Greetings and welcome!

I’m delighted you’re here.

As I’m sure you’re aware, online social networking giants like Facebook and Twitter have become mainstream. If you’re a confused and overwhelmed entrepreneur or small business owner, seeking support to figure out how to monetize all these new social media tools and platforms, I can help you!!

My Personal Story

As soon as you hear me speak, you’ll know I have an accent! I was born in Canada (near Toronto) – though my parents are both 100% Scottish. When I was two, my folks moved out to the boonies of BC where I spent my childhood with my four sisters. Then my parents divorced when I was 12 and my dad got custody of all the girls and decided to emigrate back to Scotland where his immediate family lived. My mom stayed in BC.

I lived in the UK for the next twenty years… until, out of the blue, I got an invitation to come to San Diego, California. It was one of those defining moments in life – I just knew there was a whole new life waiting for me in sunny Calfornia!

I’d been an employee all my working life  — I left school a few months before turning 16 and went straight into the workforce as a secretary, eventually moving on to sales, management, and computer software training. But when I came to the US in 1999, I became an entrepreneur. Interestingly, I’d spent the whole of 1998 preparing to start my own motivational speaking and training business — I had all the plans in place, had taken all kinds of training programs and was about to be approved for a small business loan. Isn’t it amazing when we focus all our efforts on a dream – and then you never know where the path will lead to. Little did I know I was supposed to start my business in the US!

Within a few weeks of arriving in the US, I’d found a sponsor and got a working visa. [I also met my now ex-spouse at Money & You in 1999 and blogged about my marital transition in 2009 here]. I immersed myself in the wonderful mecca of personal and professional development available in Southern California, including Landmark Education, Money & You, the Excellerated Business School for Entrepreneurs (in Malaysia), Peak Potentials, and many more.

How I Got Started In Social Media

I’ve been deeply immersed in social media since 2007 – previous to that, I was an internet marketer specializing in relationship marketing, email marketing and web copy since 1999. I love working with both solopreneurs – speakers, authors, coaches, consultants, celebrities – and small to medium size business owners. Mostly, I enjoy working with people who are conscious, heart-centered and concerned about making a difference on the planet… not just making a dollar.

In 2008, FastCompany.com dubbed me “the Pied Piper of the Online World.” Basically, because I’m such a raving evangelist for the platform!

I first got involved with Facebook when a colleague invited me to join an alpha test team of his platform. He had just gotten approved as a Facebook application and was ecstatic. I’d heard about Facebook in the passing and didn’t think much of it at the time. I’m a natural networker and wasn’t really interested in joining yet another online networking site. I’d been on LinkedIn, Ecademy, Ryze, Plaxo and MySpace for some time – and hadn’t yet seen any business results. I figured Facebook would be the same as MySpace and, frankly, my head hurt whenever I went to MySpace. Maybe you can relate?!

In any case, I figured I better sign up for an account on Facebook if I was to do a good job testing out my friend’s platform. Lo and behold, I’ll never forget the day I pulled up www.facebook.com and began to register. I just knew something was different – that we were all on to something HUGE! The layout, the clean white space, the uniformity of the profiles, the ease with which we could find people to friend. And, most importantly, the energetic BUZZ – Facebook members were excited!! There was chit-chat, genuine care and interest.

Suddenly, I was befriending hundreds of people I’d admired for years and years - people whose books were on my shelves, whose seminars I’d attended, whose ezines I read. And we all became fast friends. I started raving to friends and colleagues about Facebook and quickly began to teach my peers how to use the site. Before long, I conducted interviews of other social media specialists and bloggers and began creating products, online courses and training.

I also joined Twitter a few months later and fell in love with that platform too. I loved the brevity, the simplicity, the public conversations which can easily appear like a cacophony to many!

But there’s an art and a science to using these sites. Facebook and Twitter are simple, yet comprehensive, online platforms where you can fully express who you are, foster your unique personal brand, build community, grow your email database, drive traffic to any website or blog, improve customer service and sell more products and services!

You can reach out and connect with a worldwide community at the click of a button: family, extended family, current friends, new friends, quality like-minded professionals, potential joint venture partners, people you admire, paying customers!… the list is endless.

Speaking

Speaking is my passion. Though I was extremely shy as a child and feared public speaking in school, I went on to take many classes in my twenties and on over the years. I became an active participant in speaking organizations like Toastmasters, Speaking Circles, and the National Speakers Association. In 2003 I became involved with T. Harv Eker’s company, Peak Potentials. I attended many of his dynamic programs – including Train the Trainer I and II – and was a SuccessTracs Coach for two and a half years before getting involved in social media.

I’ve been speaking on social media success since 2007 and travel the United States and internationally to provide social media keynotes and in-depth training. I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Yanik Silver, Bill Glazer, Tony Robbins, Les Brown, Brian Tracy, Joel Comm, Joe Polish, Paula Abdul, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Sir Richard Branson.

Relationships First

It’s so important for businesses today to strategically utilize Facebook and Twitter along with a wide array of other powerful platforms. However, social media requires a whole different approach to be successful in generating more revenue. You have to know the right approach. My motto is, “Relationships first, business second.”

I’m passionate about relationships! Everything I do revolves around people and relationships – fostering new ones, building and maintaining existing ones, helping others with their relationships. I’ve studied human behavior over the years and have particular fascination for personality assessments. I’m a “High I” on DISC, an EN(s)FJ in Myers Briggs, and a natural Connector according to Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point.

My next book, The Relationship Age, is due out in September 2010.

How To Work With Me

I am available for hire as your relationship and internet marketing consultant and social media business coach. More details on my services here and my keynotes and workshops here.

After applying my proven Social Marketing methods, my clients typically experience a significant increase in traffic, subscribers, clients, affiliates, lucrative strategic alliances and targeted media attention.

I look forward to meeting you soon! See ConnectWithMari.com for various sites to find me. Also, my contact page here.

Cheers,

Mari
P.S. – Make sure you join my Facebook “fan” page too if you haven’t already!