Today is an exciting day!! The pilot episode of Social Media Examiner TV launches and I’m thrilled and honored to be the Host!

Social Media Examiner was founded in October 2009 by Mike Stelzner; it’s a popular online magazine and has been named one of the top business blogs by Technorati. Mike is also founder of the annual Social Media Success Summits and now the Facebook Success Summit 2010.

Teamwork

Mike and I first met in December 2008 via our mutual friend, Denise Wakeman, at a social media event in San Diego. We immediately hit it off and I’ve been delighted to team up with Mike and contribute to his ventures ever since!

Four of the Social Media Examiner team members:
Amy Porterfield, Denise Wakeman, Mike Stelzner (founder) & Mari Smith.
[Pic taken at Seth Godin event by LinkedOC, Feb 2010]

Meanwhile, over the past six months or so, I had been thinking about starting an internet TV show. Many friends of mine would say, “You should do an internet TV show!” I’ve loaded several fun videos to my Facebook Fan Page. I was a guest on BraveHearTV and got the chance recently to shoot a TV infomercial for Jim Britt along with host, Valerie Brooks-Flores, (details coming!). I just love the medium of TV to communicate so much more.

I looked at all kinds of approaches for TV shows and, quite frankly, the logistics seemed overwhelming. I’ve always been inspired by the amazing Gary Vaynerchuk and his wildly popular WineLibraryTV. Gary definitely has a fabulous personality for TV!!

Social Media Examiner TV is born!

Well, there’s much to be said about the power of intention. Over a recent business lunch, Mike and I had one of those simultaneous, spontaneous sparks of genius … and Social Media Examiner TV was born!! This episode is the first of three pilots and we’ll begin running regularly after that!

In this episode, I review the awesome new iPad app, Flipboard—an amazing way to consume your social media news and see your Facebook and Twitter contacts—along with my passion for Facebook’s 500 million users and the game-changing social plugins. Plus, we take a look at how Foursquare could help your local business.

Take a peek at our inaugural show below – be sure to max up to full screen (click the wee four-arrow icon in the bottom right corner). [And, look for a funny line at minute 6:30; it still cracks me up!]

If you enjoyed this pilot episode of Social Media Examiner TV, please do tweet about it (use hashtag #SMEtv), share it on Facebook or even embed this episode on your blog.

By the way, here’s my excited tweet when I met up with Ross Epstein, Regional Marketing Coordinator for Jimbo’s Naturally:

And here’s that funny original tweet I talk about at minute 6:30 in the Social Media Examiner TV show:

The Power of Intention

When I got back to my home office after filming this first Social Media Examiner TV pilot, I was so ecstatic and made a video for my Facebook Fan Page on the subject of manifesting what we want.

When you have clarity on something that you want to create (the “What”) and why, you can leave the “How” part up to the Universe. We often get caught up in the “How” and try to control all the details. But when we’re committed to serving the greater good, magic can really happen in an even bigger and better way than you might’ve first imagined.

Please do leave your comments below — I’d love to hear what you think of this first TV show. Feel free to add your suggestions for future show content and your comments about Internet TV in general.

In fact, do hop over to this post on Social Media Examiner’s blog today. Plus – guess what?? In future episodes, you’ll have an opportunity to get your questions answered! And, if you leave a video response on YouTube, Mike and I may just put your video into one of our future episodes!!!

NEWSFLASH: After yesterday’s disappointing news that Facebook Fan Page Admins could no longer direct non-fans to a default custom landing tab unless they had a minimum of 10,000 fans… in less than 24 hours, Facebook has changed the new “rule” back again.

The same Facebook staffer who made the forum post yesterday updated the forum today with this post:

The motive behind this change – and back again – is unclear. But, it’s certainly clear that the ability to direct visitors to your Facebook fan page custom tab can have a direct payoff to the bottom line:

InsideFacebook.com wrote today about BrandGlue split testing the efficacy of a landing tab. They found the conversion rate to be 47% with a landing tab and around 23% without. That is a BIG difference!

Phew, at least the thousands of small businesses, developers, consultants and agencies can breathe a sigh of relief that this very important feature has been restored!

I just wonder how much influence Matt has to adhere to “[we] will not make any further changes without first giving our community standard notice and lead-time.” What is standard notice and lead-time?!

[ignore this code: EAVB_JHSTMCBYIE]

[UPDATE #2: May 20, 2010: A few members of my community alerted me their Default Landing Tab had "reverted" back... or was working now.

So I conducted a test: I logged out of Facebook, then pulled up about a dozen fan pages with fewer than 10,000 fans that would normally land on a Welcome tab. Some did, some didn't.

There doesn't seem to be any pattern. I'm guessing Facebook are rolling out this new "Default Landing Tab Only for Authenticated Pages" rule in phases. Or, perhaps they've listened to us and are rolling back?!]

[UPDATE #1: As a workaround to this new inability to direct non-fans to your custom landing tab, you could make your own redirect link, e.g. http://marismith.com/fanpage goes to my fan page and could just as easily go to any tab. (You could also use any link shortener, e.g. bit.ly)

Remember, each tab still has its own unique URL and all your tabs/apps are still intact.

This approach with your own redirect link could work well for promotions outside Facebook.

However, any promotion inside Facebook (e.g. @ tags) would automatically go to whichever default landing tab you've set - either Wall or Info. I recommend Wall.

Once you reach 10,000 fans, you'll be able to set your cutom landing tab. Though, so far, a couple members of my community have mentioned they cannot make the change and they're over 10k fans. Sounds like the change is buggy.

