Relationships are the "new currency." Mari Smith explains that business professionals can become masters at relationship marketing in two primary areas: (1) the technical skill needed to utilize the vast array of social tools and (2) the soft skills needed to effectively build solid relationships through these social tools.
"The new relationship marketing means genuinely caring about all other human beings on the planet and building solid, win-win relationships." (Mari Smith)
About The Author
Mari Smith has a strong ten-year background in the world of relationships and Internet technology, making social media her ideal arena. Through her consulting and training business, Mari helps independent professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners to accelerate their business profits using an integrated social marketing strategy, with particular focus on Facebook and Twitter.
Relationships First, Business Second
Mari Smith has been called the "Pied Piper of the Internet World." She calls herself a "Relationship Marketing Specialist." Ms. Smith understands the changes that social media has created in the marketing world. She is an excellent teacher and is committed to sharing the information that she has learned during her successful relationship marketing career.
"We're being called to higher standards of authenticity, integrity, and transparency, and we are compelled to truly care about the world and all the people in it. The power has shifted from corporations to consumers, from dictators to citizens." (Mari Smith)Mari Smith shares her own story in this book. She tells how she was a painfully shy child who hated to read aloud in front of the class. She tells how she began to gain confidence when she became active in a local Toastmasters Club. She has been fascinated with computers and technology since she was a teenager. With the right education and experience, she has conquered her shyness and has developed a real love for speaking and communicating with people.
Mari Smith shares "eight rules for effective electronic communication." She quotes the following line from the movie "The Social Network", "The Internet is not in pencil; it's in ink." She advises readers to avoid talking too much about yourself and your products without first adding value. She warns readers to "never respond to anything when you're emotional" and "never fight fire with fire on the web."
Ms. Smith shares some helpful points for developing a daily routine for time management. We all know that time seems to fly by when we are reading and posting on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. She recommends a scheduling program and several social media management tools to manage your time on social media sites.
Ms. Smith has a fascinating section is this book on deciding who the 16 to 25 high-level leaders and influentials are who you would most like to meet on a personal and professional basis. She has created a "Hollywood Squares" exercise where you can list these people and then create a plan of action to connect with them.
The New Relationship Marketing provides solid advice on how to turn fans, friends and followers into paying customers. The author shares an acronym that she lives by: ABM, or always be marketing. People decide whether or not to do business with you depending on your words and actions.
My Thoughts
This is a progressive, informative and enlightening book. It should be read and studied very carefully. The author has provided a free page of resources from this book on her web site. The resources include books, web sites, blogs, events, applications and articles that she discusses in the book.
The more I read this book, the more I realized that I need to make some changes in the way I interact with people on social media sites. This is a book that should be at the top of your "Must Read" list. Highly recommended to anyone who is ready to embrace change and climb to new levels of success.
If you would like to learn more about this book, please watch "The New Relationship Marketing Official Book Trailer" on YouTube.
Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.
