In my defense, I’ve been in interactive marketing for 12+ years and have seen enough one-hit wonders to disregard hype. After all, clients don’t invest tens — if not hundreds — of thousands of dollars with CentreSource to get fads. On the flip side, learning is a critical, never-ending endeavor. In this business you blink, and you’re a decade behind. So, I rolled up my sleeves, and resolved to learn something new. It didn’t take long.

The next day our Ops Manager, Will Acuff, told a few of us that he was participating in Pepsi’s Refresh Project, and would appreciate our help in raising money for a neighborhood clean up effort. He asked us to vote for his idea on Pepsi’s site and pass the word along to friends. Will’s verbal request was about to be digitized. After I voted, Pepsi gave me the option to spread the word via Twitter, so I did — which in turn was ‘retweeted’ by friends and colleagues.

By Day 2, word was spreading through our Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter networks. Hits started pouring into the CentreSource website, so we augmented our efforts with a blog entry. On Day 3, the story jumped from social networks into the Nashville Business Journal. On Day 4, Pepsi’s use of Twitter, Facebook, and other online media had combined to build national interest. The Pepsi Refresh Project — and our own Will Acuff’s photo — was featured in a CBS Sunday Morning story to an audience of 5+ million people.

An idea that began with 1 person in our office, traveled via Twitter through our local office network into our regional social and professional networks into a regional newspaper and onto a major national television network and to 5+ million people — in 4 days.

While atypical, this story illustrated to me the speed, the path, and the power of social network marketing — a real, tangible case study for anyone considering how social media can fit into a corporate or personal marketing campaign.