Props to my fab friend, Mike Stelzner for the redirect link suggestion.]

~~~

Original post follows:

For some time, I’ve been raving about the benefits of having your non-fans land on a specific, custom landing tab on your Facebook Fan Page.

When you send visitors to your Facebook Fan Page, previously, you could have them land on a Welcome Tab, for instance – the purpose of which was to help visitors understand what your business is about and to compel them to want to join your Fan Page.

The option to set this was fairly easy – click on Options underneath the publisher on your Fan Page wall, then click on Settings and select the landing tab from the drop down menu:

However, in a rather odd move, today Facebook quietly let a few disgruntled developers know in the Facebook Developers Forum that they would no longer be offering the option to have a custom default landing tab. That is, unless you have a minimum of 10,000 fans or you have an account rep at Facebook.

New settings for fan pages with <10,000 fans:

(Image credit)

Here’s the forum post:

Amidst all the hoopla of the privacy concerns and morass of Community Pages, this default landing tab change just seems grossly unfair to the small business owner, in particular.

As Nick O’Neill writes, “We’d assume that this change was made for two reasons: to combat spam and more importantly, to boost revenue…”

Hmm.

To clarify, ALL of your custom tabs still exist. And – this is important – each tab still has its own unique URL. So, theoretically, you could shorten the URL’s and split test landing tabs as I’ve talked about before.

If you don’t have an account rep, here’s the contact form per Facebook.

How do you feel about this change? Was the default landing tab for non-fans a big part of your Fan Page promotion strategy? Let me know in the comments below:

Props to my bud Dave Kerpen for the phone call today about the Developer Forum post, and to my Twitter bud Ryan Burns for drawing my attention to this change last night (at first we thought it was a bug!), and to my bud Nick O’Neill for promptly blogging about the issue.

[UPDATE] – we had a marathon seven-hour Virtual Launch Party today (May 3). Here’s a wee video greeting I recorded for my Facebook wall on my iPhone:

First, Chris Treadaway and I co-hosted a three-hour presentation via TinyChat where we discussed many of the chapters in our book, along with the recent changes announced at Facebook’s f8 conference, and the implications for marketers. The replay of this part will be available shortly! (I recorded my desktop with TinyChat via ScreenFlow and will give it a slight edit).

Then, I went on to lead a four-hour webinar meeting and greeting many of my peeps, and where I continued on to give Facebook marketing ideas, tips, tricks, Ninja secrets, dive deeper into the Facebook changes, do fan page critiques and more. You can view the replay of this part here.

[ORIGINAL POST FOLLOWS]

I’m super excited for a project that’s been a long time coming: my first published book! I’m honored to team up with the talented Chris Treadaway to coauthor Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day, published by Sybex (a division of John Wiley & Sons).

Our book officially comes out on Monday, May 3, 2010. Copies are already shipping and we are climbing the charts on Amazon.com!

Virtual Launch Party – You’re Invited!

On Monday, May 3, we’re hosting a VIRTUAL LAUNCH PARTY from 10:00am PST / 1:00pm EST onwards! Come meet Chris and me and a few surprise guests – we’ll be LIVE virtually!

Drop in any time during the day for Facebook marketing Q&A, book excerpts, interviews, prize drawings, lots of fun - you name it! We’ll even have virtual champagne!

Let us know you’re coming via the Facebook Event page – RSVP here.

An Hour A Day series

You may already be familiar with Sybex’s popular “An Hour A Day” series, which include:

• Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day – by Dave Evans
• Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day – by Hollis Thomases
• YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day – by Greg Jarboe (Greg is a fellow presenter at the upcoming Social Media Success Summit!)
• Web Analytics: An Hour a Day – by Avinash Kaushik

Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day is the ideal comprehensive guide for marketers, business owners and practitioners alike. I’m sure this book will end up flagged, scribbled on and dogeared as you study it! Chris and I outline all the ways businesses can maximize everything Facebook has to offer, from simple quick techniques to full-on campaigns.

Table of Contents:

Screenshots taken from my iPad on the Amazon Kindle app for the iPad! Yes, our book is available on Kindle (and eBook / Nook).

Expert Contributors to “The Future of Facebook” Appendix:

Chris and I are truly honored by and grateful to the following six professionals, all of whom contributed valuable expertise to our book:

Dave Kerpen	Jesse Stay	Nick O’Neill
Lauren Cooney	Scott McCaskill	Kevin Tate

Free Facebook Marketing Online Class!

With Facebook’s product changing so frequently, Chris and I wanted to offer special follow up support for our readers. You can join us in a special series of online trainings, designed to help you get the absolute most out of this book and from your own Facebook marketing efforts!

In our three-part online webinar series, we’ll walk you through exactly how to:

• Integrate the new Facebook Social Plugins
• Assess the power of the new Like button for your site
• Create a compelling Facebook Fan Page
• Source consistent, relevant content to keep your fans coming back for more
• Build your raving fan base using creative ways to drive targeted traffic
• Increase your brand awareness and brand sentiment
• Easily drive traffic back to your website and blog
• Engage your fans and turn them into paying customers
• Rapidly build your opt-in email list
• Place effective Facebook ads that make people take action
• And much more.

This workshop series stars on June 3, 2010 and is entirely virtual, so you can attend via your computer from the comfort of your home/office. Each session will be recorded and replays will be available with unlimited access.

