...According to Mishalove, around 50,000 people viewed the video with the Collactive "wrapper" around it; meaning, instead of visiting the YouTube site to watch the video, they linked to the video from the email that was sent by CAF. Of those, about 6 percent clicked the "Act Now" button and emailed the video to friends. "And then it kind of snowballed," said Mishalove, garnering another 50,000 views most likely due to the email-a-friend tool and to its top rating that lasted several days.

...Another platform, Collactive, also helps marketers execute online campaigns by simplifying the process.

The company primarily targets nonprofit and advocacy groups, allowing them to mobilize their supporters through linking various social media. For example, the new technology lets groups send messages that include YouTube videos or news articles linked directly to online popularity sites like Digg, which can increase the material's visibility.

"We take real people and provide them with tools to easily allow them to streamline and participate in social media," says Eran Reshef, Collactive's CEO, adding that Collactive lets people use social media without having to understand the technology behind it.

Marc Sirkin, chief marketing officer at the International Rescue Committee, used the technology to promote a Los Angles Times editorial about Iraqi refugees with supporters.

"Within a few hours of launching the campaign and including the link in our monthly e-mail," he says, "we saw it appear on the LATimes.com top five most e-mailed articles."