<p><img style="margin:5px;" align="right" src="http://trak.in/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/indian-growth-graph-best.gif" width="257" height="256">An <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/02/11/twitter-funny-promo-video/">article at Mashable.com</a> got me thinking this morning.&nbsp;&nbsp; Growing a business is serious stuff.&nbsp; But occasionally a little humor, a novelty, or even a contest or prize can help you business gain the attention of your target market and grow that much faster.</p> <p>After all it's about getting your customers and your potential customers talking about you and eventually actually buying from you.&nbsp; </p> <p>Whether your business is B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer) a dash of creativity and a bit of buzz can help move you up the growth curve.</p> <p>A great way to see a selection of creative marketing ideas is to spend a little time on YouTube ... so that's just what I did.&nbsp; And here is what I found...</p> <h4>"If you want to market something - create a social object."</h4> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div style="display:inline;margin:0;padding:0;" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:a335bd48-cdcb-40ff-a59c-e5175e8b3099" class="wlWriterSmartContent"><div>[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XQAjSAMqAs&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;]</div></div> <p>(You can find more from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/infernopr">InfernoPR&nbsp; at their YouTube Channel</a>._</p> <h4>What is a social object?&nbsp; Well let's look...</h4> <p><a href="http://mashable.com/author/stan-schroeder/">Stan Schroder</a> of <a href="http://www.mashable.com">Mashable</a> included a great one from Twitter's early days featuring Biz Stone.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div style="display:inline;margin:0;padding:0;" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:e1ca0ba3-2bde-435f-83ff-0678241dacfd" class="wlWriterSmartContent"><div>[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGnMThF_2Lo&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;]</div></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>A favorite of my friend <a href="http://www.lonsafko.com">Lon Safko</a>, of <a href="http://www.thesocialmediabible.com">The Social Media Bible</a> fame.&nbsp; The Will it Blend series has attracted millions to their site and sent LOTS of blenders out to customers. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p></p> <div style="display:inline;margin:0;padding:0;" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:c9931424-417a-4e63-9290-d95099ae53ce" class="wlWriterSmartContent"><div>[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx4QgK_xEfE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;]</div></div> <p></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>And as a Mom, my personal favorite, <a href="http://www2.evian.com/#/en_US/4-Home">Evian's</a> Roller Babies.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p></p> <div style="display:inline;margin:0;padding:0;" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:5d274525-a798-4b5c-8b84-4b1e132b203b" class="wlWriterSmartContent"><div>[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQcVllWpwGs&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;]</div></div> <p></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Not everyone hits with millions of views on YouTube - but that's OK.</h4> <p>There are lots of other ways to draw attention to your product by capturing the customers imagination and attention.&nbsp; Here are some more...</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.lifelock.com/todd-davis">Todd Davis</a> of <a href="http://www.lifelock.com/">LifeLock</a> is so confident of his company's service that he posts his Social Security number all over the place - he said it on Oprah, put it on billboards, and pasted it on the back of a bus and drove around the U.S.  <li><a href="http://shwaag.com">Shwaag</a> founders Eric Keosky-Smith and Michael Edwards are building a business around Giving Away really cool stuff.&nbsp; Audiences love it and so do the companies whose products they promote.</li></ul> <h4>So maybe it's time to try something new...</h4> <p>You never know where it might take you...or your business.</p> <p>Thanks for stopping by.&nbsp; Stay Tuned...</p> <blockquote> <p>Joan Koerber-Walker</p></blockquote> <div style="display:inline;float:none;margin:0;padding:0;" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:8350f443-987e-4db9-8355-9b50fda45e0e" class="wlWriterSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Joan%20Koerber-Walker" rel="tag">Joan Koerber-Walker</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/CorePurpose" rel="tag">CorePurpose</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Inferno%20PR" rel="tag">Inferno PR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Twitter" rel="tag">Twitter</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Evian%20Roller%20babies" rel="tag">Evian Roller babies</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mashable" rel="tag">Mashable</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Youtube%20videos" rel="tag">Youtube videos</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Lon%20Safko" rel="tag">Lon Safko</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Will%20it%20blend" rel="tag">Will it blend</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Blendtec" rel="tag">Blendtec</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Stan%20Schroder" rel="tag">Stan Schroder</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/marketing" rel="tag">marketing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/creativity" rel="tag">creativity</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/business" rel="tag">business</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/business%20tips" rel="tag">business tips</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/business%20growth" rel="tag">business growth</a></div>