Chris and I will share screenshots and our desktop as we guide you through the exact steps you need to build a vibrant, profitable presence on Facebook.

Here’s how to register:

It’s super easy to secure your place in the free 3-part Facebook Marketing online class:

	STEP 1: Purchase your copy of Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day at any of the online retailers listed below.
	STEP 2: Fill out the Facebook Marketing survey here.

Order Facebook Marketing Now At These Online Retailers:

Amazon.com	Barnes & Noble	Borders
BooksAMillion	BestBookBuys	800ceoread

Also available in Amazon Kindle version for your Kindle and/or iPad! Plus, ebook version for your eReader.

Advance praise for Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day

Chris and I are truly grateful to the following professionals for their support and encouragement:

“This is the ultimate Facebook marketing guide. It provides the most important strategies to take full advantage of Facebook’s best features, make your Facebook presence pop, and generate profits. A must-read!”

-Guy Kawasaki – Co-founder of Alltop and former Apple chief evangelist

“The best marketing engages buyers with valuable information at the precise moment they are receptive. That’s why my chiropractor shares video exercises with me on Facebook! And it’s darned effective, too. If you want to learn how to tap the communications tool of choice for hundreds of millions of people around the world, study Facebook Marketing. The real-world examples from organizations of all kinds are especially valuable for those who still need to be convinced (like your boss).”

-David Meerman Scott, bestselling author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR, now published in 24 languages

“Facebook is a powerful new marketing platform and thanks to this book it just got a whole lot easier to understand and tap.”

-John Jantsch author of The Referral Engine

“The social media world is full of people saying they know this tool or that tool. But there’s a reason the first name a lot of people think of when they think of Facebook marketing is Mari Smith. This book shows you how the world’s largest social network can be leveraged for your business. And it’s written by one of few people out there who actually has shown companies how to succeed on Facebook. If you’re trying to leverage Facebook to reach your customers, this book should be on your shelf. It’s on mine.”

-Jason Falls, Social Media Explorer, Social media educator, speaker and consultant

“This is the only book that walks you through every step of creating, implementing, measuring, and optimizing a successful strategy for engaging on Facebook. Featuring proven strategies and techniques, this approachable guide walks the walk. It shows marketers at all levels how to roll up their sleeves, jump in, and get winning results quickly.”

-Brian Goldfarb, Director, Microsoft

“Mari Smith quickly became THE go-to expert before the crowds flocked to Facebook, realizing how powerful this channel is for business. Mari, teamed up with Facebook analytics expert, Chris Treadaway, have created an absolute masterpiece! Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day is long overdue, and every reader is lucky to have this book at their fingertips so they can tap into the mind of these pioneers and accelerate their success on Facebook by applying these tips.”

-Deborah Cole Micek, aka: @CoachDeb, Founder of QuanSite.com and Author of Twitter Revolution and Secrets of Online Persuasion

“Even though (or perhaps because) it’s transforming the way businesses interact with customers and prospects, Facebook is often confusing, and counter-intuitive. Not any more. Chris and Mari have created the Holy Grail, a book where nearly every page is worthy of an underline, highlight, or dog ear. With some companies posting to Facebook twice a month, and others posting banalities four times daily, the content strategy guidelines alone make this book indispensable. Buy two copies – keep one for yourself, and mail one to a company whose unfocused Facebook approach drives you crazy.”

-Jay Baer – Convince & Convert

“Mari and Chris have a very unique gift in that they can’t take the very complex and sophisticated paradigm of marketing on of the world’s largest social networks and present it in a way that anyone can understand and more importantly, put into practice.”

-Brian Solis, author of Engage, the complete guide for businesses to build and measure success on the new web

“I love books that start with strategic planning. Just about every Facebook title I’ve seen is obsessed with secret tips and tricks, without ever encouraging the reader to identify what they’re trying to accomplish in the first place. Chris and Mari have done a splendid job putting those tips and tricks into a meaningful context and I know I’ll be studying my copy to improve my own Facebook presence. If you’re looking for the full picture, the “why” along with “what” and “how”, then this is your book.”

-Dave Taylor, online entrepreneur. AskDaveTaylor.com

“Every marketer knows they need to be on Facebook and other social networks, but few know how to do it right. Chris and Mari have created what is essentially a user’s manual for anyone managing a brand or advertising a business on Facebook. Whether you’re new to social networking or a savvy user, this book provides the tools every marketing professional needs, from getting setup the right way to managing successful, targeted advertising campaigns. The book’s step-by-step format makes what many consider a daunting undertaking seem like a more manageable process for even the busiest marketers by helping you prioritize your time online.”

-Peter VanRysdam, Chief Marketing Officer, 352 Media Group

“Not only does FBMHD provide a practical framework for Facebook marketing, but it also offers a 360-degree perspective on how social media connects with a cross-section of marketing disciplines. By reading and using FBMHD, social savvy marketers gain the strategies, tactics and tools to cross the chasm from a hope-it-works community to a well-performing channel for marketing and communications.”

