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Why Facebook friends are better than real friends

May 13th, 2010 by Michael

Facebook fThe topic of social media has moved from the break room to strategic planning meetings.  Thousands of businesses have started company pages on Facebook, Linkedin and YouTube.

Cynics still say things like, “Yeah, but a Facebook friend isn’t like a real friend.”

True, but if you run a Yellow Pages advertisement, you wouldn’t evaluate the results based on how many readers are ”real” friends.   If your income depends on how many people pay your company for products and services, Facebook friends are far better than real friends, especially once you’ve figured out how to monetize social media.


Why Facebook friends are better than real friends

Facebook buddies are:

-  More likely to be interested in your products and services (this is how keywords work)

-  Easier and cheaper to communicate with

-  Interested in what you’re selling (especially when you use my method of “friending”)

-  Likely to share info about your great products and services with their FB pals

-  Helpful and remarkably supportive


I can’t help you get real friends

You’re on your own when it comes to making true-life buddies, but I will help your company amass a ton of Facebook friends that will be interested in writing you checks.

In four weekly phone calls starting June 1, I will teach you or someone at your company  how to publicize, market, sell and even provide customer service using social media.

This teleclass is quite affordable and very useful, especially for small and new businesses.

“I’ve attended Michael’s great social media class and benefited from his info products.    Social media is a new world for me, but Michael makes it easier and fun.”      -Leah Dunn, The UPS Store

“Michael Angelo Caruso helped improve my business’s online presence in a very short    time.  I highly recommend him for your marketing needs.  Michael delivers!”    -Dr. Steven Ringler, Plastic Surgeon

The four phone calls are June 1, 7, 14 and 21 at 3:30 PM ET.  Playback recordings are available for 48 hours after each call.  The information given is NOT technical.

Register at http://tinyurl.com/SocialMediaJune1

Log-in to your social media pages before calling so you can make changes to your Facebook and Linkedin pages in real-time.  Pretty cool!   

Sign up today at http://tinyurl.com/SocialMediaJune1

Luckily, we don’t have to choose between Facebook friends and real friends, Michael.  You can have both!  I look forward to talking with you and/or someone from your biz starting June 1.

Your real friend,

Michael Angelo Caruso, Marketing Consultant and Keynote Speaker


P.S. You’re welcome to republish, repost or otherwise share this article.  Simply provide attribution by including my Web site, which is www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com.

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Posted in Career development, Communication, Creativity, Growing Your Business, Internet marketing, Marketing, Sales and Marketing, Selling, Success, social media | No Comments »

Valuable social media advice for a friend (and you)

May 3rd, 2010 by Michael

Readers always write . . .

Dear Michael,

Per your emails, I can see things are going well for you.  Wish I could say the same, but business is way off and Corporate is only interested in providing national marketing, which doesn’t help me at a local level.

I have a blog on our corporate website, but it is heavily edited.

I’ve decided that I must do my own marketing.   Social media has a huge potential and I need to get started.  I want to create an online presence for Home Energy Audits in southeastern  Michigan.   I have a personal Facebook page that is somewhat neglected.  I recently looked at your pages on LinkedIn and Twitter and Facebook.

I went to see you on YouTube.   Your videos look great!  (To this day, I employ your “smiling through doorways” technique and it works.)

You have a number of different products that can help me.  What do you suggest?  I like the idea of getting my name on the FB URL, having an LI and TW account and others strategies that you may suggest.  I am ready to get serious about marketing online.  What other advice do you have for me, please?

Signed,

GGG in Michigan


My response . . .

Dear GGG–

Sorry your biz has had some rough sledding lately.

You’re right about a number of things.

1)  You should do your own marketing. Marketing is way too important for you to rely on HQ.

2)  Online marketing is the way to go. Social media marketing, in particular, is an effective, no-cost way to create more revenue.

3)  My quick advice is to “systemize” Linkedin to grow your network. Add five people a day for 30 consecutive days.  Try to add people who are pre-disposed to your message.

Add a guy named Terry Bean right away.  He’s a local cat who knows everyone and can make introductions, especially on Linkedin.

Also, write an article on how someone can find a reputable person who does what you do (such as you!).  Put it in a “5 Things to Look For . . . ” format.

Post the piece at a free article depot site such as www.EzineArticles.com.

Make sure your contact info is in the report.  Then, offer the report at no cost to anyone who wants it.  You can even re-purpose blog entries from your great collection at http://www.usinspect.com/blog/author/35.  You’re a good writer, GG!  Put this skill to work in new and profitable ways.

Keep giving status updates and advice in an 80/20 ratio on LI, FB and to a lesser extent, TW.  Use a site such as www.ping.fm to have a single post show up on all three of your social media accounts.

Good luck, GGG!

Best,

Michael

P.S. Thanks for your interest in my information products and seminars. When you’re ready to invest a few bucks in marketing, consider:

A)  http://tinyurl.com/CarusoSocialMediaEbook for $10

B)  http://tinyurl.com/CarusoSocialMediaAudioCD for $39 or

C)  http://tinyurl.com/GrowYourBusinessFLA4 for $75

Do NOT order all three.  Choose a comfortable price point and be sure to use the great tips!

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Only one PowerPoint slide?!?!?

April 27th, 2010 by Michael

I haven’t used PowerPoint in over five years.

Call me old-fashioned, but I think it’s more important to use business presentations to establish rapport, build relationships and develop conversation that helps clients.

I can’t understand why salespeople or other leaders would take the trouble to assemble an audience only to say, “Please look away from me to the screen while I turn down the lights.”

If you feel you must use a handful of PPT slides, put them in the middle of the presentation.  This way you can look into the audience’s eyes at the beginning of your talk and at the end.  The end, of course, is where all good presenters stage the “call to action.”

