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Guest Author: Bob Withers

Viral Video Marketing is all about creating videos that induce people to pass them on to others or encourage them to tell others about the video or videos, and is the next phenomenon in internet marketing.

Viral video marketing is a marketing event that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a video marketing message voluntarily.

It is dependent on the word-of-mouth creation system, which lets other people cut through the information, sort it, process it, and then pass on the benefit of their experience.

Viral video marketing is a science because there are ways to scientifically increase your chances of making your video go viral. Viral video marketing is the process of getting instant and immediate popularity and is a super way to build your online brand visibility.

It is often used as a way to promote a site because it’s fairly simple to accomplish when compared to other methods such as direct mail, pay per click ads, or search engine marketing.

The goal of the home based business person is to create viral marketing videos that spread over the web like a virus and create massive amounts of traffic to your website. This is why it’s sometimes compared to a virus.

Viral Video Marketing is a great way to put your face with your product and is a great strategy to get the word out about your product or service. It is the next stage in interactive word of mouth advertising and has the potential to drive a massive amount of targeted traffic to your website.

Viral video marketing is a growing trend in the online marketing industry and is less expensive than the traditional media. The most complicated part of viral video marketing is the creation of the video itself.

Once the viral video is finished and ready to be launched it should be placed on several websites which specialize in online video marketing.

Viral Video Marketing is changing the way we do business because with nearly 70% of home Internet users now surfing using a broadband connection online video viewing has exploded.

There are several factors which determine the success of your viral video with two of the most important being your distribution or placement of the finished product and having an innovative

idea for your video to become viral in the first place. Without the innovative idea, of course, distribution becomes a moot point.

Your video can be combined with several other Social Media Marketing techniques to help it go Viral. For example you can share your video on Facebook with your entire list. You can also embed the video on MySpace in the comments section of different pages.

Email the video to your friends to make sure as many people as possible know about it. You can also promote the video on your Blog and perhaps create a build up to it in terms of being a coming attraction.

These techniques in addition to having a unique idea for the video to help it along its viral path and having it distributed by a website specializing in online video marketing should help establish it as Viral in no time at all.

Video Marketing is a relatively unexplored form of Internet Marketing that can be used to rank in the top 10 results for almost any term. Now, video marketing is a driving force within the Social Media online marketing industry.

About the Author:
Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on network marketing to apply his trade. If you want to get in touch with Bob or learn more about sales and marketing please visit: Free Sales and Marketing Advice

Article URL :ArticleBase Related: Previous posts on video marketing

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• We Need To Break The Circle Jerk That Soical Media Is Becoming
• A brief history of online social networks

Social attraction marketing
I want to take a closer look at the Social Attraction or Interaction marketing which is one of the best free ways to promote your business online.
Each social networking site has their own rules and regulations as to what type of promotions are allowed and you would be wise to get to know these before attempting to promote your products or services using these forums. Some social network sites allow more promotion than others. You can also mix it up by including your tweets, RSS Feeds or bookmarks to link up with your profile on many networks.

My own preferences
My own experience with social networks thus far have been hot and cold, so after a bit of experimenting I have settled down to a core group of networks to concentrate on, which include twitter, delicious, MyBlogLog, and FaceBook. It’s so easy to get caught up in joining too many networks and limiting your effectiveness. I was using StumbleUpon for a while but got busted for breaking their T.O.S which I have written about in a previous post. So with StumbleUpon I have created another profile which I will grow organically other words take my time with it and explore in more careful detail.

Twitter
Since I changed my bio at twitter I have had a marked increase in responses with likeminded people. I mostly use twitter to inform about my latest post through twitter feed, but every now and again I get sucked into a good conversation thread that leads me all over the web and is very infectious. You can get some great insights and breaking news if you follow the right links. You can also cooperate with each other and swap reviews and help each other out by bookmarking decent content.  I’ve also tried to avoid the temptation to post daft tweets, like: - I’m trying out some new boxers or I’m off out to do the shopping with my pink umbrella. (-:
Checkout this post 20 Twitter Tips to Make You a Better Twitter User By Jacob Morgan

Delicious
I find Delicious to be my main review network and bookmarking tool, this is great for integrating into your blog posts in a variety of ways; for instance you can set up your delicious bookmarks to post to your blog in any timescale that you choose from Delicious. Another way that I find very useful is using comments that I put on other blogs or articles that get my interests piqued, I then bookmark these comments with Delicious and spread my views to a more targeted audience. If you think about it “giving sensible reviews with relevancy and value, people are more likely to take you seriously”

MyBlogLog (Hotlist & MaxHomeBits)
What I like about MyBlogLog is their fairly relaxed rules about inclusions and they allow you to submit web sites as well as blogs. As with many other social networks you can include many feeds to your profile. I do find that there are a lot of people just doing the rounds and clicking add contact or community without really exploring the blog or the person behind it. If you put a little effort into networking properly and connecting you will find many willing bloggers to trade links and ideas with, I have often come across a good affiliate program or source of marketing materiel to promote or to learn by.

FaceBook

This network is huge as we all know; you can quite easily get lost in amongst all the different applications and groups that use the many resources available. It’s very easy to network and I am building all the time, you can integrate your tweets, delicious bookmarks and your blogs feeds to name but just a few. I find FaceBook to be all you really need if you want to interact with your family and friends. I would definitely rate FaceBook as the best place to market your business whether it’s online or offline. Matt Garret does a great video about adding your blog to the Blog Network on FaceBook, useful if you want to increase exposure to your blog.