-Adam Weinroth, VP of Strategic Marketing, Demand Media [See Adam's Twitter page. Yes, his pic is sideways. ]

Additional Recommended Facebook Marketing Reading

And, just to whet your appetite while you’re waiting for your book to arrive (unless you’re anything like me and get the Kindle/iPad version right now!), here are several tutorial blog posts that you may find helpful too:

• How To Add A Custom Landing Tab To Your Facebook Fan Page
• How To Attract and Engage Quality Customers With Social Media
• 13 Ways to Move Your Facebook Fans to Action
• How to Better Engage Facebook Fan Page ‘Fans’
• 21 Creative Ways To Increase Your Facebook Fanbase
• How to Better Engage Facebook Fan Page ‘Fans’
• How to Create a Facebook Fan Page Editorial Guide
• How to Add Google Analytics to Your Facebook Fan Page
• 10 Tips for Creating Buzz With Facebook Events

If you have any comments, questions, concerns, challenges, (rave reviews!) – anything to do with Facebook Marketing, please do share in the Comments below:

[UPATE: Thank you for your interest in ISMA – this organization is in process of being dissolved. You may read about the transition below. If you were a member of ISMA, you will continue to receive access to all materials via my website on a special platform – please keep an eye on your email Inbox for information.]

This is not an easy post to write, but here goes — after much deliberation, my partner in ISMA and I have decided to dissolve the International Social Media Association. There are many reasons behind this decision and it was certainly a tough one to make.

Mark and I have enjoyed this journey together since September 2009 and are most grateful to our more than 3,000 members. Between the tw

o of us – along with Mark’s entire family – much effort has gone into building ISMA to this point.

However, like I say, for a number of reasons we have chosen to wind up our partnership and ISMA.

All our members received a special, heartfelt email message this morning with details of our announcement.

Live Q&A Broadcast

In order to communicate the transition of ISMA in person and answer any questions our members and other industry professionals may have, I will be LIVE on Ustream TODAY, Friday, April 30th at 1:00pm PST / 4:00pm EST.

Do drop in any time if you can at http://marismith.tv

I will broadcast live for approximately 90 minutes. The show will be recorded and the replay will be available at the same link if you’re unable to join me live.

UPDATE: I have embedded below the replay of the live Ustream broadcast:

What Went Right?

Rather than dig in and analyze what went “wrong,” I’d rather focus on what went right. [Props to Ian Newby-Clark, psychologist at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada for this great reframe in Psychology Today.]

Facebook beginnings

By way of background, I began my journey in the social media industry back in early summer of 2007. For the previous seven years, I was a relationship marketing specialist – focusing on internet marketing, information product creation, copywriting and email marketing. I would travel, speak, consult and lead online trainings – similar to what I do now, sans social media!

When I was introduced to Facebook, I was convinced that I didn’t need yet another online social network to help me network. I’m already a natural networker. However, I dove deep into this  magical world on a team of beta testers for a Facebook app.

Social media = paradigm shift

Of course, what we had begun to experience as a society and beyond was a complete paradigm shift in how we function, communicate and do business on the planet. Suddenly, it was ALL about the relationships. Not what you know, but who you know. And – often more importantly – who knows you.

Words like “authentic” and “transparent” were all abuzz. As consumers, we began to expect that individuals and companies would be more open, more sharing, more inclusive. Social media became “word of mouth on steroids,” as my friend Gary Vaynerchuk calls it.

Towards the end of 2007, I was creating Facebook training products, leading seminars and traveling to speak about Facebook marketing.

Best practices

But, I felt uneasy about what was beginning to look like a giant free-for-all: a new industry without best practices. There were so many unspoken rules of etiquette. With all due respect to the well-intentioned marketers who push the envelope and try new ways of using these new technologies, I just felt strongly about leading by example… and, I envisioned creating an organization grounded in best practices. I had a vision to create Certification Programs and an international community of like-minded, supportive professionals.

Fast forward more than two years on, and last fall – after leading my six-month “Mentor With Mari” program – I co-founded the International Social Media Association with Mark Eldridge, co-author of The Obvious Expert.

Gratitude

What went right is that I followed my heart and took action. What went right is I surrounded myself with a solid, supportive team. What went right is we attracted over 3,000 wonderful members and each week we were able to bring them wonderful industry experts who generously shared their knowledge and expertise.

We built community. We built a special place for loyal professionals to support each other. We spawned new businesses, new collaborations, new relationships.

I will always be deeply grateful for this profound opportunity to go for my dreams and birth an amazing social media association. I couldn’t have done it without the relentless support of Mark Eldridge and his family. And, we couldn’t have come this far without our members.

Closing a door is never easy. Yet, as you well know, another door always opens. This isn’t an ending – it’s a beginning. I won’t rule out other associations in my future. And, I’m certainly open to joining forces with other social media industry leaders… but not before I free up a wee bit more time in my hectic schedule!

My major focuses right now are:

