I'm reading a very good book that hits the nail on the head when it comes to the sea change that is happening in marketing. "Trust Agents" is a NY Times Best Seller written by Chris Brogan and Julian Smith that lays it out clearly and if you plan on being in business five years from now you better pay attention. If you've been reading my stuff for any length of time, you already know that I advocate building credibility and trust as a core principle of marketing strategy. Brogan and Smith's book not only agrees but it takes the concept to a more focused level (I've never been accused of being focused...). What I really like about this book is that it doesn't just tell you WHY it shows you HOW to leverage social media and other digital tools to achieve the holy grail of marketing - trust. If you've been wondering why your marketing and advertising just doesn't seem to work anymore (and it doesn't matter if you are Proctor and Gamble or Joe's Fish Shanty) it's because of a perfect storm of factors including:

• people are tired of you shouting how good you are or your widgets and interrupting them
• people don't believe you anymore and they know you are just trying to sell them something
• media fragmentation and info overload overwhelms them
• the very nature of a "market" has changed since the Internet came along
• buyers have scads of information at their fingertips and are better educated and more informed than ever
• basic human behavior drives interaction and community building

I'm sure there are more but I hope you are seeing where this is going. Buyers seek information. They buy from those individuals and brands they trust. No longer will a clever ad on TV do the trick. No longer can you hide behind a carefully crafted brand - there is no hiding on the web. No longer can you trick people into buying. The new era of marketing is about truth, reciprocity and value. It's about being a good human. It's about relationships. The problem is that what works (relationships and building trust) is at odds from what company shareholders want (fast results). Creating trust takes time and dedication. The good news is that the web is awash in tools and communities where you can shine like a benevolent diamond of value and helpfulness. I haven't read the whole book yet but from what I have read, the deal is not technology or social media or computers. It's about people - sharing, connecting, conversing. Take part in this conversation, do the right thing always and you'll be awarded with trust and business will follow. Oh, I also had lunch with Chris. He lives by his principles. We had salad. I'll be blogging more about this in the coming weeks. Why not leave a comment so we can have a conversation?