But what makes an ARG work? Well, first we must look at what makes and alternate reality game so appealing…and how is it alternate reality? Let’s look at the example of the website that was released for the Christopher Nolan film The Dark Knight. Initially the site was a strange picture of what some believed was a picture of the Joker and a black background, however people interacted with the site and found a hidden message. Another time a scavenger hunt was issued by the Joker where people had to take pictures of different signs and letters and send them to the Joker. Later the Joker revealed a hidden message using these photo snippets.

ARG’s are so appealing because they require the player to make real-life actions and decisions to impact a fictional world. It is one of the strongest forms of immersion and one of the best ways to get people excited about something.

Other companies may use more web based programs. Each and every webpage you go do has advertisements on it. If you were to visit a specific companies website, your computer’s I.P. address may be recorded. When that happens you may see adds on other web-pages for companies you may have looked into in the past. Advertising firms own the right to advertise on certain pages they have signed contracts with. This is why you may see that advertisement on one page, but not another.

Marketing has evolved a lot. With the advent of technology, companies have to be a little more creative to capture your eye. Web pages, and apps have taken the place of cold calls and direct mailers. Hours, upon hours of research goes into each and every marketing plan.

One thing that is true about the online marketing scene is that there is no shortage of experienced online marketers out there willing to share advice. Since what would be considered ”trade secrets” are really already public knowledge ( what really works is just obscured by loads of junk ideas out there! ), and because the online marketing budget is so huge, many marketers are willing to mentor newcomers to the field. For every scumbag that will steer you in the wrong direction out of spite there is likely to be 100 who will share what they’ve learned, because they were newbies once themselves! You may risk associating with one of the so-called gurus, but do careful research on them first, especially if their marketing plan comes with a hefty online fee. It can often be more rewarding to join an online marketing forum and seek a mentor from there. You’d be amazed how ready and willing they are to help… especially if you agree to promote one of their offers!

Search engine optimization allows a company to get its website ranked higher in returns from search engine searches. A higher ranking means more traffic to their website and more potential customers. SEO is fast becoming an important aspect of online marketing. A website that isn’t optimized to follow today’s SEO rules is basically going to be useless to a company when it comes to marketing. Nobody is really going to see the site.

Interactive websites also help a company market themselves. When a customer visits a website they want a nice experience. An interactive website holds a person’s attention longer than a static website. It is also capable of giving the visitor more information due to its interactive nature. When developing an interactive website, it is important to make it easy to navigate. A cluttered website that is hard to navigate will turn potential customers away instead of making them want to stay.

Facebook, Linkedin, MySpace and many other social media venues have hotlinks, which you can use to place your links and blogposts on your social media pages in front of huge numbers of viewers in only a matter of seconds.

There are literally thousands of websites that offer free classified ads, or for nominal fee you can buy a premium ad, which will go to the front to be viewed ahead of free ads.

Surf sites, both auto and manual are free to join and have the potential to drive massive traffic to your site which will not only make it visible other users of the surf programs but will boost your ratings in major search engines.

Last, affiliate marketing is a great method to promote and sell your products. Many are free to join but if you wish to pay a small fee then you can boost your chances of increasing sales.

Although Wii gamers do not like the idea of shovel ware and will not take free Wii products when offered, user come to the sites to play games for a product. Kids who come to a company’s site to play games may ask their parents to provide a certain product. It is no coincidences that one of the Gaia Online worlds is made by the company that makes Skittles.

Even if you do not want to use a video game to market your product, you can still use flash video to catch a user’s attention. Web viewers do not like it, but an auto-starting video does at least cause a viewer to search for the ad to turn the video off. Flash is a great way to reach the customers and make people feel more favorably disposed to your product, as long as you use the power of Flash in the right way.