Visa Card creates a Facebook Community for Small Business clients via a dedicated application. They have created a 'one-stop' business service online community.

Check out their page and their introduction video. Interesting to see Facebook themselves appear on the video to explain how businesses can use Facebook to create 'fans', advertise and promote business.

Shel Israel interviews the guys behind the Coke-Mentos viral.

Notice in the interview how they used video to show a larger audience what they were doing and intergrated that to 'word-of-mouth' marketing. They told someone the video was available and they told someone else etc. Also notice later that they say that the video has been copied and spread multiple places and now has been seen by maybe 40 million people.

There has been a lot of academic research showing how effective audio and video podcasting is.

It is no suprise that Uiversities around the world should be using iTunes (there is a dedicated Education channel there)

The latest to announce lectures via iTune podcasts are:

Griffith University, Australia

University College, London

Otago University, New Zealand

How can businesses use podcasts? This is how are some of our clients are using podcasts.

• Information on new products and services to employees
• Education of service and support staff of technical matters
• Updates on new business processes to employees
• Management updates to employees ('cascade' communication to ensure clarity of information) 
• Sales and marketing tools to consumers
• Communication tools to channel partners (helping support and service indirect sales channels) 
• Creating a visual and oral historical record