So that’s just a glimpse at my social networking travels, I still explore other networks and link up to Blog directories like Technorati ect. But I reckon you could probably earn a decent living just by promoting through FaceBook on its own. Feel free to join with me on one of my networks and I will return the favour.
Let me know how you do your social networking and leave a comment, Thanks’ for reading

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• Marketing in Facebook’s Eden

Forum Marketing is for a lot of marketers a very happy hunting ground for prospects, but more importantly to tap into the rich feedback from newbie’s. So with this in mind I will start off with an introduction into Forum marketing and expand and explore this medium in the coming weeks.

If you are serious about promoting your website or blog on the Internet, then you could do no worse than forums, a great option for you. These forums are easy to join and require no upfront cash deposit to be a member. Forums are a storehouse of information and accessible to anyone, these forums are an ideal way to go about advertising your wares, whether it’s your site or an affiliate product.

Depending on your choice of forum they can act as social networking centers, where topics are discussed and information exchanged. So if one can find a forum where discussions are relevant to your own product or field, then the chances of getting your website noticed and popularized are far greater. If you are new to promoting then this should be one of the first steps towards establishing your identity on the Internet.

The thing to remember though, as it is with all kinds of marketing…finesse and decorum is everything. In your rush to get noticed do not over do the charm offensive, just slowly get a feel and settle in. It’s probably wiser to act calm and not seem like you are desperate to market your product. Over eagerness like this is often more likely to offend customer sensibility, leading to possible bans against your website with allegations of spamming.

It is better to leave frequent yet understated messages informing about what’s on offer. Or rather go to forums, which have questions put up regarding matters close to your product and then respond to them. So go and read the threads posted on the forum, figure out how best you can respond to the queries.

Over time this is will help you build a customer base, as people on the forum trust you to be helpful and genuine. Once you have achieved this, all you have to do is subtly lead your prospect to your product.

Overall forum marketing is an easy and profitable option to add to your promotion because it is absolutely free, and you can target a certain niche clientele very easily. Things to avoid… try and avoid promoting your website on irrelevant threads as it might hamper your reputation. Do your promotion in a friendly manner and always follow up enquiries about whether the directed person found your website or blog helpful or not.

Forums are a great way to get feedback, which will help you to improve your product or service, build client rapport, and get new customers. You can tune into their attentiveness, their likes and dislikes. And finally the most important thing to keep in mind, that though beneficial for marketing, these forums are for discussion not sales. So keep this in mind and you will succeed in gathering new friends and more importantly, respect.

Next week: “Why is Forum Marketing so effective?”

I would like to switch focus onto membership sites today and do a mini- series on this very subject; so are Membership Sites a good alternative? I would say by the feedback that I get from the Big players are a resounding YES. A membership site transcends just about every area of interest that’s in demand from Fishing and Gardening to Training and mentoring courses. First off today I just want to draw attention to the different types of membership sites available and some of their appeal to the canny investor.

It’s like a money tree! Just one member paying $30.00 per month adds up to $360 a year; do the math, NICE.

Web 2.0 Websites

One type of membership website that you are very likely familiar with is the Web 2.0 sites like YouTube and MySpace. These are social networking sites that provide tools for an interactive network of friends and include user-submitted information as personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music and videos.

Some of these social networking membership websites have come under fire recently because they have been shown to be play grounds for predators. Since these problems have arisen there is more scrutiny of members than there has been in the past. These sites are not likely to ‘go away’ any time soon in the future because they are hugely popular not to mention profitable.

Exclusivity Sites

Then there are paid exclusive sites like the UnselfishMarketer.com (an undisputed industry leader when it comes to delivering information products with PLR and Master Resell Rights), Golf sites (which are owned by professional golfers and offer instruction that isn’t readily available free on the Internet), and to many more to mention.

These exclusive membership websites are designed for specific people and appeal to a group of like-minded individuals who are seeking instruction or information that can only be had on exclusive membership websites.

They call the Internet the ‘information super highway’ but these exclusive membership websites really do make the information super and the information that is provided is far superior to just the regular stuff that everybody gets for free.

Getting Free Members – Building Lists

Not all membership websites are paid-for; apart from the Web 2.0 sites there is another kind of membership website that is free. One such site is PLRSecretsExposed.com. There is no charge for the membership to this site.

The objective of a free membership website is to acquire the names and email addresses of people who are interested in a specific topic in order to build an opt-in list. Still this is a membership website, and unless a visitor joins the site, they will not have access to some really good information that is not otherwise available.

Community-Driven Membership

This is yet another kind of membership website that is known as a “community site” or a Forum. Membership in a community site is usually free but depending on its area of interest can be a paid membership. magneticsponsoring.com is an example of a community membership website.

The idea of a community website is that there are a group of people who are all interested in the same basic topic but who go about accomplishing success in various ways. They get together at a community website and exchange information and ideas. Sometimes community websites will offer one-on-one training above and beyond the cost of membership in the community website.

What All Membership Sites Have in Common

Membership websites of all kinds have one thing in common. They allow for social and beneficial interaction between members. The old Web 1.0 was a one-way street but in this fast moving world, communication flows in both directions.

You will notice that on all of the various types of membership websites there is a blog or a forum that affords a place for members to communicate not only with the owner of the membership website but also with other members.

The communication opportunities afforded by membership sites is one of the biggest reasons that membership sites are so popular today and probably will be popular for a long time to come. People want to hear but they also want to be heard. They want to learn but they have information to share with others as well. Membership websites provide a place for the sharing of ideas and information.

So to conclude this first entry, there are many different kinds of membership sites and different people will take to many kinds of membership sites. If you are considering starting your own membership website, the good news is that there will be people who will like it and want to be members.

Membership websites are popular and membership websites are profitable. Recurring income is a powerful motivation to start one!