• The launch of my first published book - Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day (Sybex, May 3) co-authored with Chris Treadaway. Do come join us at our virtual launch party on Monday, May 3! Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day is a comprehensive guide for marketers, business owners and practitioners alike. Discover all the ways your business can maximize everything Facebook has to offer, from simple quick techniques to full-on campaigns. Order your copy today and get a free series of online classes!

• My favorite event of the year: the extraordinary online Social Media Success Summit – brainchild of my dear friend, Mike Stelzner – which begins on May 4 and runs for four weeks. (It’s entirely virtual!) The Summit features twenty-four of the world’s leading social media experts, practitioners and leading brand representatives. See my post here for additional details. And, take a look at my video on YouTube: Ten Reasons to Attend the Social Media Success Summit.

• My own two-day live training programs: Social Marketing Mastery Immersion coming up on June 11-12 and again September 3-4 in San Diego. Attend live at a great San Diego hotel, or virtually via webinar!
• A long-awaited collaboration with my dear spiritual mentor, Esperanza, called Conscious Social Media. VERY excited about this – I can share details in just another few days!

• Plus, continuing my travels to speak around the globe on social media success and lead training programs on Facebook marketing.
• Plus, continuing to lead private trainings and provide social media strategy consulting for my dear clients.

I look forward to evolving and growing with you, my peeps!

Do feel free to add your comments, questions, concerns, ideas and feedback below! I’d love to hear from you.

I’m about to set off on a wee tour – which originally began as a private mastermind retreat in Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 12-17

Then, my friend, Peggy McColl, asked me to speak at her amazing Viral Explosions book launch extravaganza in Ottawa, Ontario, April 16 and 17. It’s such an amazing event, and my big sis lives near Ottawa so we get to meet up!

And, my friend, Joel Comm contacted me to let me know the Loveland Chamber of Commerce *really* wanted me to come speak at their next Social Media Social. We ended up selecting a date that worked for all of us, and I added on extra time on the front end of my trip! w00t!

So, if you’re in the Northern Colorado area, or Albuquerque or Ottawa – I’d love to meet you IRL (in real life!) at these upcoming events:

Northern Colorado Social Media Social – Loveland, CO 

WHEN: Thursday, April 8, 2010 from 5:30-7:30pm
WHERE: Embassy Suites Loveland, Clydesdale Parkway, Loveland, CO 80538
COST: Loveland Chamber investors: $8 to pre-reg; $10 at the door. Everyone else: $12 to pre-reg; $15 at the door
RSVP: CLICK HERE to register. [NOTE: I have 4 guest passes left. If you know for sure you can make it, DM me for a guest pass!!]

Mix, mingle and meet the people behind the avatars and Twitter handles! I’ll be giving a short presentation on social media marketing, especially a few of my Facebook and Twitter ninja tricks. PLUS, the Loveland Chamber are serving Aqua Mari’tinis in my honor – gotta love that!! Follow the @LovelandChamber and @NoCOSocialMedia on Twitter.

 
[Pic: @JoelComm & @MariSmith at the Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas, Jan 2009]

Spring Tweetup – Denver, CO

WHEN: Friday, April 9, 2010 from 6:30-9:30pm
WHERE: The Lobby Denver, 2191 Arapahoe St, Denver, CO 80205
COST: No fee, but Happy Hour Specials & food available for purchase, of course!
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/springtweetupdenver [Please let us know you're coming asap so we know how many to expect!]

NOTE: It’s opening day for the ROCKIES, parking may be a wee bit tight. Carpool and take public transit if you can.

“To mark the beginning of Spring to see old friends and new, and to welcome Mari Smith to Denver.”

Thanks to my Twitter bud, Ashley Kingsley, for spearheading the organizing of this fun tweetup!! To see who’s attending, just go to the Twtvite page here.

Who’s going so far: 
 

New Mexico American Marketing Association, Albuquerque, NM

WHEN: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 from 7:30am-9:30am
[7:30-8:00am - Check-in & continental breakfast; 8:00-9:30 am - Mari Smith presentation]
WHERE: Hotel Albuquerque, 800 Rio Grande NW
COST: $25 NMAMA members / $40 non-members
RSVP: CLICK HERE to register.

JAVA TALK Workshop – Facebook Fortune & Twitter Treasure. How to grow your business using the top two social networks. 90-minute presentation for local business owners and entrepreneurs.

Huge shoutout to @KimGusta who happened to see me tweeting about my retreat at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya and she tweeted/DM’d me inviting me to speak to the AMA. Gotta LOVE Twitter, social media and the sheer power of networking!!

The Ultimate Success Event – Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Presented by Peggy McColl. Includes mega book launch party extravaganza for VIRAL EXPLOSIONS

WHEN: Friday April 16, 2010 from 6:30pm-11:00pm (FREE book launch party)
Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 8:00am – 6:30pm (The ULTIMATE Success Event)
WHERE: Chateau Cartier Hotel (relatively close to downtown Ottawa, Ontario)
COST: Friday’s party is FREE! Saturday’s seminar is just $199!
RSVP: CLICK HERE to register.

To kick off the official launch of Peggy McColl’s 7th book, Viral Explosions, and ensure you have everything you need to make this your biggest and best year ever . in Life and Business!

LIVE entertainment by Diego the Humor Hypnotist! And Magician, Elliott Smith! And, Singers, Alison Comrie and Kristen Stephen!

Presenters at The ULTIMATE Success Event include Gay Hendricks, Joyce Bone, Scott Stratten, Mike Koenigs, Brian Proctor, David Riklan, Arielle Ford, Steve Shapiro, Ken Brown and more!

This will be one magical event – I look forward to seeing you there! Register now if you can attend.

Let me know in the comments below (and/or on Twitter) if you’re able to attend any of these fun four events!!

