The mood, mode, modus operandi, and e-metrics of online selling have changed. Say "so long" to Internet-marketing mechanisms like pay-per-click advertising, banner ads, email marketing, affiliate marketing, search-engine marketing, and article marketing. The new wave of Internet-marketing tools includes podcasts, RSS feeds, adverblogs, and virals. Never heard of the latter? Here's a crash course on the latest lingo.

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	Major companies like GM, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo!, Boeing, CitiGroup, IBM, HP, Warner Bros., etc., have entered the blogosphere.

What is viral marketing all about? It is a novel concept that was created by Tim Nolan in 1996. Virals are catchy stories shown in flash animation or video films. In viral marketing, the storyline takes center stage while the product and company take supporting roles. Therefore, while the campaign is vivid, it's not obvious.

Additionally, the easy sharing and accessibility of virals add to their popularity among netizens. They are featured on several networks, such as Digg and YouTube. The primary advantage of this type of marketing is its capacity to get everybody involved. Everyone has a say and inadvertently becomes a part of the promotional game.

The viral is an incalculably valuable marketing tool. It creates an impact 500 to 1,000 times greater than that of a traditional advertisement or campaign. As the fun is spread from netizen to netizen, so is your message. Remember Sony's BRAVIA Paint ads? The paint cans were never visible, but the colors and the promotion linger on in viewers' memories.

Some of the top 10 virals, like "Numa Numa" and "Star Wars Kids," saw between 700 and 900 million clicks. The "teenage wannabe Jedi" clip drew the highest number of clicks ever recorded.

Email marketing has been extremely popular with corporations for years now because of its proven and reliable results. Email marketing works. However, it often runs the risk of being trashed as spam. This risk can be avoided if subscribers are aware of the frequency and content of the messages they will be getting from you. Relevant messages targeting particular customers will produce more potential buyers.

What are some other ways you can get consumers interested in the product you're advertising? Set up a question-and-answer section on your site—a place where people know that you are all ears and they can ask all they need to know and more. Additionally, blogs serve as powerful tools since they are interactive live channels that can be used to generate buzz. Another benefit of blogs is that search engines give them high rankings because of their fresh content; search engines can never find enough fresh material.

Blogging has already proven to be a popular tool in its own right and has, of late, overshadowed podcasts and RSS feeds. Major companies like GM, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo!, Boeing, CitiGroup, IBM, HP, Warner Bros., etc., have entered the blogosphere. The effectiveness of blogging depends on two interconnected agents: bloggers and readers who benefit from the information provided.

However, beware; getting too close to bloggers may also result in losing face, as a blogger may say something negative and damage your or your product's reputation. Therefore, most smart business-to-business (B2B) blogs are more promotional in terms of content than openly communicative.

Remember, blogs are like toddlers. Pamper them, but let them grow under your supervision. Factors such as intent, targets, threads, content, and interest-generating capacity should be taken into account prior to launching a blog. Additionally, you should consider how quickly you expect your product to move. Will the blog generate enough interest among people? A word of advice: Read and contribute to others' blogs. See what gets bloggers' attention.

Look before you leap into investing in blogs, virals, or any other new Internet-marketing tool. Several of the older proven tactics like search marketing, email, and web seminars are still invaluable assets for the time being. There have been and will continue to be endless marketing resources.

On the net:

Internet Marketing Basics
marketingtoday.com/imarketing/imbasics.htm

Viral Marketing
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing

MarketingProfs.com
marketingprofs.com

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