Public relations as we know it is rapidly evolving, and organizations caught watching from the sidelines are being left behind.

Innovators and early adopters are taking the risks, and reaping the rewards, of launching social media campaigns. These organizations, seeking more affordable and effective, non-traditional marketing solutions, are turning to online tools such as blogs, podcasts, wikis and videos – and some are having remarkable success.

Take, for example, Blendtec. For the YouTube.com faithful, CEO Tom Dickson (that's him in the lab coat) is a social-media celebrity. But for those of you who aren’t familiar with the “Will It Blend?” video series, it is a case study in the power of viral videos.

In a recent StartupJournal.com article entitled, “Marketing Videos Are A Hit in Their Own Right,” it was reported that as a result of a series of online-only videos featuring Dickson blending items such as, golf balls, EZ Cheese, Transformers, magnets and iPhones (yes, he actually obliterated an iPhone), sales of Blentec’s home blenders sky-rocketed 43% in 2006.

Update:  The original article linked in this entry is no longer active. For more information, check out the similar blog post, "Marketing Videos Became a Hit in Their Own Right."

It’s even more impressive when you consider that Blentec didn’t have a marketing department until 2006, and launched the video effort on a $50 budget!

Have you considered how social media is changing your business, and your industry? Maybe it's time that you do.