“Let’s face it, some products are not sexy. There is nothing particularly fun, interesting or entertaining about ink cartridges,” says Lauren Elward, Castle Ink’s CEO. So how can a small business with a dull product suite effectively leverage social media to drive interest and sales? They can start by checking out Castle Ink’s new video series, “Will It Print?” Castle Ink is an ink cartridge retailer based in New York, that according to Elward, was looking for a unique new way to generate awareness around refilled ink cartridges.

Castle Ink recently released a series of videos on YouTube that have some pundits questioning their knowledge of advertising (Check out the videos at Castle Ink’s Channel). Injecting wine, mustard, and blueberries into empty printer ink cartridges and then installing them in a brand new printer is a counterintuitive concept, some would say it makes no sense. But sense has never been a firm requirement for great ideas. In fact Elward says the fact that it doesn’t make any sense at all is why the videos have become so popular, so quickly.

The ‘Will It Print?” videos explicitly reference another popular series of commercials about blenders (“Will It Blend?”). But the “Will It Blend?” commercials make conventional sense because they seek to show the durability of the product which they are trying to sell, carried out in sensationalistic fashion. This explains why they are popular, but some would posit that it is also why they are limited and eventually will grow stale.

The “Will It Print?” videos satirize those “Will it Blend?” videos by making direct reference to them, but with the ultimate purpose of selling ink cartridges containing actual ink. There is no logical correlation between the two products, or even the concepts, with the exception of the “lab experiment” angle. Furthermore, the “Will It Print?” videos do not feature any ink, the actual product, but instead use unusual “substitutes.”

The videos make one completely rethink advertising. “Thinking out of the box is one of our strengths,” says Elward, “It’s the only way for company as small as Castle Ink to compete in a billion dollar industry.” Elward says that most forms of conventional advertising, such as search engine marketing and display advertising are just too expensive and competitive for smaller companies.

The Castle Ink videos have appeal, if not for the entertainment value, then for the original advertising model. It will be particularly interesting to see how Castle Ink takes this concept even further, and applies it to a larger range of contexts, beyond food and liquids. One thing is for sure, the “Will It Print?” videos are cohesive in terms of both the tone and concept, and if nothing else, have created a buzz.

Visit Castle Ink online at http://www.castleink.com/.

In his Word of Mouth Supergenius class, “How to Inspire Word of Mouth with Customer Service,” Lane Becker shared how his company used awesome customer service to get their customers talking.

Lane covered how to make the customer relationship personal, how to set clear expectations for online interactions, and how the best way to gain your customers’ respect is to not be afraid to say sorry.

Word of Mouth Supergenius is produced by GasPedal.

Grab a camera, or find a person with a camera and have them make a video about your start up business. It could be worth up to $750 to you!

ActualJobsActualPeople.com showcases people at work. These individuals are dedicated and passionate, they take pride in their work, and they do it well and have fun doing it.

They are interested in seeing folks at their job and have them share their experience with viewers.

Here’s what they are looking for:

• A well lit video that is no longer than 5 minutes in length with clear sound.
• The video can be of you or anyone you know that you have written permission to record.
• Subject of your video must be an Actual Person at their Actual Start Up Job.
• For samples of other acceptable videos go to: actualjobsactualpeople.com
• Submissions must be received by 11:59pm PST on July 1st, 2010.

Everyone enjoys getting a pat on the back — and, in a time when social media has become part of our global consciousness, the power of social proof is perhaps stronger than ever before.

It is with this thought in mind that Jim Mueller and his partners launched Propadoo.

Propadoo puts your testimonials & referral requests on auto-pilot. Here’s how it works:

• Streams Real-Time Testimonials on your website — increasing your conversions
• Generates Leads with referrals from happy customers
• Boosts SEO with user generated content & search-engine friendly Propadoo profile

Yesterday I had the chance to sit down with Jim to discuss how he got started, why folks should use Propadoo, and how this service can fit into your overall marketing strategy. In this twenty minute audio, you’ll quickly discover why Propadoo should be in every small business arsenal.

iSyndica, an online management and distribution service for microstock portfolios, has just announced the launch of its audio category.

