Do you understand what viral, buzz and social marketing are?

Buzz marketing, social marketing and internet viral marketing are all terms that are frequently bandied about in today’s Web 2.0 world. But what do they really mean? Is the definition of viral marketing, the definition of buzz marketing and the definition of social marketing the same? Let’s take a look at each of these.
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People ask us “What is buzz marketing?” or “What is viral marketing?”

Great question!

Buzz or Internet viral marketing is a highly effectively form of word of mouth advertising that makes people excited or enthusiastic about information received – in a format that makes it easy for them to spontaneously pass the info along.

Traditionally, companies wishing to advertise bought space in magazines, on billboards, on television and radio and so forth. Then, as the Internet became a predominant source of information, forward-thinking companies began buying banner ads and space on web pages to tout their products and services. Then, with the advent of pay per click advertising, even more options opened up for advertisers.

Buzz marketing, though, is different from all of these types of advertising, which makes it all the more intriguing.

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Jamie Schissler of Avenue A|Razorfish asks “Will Facebook, MySpace, and SMS marginalize the role of email in communication between friends, family, and peers?”

This is an interesting question, but for our readers, we have to take a step back and define a few things before we answer it in this online social network article.

What are online social network medias and SMS?

SMS stands for Short Message Service. It is a fancy way of saying cell phone texting.

Online social network medias are sites where people can gather and connect with one another online. Facebook and MySpace are the most common examples, but there are now 100s of social networking sites out there.

What is the value of internet social networking sites and SMS?

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Did you know millions of people watch YouTube videos online every month?

These days, taking the time to watch YouTube videos online has become a standard part of the average internet users day. Over 60 million people visit YouTube.com each month just to watch a YouTube video. Don’t you think that you should try to get a few of those eyeballs looking at your site?

YouTube is more than kids lip synching. It is a new form of online marketing – internet video marketing.

Even before Google bought YouTube, it had become a mega giant in the internet world. Google saw the future and bought YouTube. Shortly thereafter, Google launched their Universal Search. Universal Search combined the ability to search for local information, videos, and websites. Google has essentially made YouTube a significant part of the search results.

This means that your company can rank in the search results with either your website or a YouTube video. Video marketing is not complicated or hard. Let’s take a look at what you need.

You may already have something you can use for video marketing.

At a basic level, internet video marketing is simply having a video. Does your company have a commercial it has produced? How about a video presentation of a key officer? Maybe a fun flash piece that you have on your site, or even one you use to have on your site that you no longer use? All of these can be easily converted into a video for YouTube. Convert these files into the acceptable files for YouTube (.WMV, .AVI, .MOV, and .MPG) and you have an instant YouTube video.

Creating a new YouTube video for internet video marketing.

If you do not have video laying around that you can use, making your own video is not hard. You need a video camera, editing software and optional tripod. Shoot video of something about your company. Even better, shoot video of something that has to do with your target keywords. If you are a candy company who wants to rank for “Chocolate Covered Strawberries”, shoot video about how your company makes chocolate covered strawberries. You only need a few minutes of video.

Most cameras now come with editing software, although you can find free video editing software online. Use the video editing software to add opening and closing credits (be sure to put your company name and web address).

Upload the video to YouTube with your keywords in the title of the video. Make sure to optimize your video description as well. Voila! You now have a YouTube video that can help you with internet video marketing and increases your chances of ranking in Google’s Universal Search.

Have you tried internet video marketing? If so, tell us about it. If not, don’t you think it is time for people to watch YouTube videos online about your company?

Welcome to the web 2.0 evolution. You may not even know what web 2.0 means, so let’s get you some information…

What are web 2.0 sites?
On web 2.0 sites, a visitor can leave new content and new media (such as video or podcasts) and respond to previously posted content and media. These are sites where not only does the site talk to the visitor through content and media, but where the visitor can talk back. This user-generated content is then presented to other visitors to improve the experience for everyone on the site.

What are social networking websites?
The web 2.0 evolution is mostly made up of online social networks. These are sites where not only can the visitor generate the content, but they can connect with other visitors who are also generating content. This is where the “friend” component comes in. Many times, on online social networks, a visitor can connect to others by listing them as a friend.

What are some examples of web 2.0 sites? Social networking websites?
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