I was recently approached by the team at Vpype to test out their brand new Facebook app that allows you to stream LIVE video directly from your Facebook profile or fan page to your friends and fans!

This app is a gamechanger! Live video streaming meets Facebook. and the best part? It’s FREE!

Vpype allows you to:

• Schedule regular shows
• Broadcast live anytime
• Broadcast as yourself or broadcast as your fan page
• Select specific friends to broadcast to (think private conferencing, trainings, etc!)
• Archive your shows
• Embed any show
• Browse through your Facebook friends’ show recordings
• .and more.

So, last night around 7:30pm PST, I put out a tweet, updated my Facebook profile status and began broadcasting – within a few minutes, we had over 40 participants view the show (ultimately 247 live views) and engage in the chat room from around the U.S. and as far as Singapore, Iceland and Gold Coast, Australia! (See this prompt recap of my Vpype debut by Marianna Fridjonsdottir in Iceland!)

The Vpype Facebook app displays on your Fan Page as a tab called "Shows."

By the way, here’s a hot Facebook fan page tip: All tabs to the left of Wall and Info can be reordered by dragging and dropping. In the screenshot below, I’ve placed my Shows tab inbetween my Blog and Welcome tabs:

Possible uses of the Vpype Facebook app – some are my ideas, some I asked my peeps in the chat room:

• Live Q&A for fans on your fan page
• Private conferences
• Family chats
• Daily/weekly show with guest experts
• Short tips/tutorial videos – live or pre-recorded
• New product demos
• Classes
• Video book reviews
• Virtual party
• Cooking demonstration

And a few excerpted enthusiastic comments:

We only ran into just a couple hiccups; for some viewers the stream was sticking from time to time (but that depends on variables such as internet speed on the viewer end, of course). Also, the chat area froze one time and I ended up hitting refresh – which temporarily stopped my live broadcast, but the users stayed connected and we ended up picking right back up where we left off. However, the second part didn’t seem to record.

Also, I first published this post with the video embedded – but was a wee bit alarmed to see the video plays on load! So, I took it out.

You can watch the show here. And, I’ve pasted below a screenshot of what the embed looks like. (Btw, the default width is 750px which is rather wide and needs to be sized).

A few items on our features wishlist as a result of this debut show:

• Embedded player does NOT play on load
• Default embed size is 600px
• Notification of who joined/left
• Participants’ names/avatars linked to their Facebook profile
• Ability to pause the chat area (similar to Tweetchat)
• Broadcast inside the "frame" of a fan page tab
• Ability to assign mic/webcam rights to others for live video interview

Vpype officially launches on Monday, March 15, 2010 at the Social Media World Forum in London.

So, what do you think? How will you use live video broadcasting on Facebook? Let me know in the comments below!

My favorite events on my calendar are giving social media talks to all sizes of audiences, across many industries and a variety of formats. Whether it’s an opening keynote on social media success in general, an in-depth Facebook and/or Twitter breakout session or a full day training.

My 2010 calendar is filling up nicely, and this year I’m intent on pacing myself a tad more, and also allow a bit of extra time in each city to a) sightsee and b) connect with Twitter peeps at local Tweetups. Yay!

My public calendar can be found here, which is always current. Meantime, I thought I’d put together this post with a smidge more detail of what I have booked for 2010 so far and I’ll update it as more events are added. and add some video content too!! [If you'd like to hire me to speak at your event, hop over here.]

2010 Events – Let’s Tweet Up!

Here are my travels for 2010 so far; as more are confirmed I’ll add to this post and also to my public Google calendar. Most all of these are speaking engagements; a few I’m attending as a participant.

If you live in any of these cities – or will be at these events – please do tweet/DM me!!

January – Hollywood CA

• January 28 – February 1: The GRAMMYS! Hollywood, CA. (I’ll be in a mastermind all day Jan 30 and at the GRAMMYS Jan 31; I’m going up a couple days early and staying an extra day for a mix of pampering plus business meetings!) Special mention of my dear friend, Amy Michelson, designer of my Grammy gown. pics coming!

February – San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles CA | Nashville TN

• February 4: Keynoting the California Restaurant Association (CRA) San Diego meeting, San Diego, CA
• February 6 & 7: Social Marketing Mastery IMMERSION – retreat at Casa de Mari, San Diego, CA
• February 10: Guest lecture on Facebook marketing for UCSD at Becky Carroll’s class.
• February 11: An Evening With Seth Godin – Dana Point, CA
• February 12 to 14: NSA, National Speakers Association Winter Conference – Nashville, TN [Valentine's tweetup Feb 13!]
• February 19 – 20: Program Director Grad School, Los Angeles, CA
• February 19 – 21: David Finkel’s 2010 Business Owners Success Conference – San Diego, CA

March – Seattle WA | San Diego, Los Angeles CA

• March 5: Girls’ Night Out – Total Networking Event, Seattle, WA (I’m giving the main keynote)
• March 3: LIVE Conference – Social/Mobile Media at its Best by Qittle, San Diego, CA (I’ll be here as an attendee)
• March 8: Free WEBINAR – How Social Media is Changing the Face of Local Business Marketing featuring Mari Smith and Erik Qualman, hosted by @EgbertOostburg
• March 9: Free WEBINAR – Maximizing Facebook: How To Effectively Use The #1 Social Network To Explode Your Business! (for ISMA members – free membership)
• March 11: Private CLASS – Guest lecture on social media marketing for Grossmont College at Steve Eisenberg’s class.
• March 13 & 14: LIVE event – Women, Power & Purpose – The Live Experience, San Diego, CA [Also on this weekend: South by Southwest #SXSWi, Austin, TX; Yanik Silver's Ungerground6 in Washington DC with @garyvee keynoting; Mastering Your Life with Esperanza in San Diego, CA]
