This story epitomizes the power of online and social network marketing, and I'm pleased to say that I started it. Well, in this case, that is. Sorry, I don't toot my horn that often, but I just have to do it here. This is one of those marketing missions that I was pretty confident about when I took it on, but had completely underestimated the extent of its reach.

It all started in the Summer of 2008 when Tim Hatler, the owner of an all-inclusive Bed & Breakfast style resort in Baja Mexico, contacted me about putting on a series of women's kiteboarding camps based out of his resort. I knew Tim from supporting and attending an event for of his that raises money for the much-needed education system in his village. I also had been teaching and running women't kiteboarding camps for about 3 years, but never a destination camp of this extent or cost that Tim was suggesting.

I promoted the camps online through the WomensKiteboarding.com website, the e-newsletter, the Facebook group "The Women of Kiteboarding" and my kiteboarding school contacts. We nearly filled the camps through those channels alone. I did not talk to a single person, run a single ad, or print a single brochure.

Now, move forward 6 months to the actual camps. We have one day of no wind, so we go swim with the whale sharks -- an amazing experience that can't quite be described, but definitely speaks volumes in pictures! So, between our tour guide and myself, we post dozens of photos and even a couple of videos on Flickr, Facebook, and my blogs, all linking to one another. Did I mention that we adopted the sharks through the research organization as well? On Facebook alone, we have the photos linking and driving comments and tons of traffic to the Whale Shark Research of Mexico website. Comments and inquiries as to "how and where do you do that?" come pouring in. Ding!Ding!Ding! Funding for Whale Shark Research in Mexico sky rockets! At least we can assume.

It just so happens that our wonderful guide from the resort, Tim, shot all the video during the entire whale shark experience, posting to his website and FB page, "Palapas Ventana"... Now, that small village in Baja....

La Ventana, a small fishing village that just happens to have a great resort of casitas, killer margaritas and food, and a world-class fisherman to lead you to the biggest and best catch of your life. Tim from Palapas Ventana posts status updates on FB with all of his photos, so that you can see what he's talking about. I'm telling you... when you see a status update of "Just another day of killer fishing in front of Palapas Ventana!" with a link to an image of a 40 pound Yellowtail, you take note! In fact, you might just inquire about the best time of year to fish and "what are you rates, anyway?" Tim now uses the FB status updates for all of the activities going on at the resort. Smart considering that it's in the now, happening like "20 minutes ago". That is real. Not a glossy ad in a magazine, but a 20-minute old photo just taken of real clients catching real fish.

So yes, that was a pretty quick and general recap as to how we used the power of each social networking tool to not only drive traffic to our websites, but to fuel business. But notice that it was a dominoe effect. Each entity involved in the trip -- from the kiteboarding camp itself to the whale shark research to Tim's fishing trips and resort stays -- each played a role initially in spreading the buzz online about what they do, then sat back and let the community do the rest. Comments, forwards, replies.... CONVERSATION. As the conversation builds, it fuels interest and attention, creating demand throughout the community that is hard to contain. Like a virus, only a really good one that everyone wants to be a part of!