This newest addition complements iSyndica’s three existing categories-photos, videos and vectors. It supports five agencies, Revostock, Catooh, Pond5, Audiomicro and ClipDealer, with more expected.

iSyndica’s platform allows users to upload, manage, distribute and check statistics on their photos, videos, vectors and audio tracks from a single location. Used by hundreds of digital content creators, it has been described by users as “No less than magical.” With more than 35 stock agencies natively supported, it is fast becoming the standard content delivery platform. Pixmac, a stock photo agency, recently announced iSyndica as its exclusive upload platform.

“I used to upload to all sorts of stock sites which would take up most of my working week. I now upload to iSyndica, allowing me more time to do what I really want to do – compose! ” says Bobby Cole, owner of Catch 22 Music, an audio production company in the UK, and an iSyndica user. “I just hope more agencies get on board to help create the ultimate resource for composers and producers.”

“We are very pleased to partner with iSyndica,” said Ryan Born, CEO of AudioMicro. “The ability to upload content once, yet syndicate to multiple licensing platforms, makes iSyndica a fabulous resource for music and sound creators.”

You spend a lot of time, creating and uploading your content. Why stop now? You need to promote it and sell it. iSyndica helps you share and promote your photos, footages and other digital content. It’s free for photos and illustrations, and only 2 credits for videos. Best of all, it’s easy & safe.

Where can I promote my images?
We have added several channels to let you share your work. The following is a sample list of sites that are supported: Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, YouTube, Viddler, TwitPic & TwitVid.

How easy is it?
In the promote screen of iSyndica you’ll find the same familiar interface that you use to distribute your content. Simply select which sites you want to promote your content on, and within seconds it will be there.

To learn more, please visit www.isyndica.com.

WebmasterRadio.FM, the world’s largest online B2B Radio Network, is proud to announce that Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs and co-author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling book Trust Agents, will appear as a guest on Larry Weber’s hit Internet Marketing radio show, “Market Edge” to discuss how to utilize the power of social software and networks to build your business online honestly, effectively, and profitably.

“What an exciting conversation I had on “Market Edge” with Chris Brogan.” host Larry Weber said. “His new book is one of the best out there on the use of social media for building trust and relationships for companies. I couldn’t recommend it more. “

Written by authors with over ten years of online media experience, the book defines Trust Agents as digitally savvy people who use the Web to humanize businesses using transparency, honesty and genuine relationships. The book expounds that because trust is the most valuable currency in the online world today, these Trust Agents wield enough online influence to build up or bring down any business’s reputation. “Trust Agents” combines in-depth coverage of case studies of how people are using online social tools to assemble networks of influence with practical step-by-step guidance on how to build profitable relationships with trust agents, or becoming one yourself.

Chris Brogan is president of New Marketing Labs, a new media agency based in Massachusetts. He is coauthor of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust. He blogs at chrisbrogan.com, and speaks professionally at conferences and private events on the business impact of social media. He is co-founder of PodCamp, the international new media conference series.

New episodes of Market Edge air every Tuesday at 12PM Eastern / 10AM Pacific on WebmasterRadio.FM or on demand in the WebmasterRadio.FM archives inside the Internet Marketing Channel or through iTunes.

About Market Edge:
Hosted by Larry Weber, chairman of the W2 Group, a global marketing services ecosystem that helps CMOs in their new role as builders of communities and content aggregators, Market Edge takes on the future of online marketing with help from the analysts, entrepreneurs and technologists who are taking us to a new age of social media, e-communities and the blogosphere.

Are you looking for a better way to shorten unwieldy URLs for tweeting, Youtubing, Facebooking or the like?

Bit.ly is a simple to use URL shortening tool that also allows you to share and track your links. Lisa Bettany of Get Connected shares some tips for using this service in this short video.

Discover the power of the little menu called ‘Author Tools’.

This menu may be small, but it can have a profound impact on the continuing success of your article marketing campaign. Watch this video to discover the tools that can help you write highly target articles, create more effective resource boxes, communicate with other authors, check your links, and so much more.

Get Connected host AJ Vickery looks at some of the main differences between a laser and inkjet printer for your business and helps you decide what’s best suited for your needs.

Browse Laser vs. Inkjet products and descriptions

Deke McClelland shows how to use Refine Edge in episode #35 of the Photoshop Top 40 Countdown.

Photoshop offers lots of tools for automating selections, but two stand out from the pack: The first, Refine Edge, lets you modify your selection using five different parameters and preview the results in five different ways.