• March 19 – 21: LIVE event – Ken McArthur’s IMPACT Event, San Diego, CA
• March 24 – 27: LIVE event – T. Harv Eker’s Guerilla Business School, Garden Grove (LA), CA
• March 26 – 28: LIVE event – Christian Mickelsen’s JV Networking Mixer, San Diego, CA

April – Loveland CO | Albuquerque NM | Ottawa Canada | San Diego CA

• April 8: Spring Northern Colorado Social Media Social, Loveland Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center (details being firmed up)
• April 13: American Marketing Association New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (details being firmed up)
• April 13 – 16: Private Conference, Albuquerque, NM
• April 16 – 17: Ultimate Success Event with Peggy McColl, Ottawa, Canada
• April 23 – 24: Social Marketing Mastery IMMERSION – retreat at Casa de Mari, San Diego, CA
• April 30 & May 1: Wisdom 2.0 Summit – Sillicon Valley, CA

May – San Diego, Los Angeles CA

• May 3: Mari’s Book Launch Celebration! Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day published today!
• May 4 – 26: Social Media Success Summit 2010 (virtual event with TOP speakers!).
• May 20 – 23: Clients, Cash & Contribution with Christian Mickelsen. San Diego, CA
• May 22 – 23: The You Conference with GaryVee and Dave Lakhani. Los Angeles, CA

June – Los Angeles, CA

• June 21-23: SANG IV, Los Angeles, CA (invite-only mastermind).

July – Dallas TX

• July 15 – 18: eWomenNetwork 10th Annual Conference, Dallas, TX

Ali Brown, JJ Virgin, Mari Smith, Baeth Davis, Tamara Gold at Richard Branson & Eve Branson’s Rock the Kasbah fundraiser in Hollywood.

Review of Speaking in 2009

I was most fortunate to have an extremely full speaking schedule throughout last year. Among my 2009 highlights were speaking at all these incredible events and getting to share the stage with other amazing speakers, leaders and luminaries including:

SANG – Speakers & Authors Networking Group

Larry Benet’s SANGII and SANGIII in Las Vegas and Hollywood, with Tony Robbins, Paula Abdul, Brian Tracy, Jay Abraham and Jeffrey Hayzlett (CMO of Kodak);

Engage Today

Engage Today in Calgary, Canada with Sir Richard Branson (pic!) His Holiness The Dalai Lama, President F W deKlerk, Stephen R Covey and Wyland.

Underground Seminar

Yanik Silver’s Underground5 in Washington DC, with GoDaddy CEO & Founder Bob Parsons and former James Bond George Lazenby. (See you at Underground6 in March with Gary Vaynerchuk keynoting!)

eWomenNetwork

eWomenNetwork in Dallas TX, with Judge Glenda Hatchett, Lisa Nichols, Roxanne Emmerich, Loral Langemeier, Debbie Meyer and many more fine speakers and leaders. and 3500 attendees!

Blog World Expo 

Blog World Expo 2009 in Las Vegas, NV with Matt Goss, Scott Monty, Jeremiah Owyang, Brian Solis, Frank Eliason, Laura Fitton, Sarah Evans, Wendy Piersall and many, many more fine professionals! (Check out Blog World Expo’s home page with fab video widgets from my fave Yubby!)

MarketingProfs

Marketing Profs Digital Marketing Mixer in Chicago, IL with Dr. BJ Fogg, Ann Handley, Amber Nusland, Jay Baer, and many more top notch marketing pros!

Twitter Conference

140 | The Twitter Conference in Los Angeles with Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone, Dr. Drew, Tyrese Gibson, LaVar Burton, Guy Kawasaki, Robert Scoble and many more fine folks!

PLUS.!

Other awesome highlights included: speaking for Fabienne Fredrickson, Arielle Ford and Mike Koenigs, Adam Urbanski, John Assaraf, Jack Canfield, James Malinchak, Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazer, Jim Bunch, Christian Mickelsen, and Craig Duswalt.

.and a few fave pics!

Mari with Sir Richard Branson, Frank Kern, Dan Kennedy, Scott Monty, Wyland and Robert Scoble.

Group pic: L-R: Ellie Drake, founder of BraveHeartWomen; Karina Smirnoff from Dancing With the Stars; me; actress Tava Smiley from TLC’s Cleansweep; talk show host Rolonda Watts.

Feel free to leave your comments/questions below about any of these events, my travels/whereabouts, and your own events. I look forward to connecting soon! And, to book me as a speaker at your next event, please check out this page.

I just attended and spoke at the Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle Info-SUMMIT^SM 2009 in Atlanta, GA. It was a packed event with over 800 attendees and an incredible speaker lineup, including George Foreman, Frank Kern, Master Lloyd Irvin, Mike Koenigs, James Malinchak, Sonia Simone, Chris Cardell, Ron Seaver, and Michael Cage.

[Pic: Frank Kern, Mari Smith, Dan Kennedy]

Main highlight – Frank Kern!

For me, one of the highlights of the Info-SUMMIT^SM was meeting legendary marketer, Frank Kern, whom I’d heard so much about for some time.

I love Frank’s highly entertaining style, having read his blog and watched his videos for awhile. I also recently got a copy of Mass Control at the Engage Today event.

But nothing beats live and in person. Frank blends his super smart marketing brain with a complete no-bull, in-your-face hilarious style. (Of course the no-bull part is Frank’s mentor, Dan Kennedy’s, specialty!)

One of the exercises Frank Kern did during his presentation was about getting super clear on what you want to achieve in life and then creating a foolproof system to pay for it all!

Frank brought up on stage the lovely Maritza Parra and proceeded to take her through this process which consisted of three simple columns: (1) Thing you want, (2) How much it costs per month, and (3) Why you want it.

Once you’ve listed a dozen or more things you want (from houses, cars and horses to travel, personal trainer and nanny!), tally up the monthly cost, multiply by 12 then divide by 365 and you have a daily amount you need to earn. Take that daily amount and divide by the dollar amount of the main product/service you sell and that’s how many sales you need to make per day.

Frank makes it all sound so easy! In fact, I created this downloadable form that you can fill out and it will calculate the numbers for you (once you fill in your three columns!): Your Ideal Lifestyle – Clarity Calculator.

Lessons from my social media presentation

