Mari Smith Facebook Marketing And Relationship Marketing Expert

001: Mari Smith Interview l Future Trends facebook marketing for fitness center on Facebook and Relationship Marketing

Mari Smith arrived in San Diego in 1999 with ?50 and two suitcases. Knowing only one person there, Mari had left Scotland on a whim.

I didn't have a plan except that I just had this knowing in every cell?of my body that I was supposed to be here.?

Mari was involved with social media early on, but never really took to MySpace, viewing the site as a platform exclusively for kids. But when she was introduced to Facebook in 2007, she changed her tune.

She gravitated towards Facebook because of the ease with which she could communicate with an increasingly massive network of people whom she would otherwise not have access to.

The one simple tip that will boost your lead generation on Facebook by as much as 80 percent

Even running what she calls a personality-based business,? she works hard to put a face to her company, even if it's not her own. Mari doesn't answer most of the questions posted to her Facebook pace, but she is always transparent about which members of her team are.

My team handles many of the questions for me and they're very, very knowledgeable,? she says. They sign off with their name so it's personal; they know they're responding on my behalf but people know this is Juan, this is Kristen, this is Kathy, they're writing on Mari's behalf.?

Responding to Facebook posts and comments is absolutely critical for Mari. Many people don't expect a response from a large corporation on Facebook, so she emphasizes how important it is to respond to and engage with your followers on Facebook.

It meets the fundamental need to know you matter,? she says. That there's somebody there that's listening, that I've asked a question and I know somebody?has responded and said, ?You're important to me.' That does an awful long way.?

While Mari approaches Facebook and social media with an intense practicality, her business philosophy is also very spiritual. Mari combines a sense of spirituality and introspection as part of her business mindset. I started to pursue a more scriptural path to embark on a journey, which is probably one of the most difficult in my life.

I focus a lot on the inner child and emotional healing and cleaning up the past.? Her focus on humility combined with self-empowerment is a hallmark of her approach.