Recently, Oneupweb completed a study looking at 12 products and brands attracting noticeable online holiday buzz. We wanted to know why these brands were being talked about and how interest was being generated.

What we found were some highly innovative social media marketing strategies and tactics. From these 12 hot products and their competitors, we've established some best practices that should help any marketer generate social buzz this holiday season.

Feed the rumors
Gamers are notoriously rumor driven. Nintendo used this fact in 2006 to create interest ahead of its scheduled November launch of the Wii game console. The company established a MySpace profile for the Wii in August, three months before the product was available, and began releasing previews of games and the new gaming equipment. It also established a forum where gamers could post their responses. And in the 44 days between the U.S. launch and year-end, Nintendo sold every Wii console available at retail outlets.

In 2007, we found the Nintendo Wii generating continued pre-launch interest ahead of the release of new games and features through some of the same viral marketing outlets.

Make it an experience
Gift- and housewares marketer Ganz has given an online twist to a classic marketing idea this holiday season - selling the experience that comes with ownership. The company's Web site for its Webkinz plush pets invites children to enter their own safe social network. In the Webkinz virtual world, kids receive adoption certificates, biographies and avatars that look like their Webkinz pets. They can play games, design custom homes and interact with other Webkinz pets and pet owners.

Encourage belonging
Handbag and accessory icon Coach has created Coach Clique, a Web site where visitors are made to feel special. They get access to insider information and advice about products and fashion, Coach-branded screensavers and wallpapers, and a page matching a visitor's astrological sign to the right Coach bag. A video celebrity interview includes the celebrity's recent hit recordings and profiles of her favorite Coach products. The site has an exclusive club feel with considerable content for the search engines to index and visitors to share.

Engage and conquer
Pleo is a robotic, 6-inch-tall dinosaur. It's also a destination. Manufacturer Ugobe has created PleoWorld, a Web site dedicated to fans and future owners. The site offers a video tour of the lab where Pleo was born, and the news page includes blog posts about Pleo from bloggers all over the Internet. And there's an owners only online world as well, where Pleo owners gain access to an elite online community. Online pre-orders already have sold out, and retailers expect a brisk holiday business.

Be accessible
Apple's new iPod Touch was launched on Sept. 5, with typical Steve Jobs fanfare. With nearly all the features of the much-hyped iPhone, the Touch could simply have traded on that excitement. Apple chose to do more, utilizing some of the same social networking systems and hardware that the company helped to popularize. There are plenty of videos documenting the initial launch on Apple's site, as well as interactive product demonstrations and a Hot News page. This content is available on the site or as RSS feeds available for iPod and iTunes. It easily is indexed by Google and shared on social networking sites such as YouTube.