Establishing relationships with your ideal audience has taken on a new spin. Twitter has made it faster and easier than ever, which is great for people who want to save time.

Getting people to open the door and invite you in may seem intimidating to most. But, if you know how to influence, persuade, and establish a strong foundation of trust right from the beginning, this will be easier than ever.

It's important to realize that new-media consumers are savvier than they were 10 years ago. And they're more connected! They expect more and they know when they're being played. Now, with the convenience of instant access to their followers, your clients can either make or break you. So watch out!

When you build relationships with your target audience and customers, it leads to trust. When you have trust combined with personal loyalty that encourages them to talk about, share, and spread the word about you and your product, then you've got yourself a raving fan. The personal connection makes it so much easier to turn an ordinary customer into a lifelong, customer evangelist.

But if today's social-networking consumers don't get their needs met, they will also share their disappointment with all their friends and family. If they feel they have a relationship with you, it's very likely you'll hear it from them first. If they don't feel like they have a relationship with you, or if they feel that you're just some slick marketer trying to pull the wool over their eyes, watch out! Get ready for them to share their disappointment, leveraging the very same new-media tools to hurt you instead of help you.

As we were writing this article, a friend of ours Tweeted us about how frustrated she was with a large department store. She was stuck on the phone for 45 minutes going back and forth from one department to another; and having to follow the “;Press 1 for customer service”; game each time in order to talk to someone LIVE.

The store's online shopping didn't mesh with their off-line store, and they just couldn't figure out a way to solve her problem. They forgot there was a human being on the other end. The result: The company not only lost a sale, they lost all the repeat business she would have brought them in the decades to come. They also lost the business of her 100 or so followers. How? Our friend shared her experience with her followers on Twitter while she was on hold.

We'd like to thank you for not ignoring us for the past four or five years. We have enjoyed writing this column; providing you with insight into new-media marketing, tribal seduction, social networking, etc. Because of the change in the Star Bulletin format, our column will no longer be appearing here. But you can still find us at http://www.tribalseduction.com.

Mahalo and aloha.

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John-Paul and Deborah Cole Micek are business coaches at RPM Success Group Inc. They can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).