Department store magnate John Wanamaker once said, "Fifty percent of my advertising dollars are wasted. The problem is, Idon't know wh ich fifty percent."

80% of all purchases are not based on full-page newspaper ads, but rather on word-of- mouth advertising. And here is why:

you know socially. If you assume that each of those 400 people know 400 others (of course, there would be some overlap, but let's keep it simple),you now have an imme- diate network of 160,000 people. And if you assume that each of those 160,000 people know 400, well, you are up to 1/3 of the US adult population.

competitive advantage is high-quality client service,your average satisfied client will tell five to eight others. Your average upset client (if you have any) will tell ten to 16. In fact, one in five will tell 20 others how angry you have made them. Web 2.0 now makes it easier and faster for them to do50.

Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace and Linkedln are five applications we will discuss in this article that are compo- nents of Web2.0, a popular term for Internet applications in which the users areactively engaged in creati ng and

That's because they have amassed years of experience, and in some cases, years of articles, that insureds and other insurance professionals value.

ing. At its core, it is simply a diary that is commonly ar- ranged using a reverse chronology (most recent entries are at the top). Typically readers can respond to the

questions and comments. Plus, if your blog is tied into your website, it will generally improve your search en- gine rankings because of the constant stream of new, valuable information and the number of links to and from your blog.-A.P'

something like Amazon or eBay, sites on which one could buy, sell and leave reviews. What Web 3.0 will look like is anybody's guess!

Forrester Research, companies would depend on focus groups to get the reactions of clients during a two-hour session that can cost $10,000 to $15,000. Now compa- nies like Comcast, Dell, HR Block, Kodak, Southwest Air- lines and Whole Foods can "follow" what real customers

Toget a quick introd uction to Twitter, you ca n access an online guide from Tony Hsieh, the founder of the online shoe store Zappos and a Twitter evangelist, at: http://

items such as golf balls and iPods. The first eight epi- sodes resulted in three million downloads in a week. Even better for Blendtec, they sold out of the $600

jumped in with both feet, posting both a large link to YouTube on its Web site and sponsoring its own contest. In the process, they sold a lot of mints.

head shot sayingblah-blah-blah. Nobody will view it. To be noticed by a younger audience you are trying to attract on YouTube, be sure to behumorous, offbeat or very

sity as "The Facebook." It was meant to be an online re- placement of the book one receives as a freshman when entering college or university containing photos and

Facebook has been able to overtake MySpace as the num- ber one social networking site in the world because it no longer has the stigma that it is "just for high school or

ing site on the Internet. At a gla nce, you ca n see what all of you r "friends" are up to. And beca use you choose you r friends on Facebook, you can virtually eliminate spam,

(which Facebook says "are meant to foster group discus- sion arou nd a pa rticu lar topic area"). You and I ca n have "friends" on Facebook, while a business has "fans" (the term "fans" has recently been replaced with "people who like this." Over300,000 businesses now have Facebook pages. Businesses on Facebook can really benefit from

for a way to connect with others having similar likes and dislikes. MySpace was initially popular with bands, who didn't want to go through the hassle of creating and

Successful marketing using any of the Web 2.0 applica- tions mea ns a n ad ca n not look Iike an ad or else it wi II be rejected immediately by the social networking visi- tors. Your clients on average are subjected to 1,500 to 5,000 advertising impressions each day. (Just walk into a supermarket!)