Now, on to my own presentation: I spoke about social media success, particularly using Facebook and Twitter to grow your business. I was on a panel first thing on Day 1 as a quick preview of my presentation that evening and all went well.

However, my actual presentation wasn’t my best. In fact – in total transparency – I feel I let much of the audience down by not providing them sufficient content and value, which is the opposite of what I’ve done in all my other talks.

What happened is I chose to work with several speaking/sales coaches at short notice. The impact this had was I deviated from my own natural presentation style so much so that it was uncomfortable for me… and the audience.

My speaking schedule has been super-intense for most of 2009; I had the Info-SUMMIT^SM engagement booked for about six months, so ought to have given myself more time and practice for such coaching.

As my dear friend and personal trainer, Ashley Mahaffey, said to me, I was like a marathon runner who went out to race with a brand new pair of running shoes and ended up with sore feet and blisters! [Ok, I know this pic is high heels - but imagine running a race in these?!!]

Thing is, much of the Info-SUMMIT^SM audience provided positive feedback to me and I had a reasonable uptake of the training program I offered, which I’m delighted about. But I just know I could’ve done a whole lot better in hindsight.

As we say in the seminar business, “Correct and continue.”

I did watch the Twitter stream like a hawk and was able to connect with a couple of attendees who expressed their experience of my talk – I was grateful for their constructive feedback.

This is also a great lesson for other seminar attendees on the importance of monitoring what Jermiah Owyang calls the back channel.

[I have since put up a page of free social media resources for Info-SUMMIT^SM attendees to view/download here.]

Going forward, here are my key takeaways from this experience:

1. Be more selective about such intense travel and events in 2010 onwards – better to speak at fewer events and do a stellar job than pack in three a week and stress myself out!
2. Allow plenty room in my schedule for proper planning, rehearsal, coaching and logistics – particularly prior to major events.
3. Stay with my natural style and my propensity to over-deliver on content and value – even though some schools of thought differ.
4. Strive to attend the full events I speak at, so as to better compliment the other speakers and provide a more cohesive experience for the audience.
5. Integrate coaching input over time… and practice on smaller audiences!

If you attended the Info-SUMMIT^SM, do leave me your feedback below. I’m always open to constructive criticism. Whether you attended the Info-SUMMIT^SM or not, I’d love to hear your own tales from the trenches about public speaking and selling from the stage in the comments below:

At the recent 140 Twitter Conference, I sparked a bit of controversy on the branding panel that I participated on: I brought up a point that reminds me of the line in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross “ABC, always be closing” and I framed it as “ABM = always be marketing” and “always be me.”

I was fascinated to see the polarized responses from the audience, Twitterverse and one of my fellow panelists. (I’m a big fan of expressing opinions, but it’s not my style to polarize! Oh well!)

To me, Always Be Marketing means that I am extremely mindful and strategic about everything I do online and in public. For example, turquoise and bling is my signature branding color/look/feel – so that’s what I present in public. (Eight percent of my wardrobe is a shade of blue!) And, my persona is upbeat, open, caring, genuine and always helpful, always willing to answer questions particularly about Facebook. This is all part of my brand.

In fact, the greatest compliment I receive is when people meet me in person and say I’m exactly like they thought I would be from how I am online.

With social media so prevalent we are all EXTREMELY visible. Your prospective clients, your peers and your competition can drill as deep as they wish searching, reading and gathering information online about you and posted by you without you ever knowing who’s searching. Depending on what they find, your prospects may choose to do business with you or not.

Being mindful and in “ABM” mode helps with reputation management. To me, ABM means you’re never careless about what you put out there. You see the longevity of everything that’s published. (For the best book on reputation management see, Radically Transparent by Andy Beal and Judy Strauss).

To some folks, the word “marketing” has negative connotations. It’s a word often misinterpreted as meaning “hocking your wares,” “pushing” and being like a used car salesman. That’s unfortunate. There’s a big difference between ABP: always be pushing and ABM: always be marketing!

I unfollow the “ABP” types on Twitter and unfriend or even block them on Facebook. I’m all about connecting and building relationships… and yes, there’s strategy to all that too. What may seem as idle chit-chat on Twitter is 100% visible to the whole world on Twitter. It’s important to always do your best, because you just never know who is watching you.

Perhaps some folks have negative feelings associated with the movie, Glengarry Glen Ross – it’s an intense movie and the question of ethics and integrity in sales is a theme running throughout the film. I certainly would never recommend doing “whatever it takes” to market. It has to be genuine, positive and contribute to your community. Like I say, the ABM also means “always be me” (or, for me, “always be Mari!”

In fact, here’s a couple of my fave nuggets from the #140tc:

What are your thoughts? What does ABM mean to you? Do you consider yourself to be in “marketing mode” at all times – or is it something you turn on and off? Do you apply a special formula to your tweeting style with x% personal and x% business? Is there a clear line between the two, or are you like me and completely blend your social media personal/professional style because you know ultimately people are buying YOU first?! I’d love to hear from you – add your thoughts in the comments below: