All the People Are Not Robots, They're Real.

In the world we live in today, we post our engagements, Facebook birthday wishes, and Twitter breaking news, before we tell the person sitting right next to us.

In business, we think about how many tweets can we pump out, what will we post on Facebook and how do we get more traffic.

What happened to the people? Maybe we do live in the matrix! Did someone swallow the red pill!?

Everyone is so focused on connecting to each other by computers, that we have forgotten to build real life relationships. Have we all forgotten somewhere along the lines, that people are real, customers are real and they need real relationships.

Our world is changing rapidly because of technology, daily! I’m the first to say, I’m a junkie, I have an iPhone, iPad, MacBook, Jawbone and all the another super trendy items. It’s sick, I know, but just like you, I can’t control myself.

I do run a digital design and marketing firm in San Ramon called foxdigitalmedia.com. We specialize in graphic and website design, social media marketing, creating comprehensive online marketing campaigns for the Tri-Valley. Love every second of it.

So, I get it… digital marketing is all extremely relevant in today's world of business. You HAVE to have it, because that’s what your customers want and what they expect. But we are starting to forget there is a person behind  Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.

Believe it or not, we are all in the relationship business. Look at the most successful businesses in the world and you will find a company that focuses on building relationships with customers and employees alike. They have Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Google+ and all of the above, but they make sure to focus on the relationships.

If you want to be different in business in today's world, put down the smart phone for a few minutes a day and get to know your clients and power partners. Take your best referral partner to lunch, ask them about family and enjoy building a relationship.

Trust me, it's a ton of fun building a trustworthy relationship, rather than sitting in your office, alone building Twitter followers. You get more out of business and life, much more satisfying.

Now, I’m not saying it’s all rubbish. We just need to start putting relationships first. We have to get old school so to speak. You can be different in business today by simply focusing on being real, call them, bring them a gift and even give them a hug.