Recently, I started using PowerPoint again, but with a twist . . .


I now use a single slide during my talks

This one graphic image is so powerful, you can hear a pin drop when it appears on the screen.  This slide is all audience members can talk about when the presentation is over.  And get this–the slide usually has no direct connection to the subject of my talk!

What is this magic slide and how can you use a similar technique to strengthen your presentations?

Well, the slide is a very unusual graphic based on a personal story.

When my father was in the hospital a few years back, our family kept a journal at his bedside.  We used the notebook to  track Dad’s progress and leave each other reminders of what to ask the doctors.

Dad even wrote in the journal, especially after the medical team inserted an “NG tube,” and eating tube which kept Dad from being able to speak.

Anyway, about two weeks into his hospital stay, it became clear Dad was failing due to mysterious complications.

We were all looking for clues about how to help him get well, so in a quiet moment, I asked my father what he thought was happening.

Dad's parting words

Dad's parting words

He wrote, “I think I’m improving.”

And then, he died the next day.

Although this story and the accompanying slide are not usually the core message of my speeches, it’s incredibly easy to integrate its optimistic theme.  After all, a dying person who remains upbeat can teach us all a bit about having a better attitude.

Do you see how showing a single PowerPoint slide can be so effective?

I’ll bet you can make a similar arrangement with your speeches and presentations.

I’ll teach you how to use this technique and many of my other presentation tricks during the May 25 teleseminar, How to Give Killer Presentations.  A playback recording is available for this session, but you can order the audio CD version of this topic, if you’d like to listen anytime or share the info with others.

Can you say “no” to PowerPoint?

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Posted in Communication, Keynote, Leadership, Personal Development, Sales and Marketing, Selling, Speaking, Success, problem solving | No Comments »

Service is good for business

April 17th, 2010 by Michael

Being a Rotarian has been good for business

Being a Rotarian has been good for business

The recession has forced businesses to find creative ways to keep their doors open.

It turns out that joining a service organization such as Rotary, the Optimists, Kiwanis or the Lions can be very helpful in garnering new customers, improving business networks, increasing referrals and even retaining employees.

And oh, yeah, you’ll be giving back to your community, too!

That’s why I’m so proud to be a lifetime Rotarian and member of Rotary Club of Troy, Michigan.


Here’s how being a Rotarian can help your business

Rotary thrives on talented volunteers.  When you do what you’re good at in front of more people, word will get out that you know what you’re doing.  This usually gets your company extra attention in the form of more business, build your network and generate referrals.

If you introduce the joys of service others at your company, they will quickly look at their Rotary membership as a perk and possibly stay around longer.

If necessity is the mother of invention and your business needs to innovate, consider joining a service organization.


My latest volunteer effort

The Troy Rotary Club asked me to present the leadership seminar, “Effective Leadership – Getting People to Do Stuff,”  on Thursday, May 6, 2010 at Walsh College at 3838 Livernois Road in Troy.

Specifically designed for supervisors, managers, team leaders, and upper level management, the seminar offers motivation and reward techniques for employees, strategies for overcoming negativity and ways to deal with challenging personalities in the workplace.

The three-hour presentation will explain how to be a better role model by being less of a boss and more of a coach.  Attendees will also learn two things that motivate almost every time, why money is not a motivator, five ideas for dealing with under performers, a special question to ask job applicants and more.

Registration and networking begin at 8:30 AM and the program runs from 9 AM until Noon.  This seminar normally costs $125, but Troy Rotary has negotiated a cost of only $45 per person.  You’re encouraged to bring your entire leadership team.  Seating is limited.

More information and an online registration form are available at visit www.troyrotaryevents.org/leadership.htm.

This fundraiser for Troy Rotary is sponsored by Citizens Bank, Walsh College, DBusiness Magazine and Mullin & Associates, CPAs, PC.

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A client learns the hard way–protect your brand early and often

March 24th, 2010 by Michael

Readers always write  . . .

Hi, Michael–

I attended your great Internet marketing seminar recently.

You Tube logo resized disproportionedYou suggested that we protect our names and build our brands on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube in  order to improve Google search results.

I really need to do this because a cartoonist in Florida named “Bruce Beattie” has a stranglehold on a Google search for my name (and his).

Here’s my question:  Should I start using my middle name (George) or middle initial?  Do you think this would help clients and other people find me online?  Or would be better to continue sharing my identity with the cartoonist?

Bruce Beattie, President
http://www.FCEServices.com

Dear Bruce,

I checked up on the guy in Florida and apparently, he’s been “Bruce Beattie” for quite a while.  The problem now, of course, is that you’re KEENLY AWARE he is Bruce Beattie and so are people who are searching for you online.

Unfortunately for you, the cartoonist happens to be published in newspapers across the fruited plain, which means all the papers are promoting him online and that’s why he’s kicking your ass up and down the search engine rankings.

To make matters worse, your alter-ego is apparently a Republican, which is also bad news, if your politics lean left.

Your intuition is correct, Bruce.  Adding your middle initial to your official (brand) name is an awesome game changer that will help you protect your identity.  You’ve got everything to gain and little too lose by becoming known as “Bruce G. Beattie.”  Just be sure to change everything that has your name on it, including business cards, Web pages and of course, the user name on your social media profiles.

Remember, when it comes to social networking, it’s nice to share, but never share your identity.

Best,
Michael
www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com

Note: Attend Michael’s teleclass to learn more about how to build your brand online.  More information at http://www.michaelangelocaruso.com/features/social-media-marketing-markting/.

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Posted in Career development, Communication, Entreprenuers, Growing Your Business, Internet marketing, Marketing, Sales and Marketing, Uncategorized, problem solving, social media | No Comments »

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