Relationship Marketing: How to Build Meaningful Connections that Lead to Business

Do you want to develop relationships that will lead to business?

Are you wondering how you can use social media to build valuable connections?

To learn about the importance of relationships in business, I interview Ted Rubin for this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast.
More About This Show

The Social Media Marketing podcast is a show from Social Media Examiner.

It's designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing.

The show format is on-demand talk radio (also known as podcasting).

In this episode, I interview Ted Rubin, co-author of Return on Relationship. He's also the former chief social marketing officer for Collective Bias and OpenSky. Prior to that, Ted was the CMO for e.l.f. Cosmetics.

Ted shares the best ways to start to grow your online connections via social media.

You'll learn what you need to include in your profile and why return on relationship is the most important thing for a business or brand.

Share your feedback, read the show notes and get the links mentioned in this episode below!
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Here are some of the things you'll discover in this show:
Relationship Marketing
Recently I attended New Media Expo (NMX) in Las Vegas, where I was not only embraced by fellow podcasters, I was overwhelmed by the number of people who came up to me to thank me for this show. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you.

Since I had a mission for this conference, I didn't announce that I would be attending. My hope is that you will be inspired by the story of why I did this, and that you will try it for yourself.

How to build relationships in person, that often start online

In my second book, Launch, I talk about the power of other people. I coined the phrase "Elevation Principle," which consists of great content plus other people minus marketing messages equals growth.

For podcasters, the "other people" include listeners—a segment of whom I call "power users," or people with extreme influence. Without them, it's really hard to grow your business.

I went to NMX with two purposes. I wanted to build relationships with the podcasting community and the parenting community, since I'm a newbie in both of these spaces.

You'll discover why I only attended a few sessions, and made it a priority to hang around at the end of each session.

One of the best places to meet the speakers is out in the halls, or where the speakers gather to network with each other. They don't seem to attend any sessions other than their own. It's an opportunity to have amazing conversations with influential people.

You'll hear the types of questions I asked to get people engaged, which can develop into real relationships. This is one of the secrets to the success of my business, and it can be for you too.

My take-home lesson is to get involved in real life through face-to-face encounters. One of the best places to do this is at a conference. Our upcoming conference, Social Media Marketing World, is a great place to start.

Are relationships still important AND achievable with social media?

Ted Rubin likes to say that "relationships are the new currency." With all of the different social media channels available, you can reach the world 24/7, without ever leaving your home. It used to be that you had to wait until you were at a company meeting or an event to meet people.

The problem today is that when people click your name or check a box to follow you, they immediately think they have a real relationship with you or your brand.

A lot of brands believe that they need to get as many likes and followers as possible so they can broadcast to them. It's not about broadcasting, though—it's about building relationships.

Listen to the show to find out why building a relationship online is no different to a regular relationship offline.