing gigs and drop into the Hot Tub whenever I can.

We keep overhead low. It’s just the only way we care to operate – and the only way we could operate in the current economic climate.

So when we come upon an opportunity to get ahead with little or no investment, we jump on it. We entered the contest and immediately canvassed our social media connections.

Like I said, Intuit isn’t dumb. Not only do they provide a custom URL to post in emails and on social networking sites, they provide web site banners and how-to tips for social sharing. Of course, the expected side effect, is with all our canvassing, we’re becoming a bigger name dropper than Hilary Rowland. I never in my life felt compelled to tweet about Intuit. I’ve never once mentioned the company in all my travels in Facebook, LinkedIn and Digg. Except today.

Even more brilliant, Intuit provided us with a site to monitor the comments our fans provide and our current ranking. The more we see happening, the more we think we actually stand a chance and naturally, the more ways we want to find to get the word out about – not merely a contest – an Intuit contest. I even joined networking sites I wasn’t on before. Yeah, like I really need MORE.

I heart Elemental Stone and Waterworks. Please vote for us. Please. No, really.

And consider doing a similar contest for your business. As far as viral marketing, it’s as organic as you can get. And it works.