Linkedin | Michael Angelo Caruso

Posts Tagged ‘linkedin’

Why Facebook friends are better than real friends

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

The 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.

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!

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.

Tags: doing business on facebook, facebook, linkedin, marketing on facebook, michael Angelo Caruso, social media, teleseminar, twitter, youtube
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)

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

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!

Tags: facebook, getting started, linkedin, michael Angelo Caruso, social media, twitter, youtube
Posted in Communication, Growing Your Business, Internet marketing, Marketing, Sales and Marketing | No Comments »

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

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Readers always write . . .

Hi, Michael–

I attended your great Internet marketing seminar recently.

You 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/.

Tags: building a brand, facebook, linkedin, marketing on facebook, michael Angelo Caruso, online marketing, social media, teleseminar, twitter, youtube
Posted in Career development, Communication, Entreprenuers, Growing Your Business, Internet marketing, Marketing, Sales and Marketing, Uncategorized, problem solving, social media | No Comments »

Being smart is overrated

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Want to make a smart career move?

Forget about being smart. That’s right. Stop trying to outsmart everyone and instead, start building coalitions.

This bold advice has generated a little hate mail for me. It seems that intelligent people everywhere take issue with the idea that intelligence is overrated. Many are downright offended and have sent me responses such as, “How dare you say that being smart is not important!”

Relax, brainiacs. Of course, being smart is still advisable. But having a strong people network is what sets you apart as a business owner or employee. Why? Because in the Information Age, everyone has access to the same knowledge. What really matters these days is how you use that info.

Look at it this way: If being the smartest guy in the room is so important, why do all the books on leadership recommend hiring people who are smarter than you?

Get Linkedin to get hired

Most companies, for example, only grant interviews to job applicants who have a strong presence on Linkedin. Why? Because employers want to know they’re hiring someone who’s plugged into society.

Today, companies want people who can cultivate relationships, bring in new business, create strong vendor relationships and keep customers from heading for the exits. The legal industry refers to these folks as “Rainmakers.”

This new-found emphasis on the importance of people skills has been well-documented in recent books such as A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and Wikinomics by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams.

The Internet as a “friend collection” device

The Internet is a no-cost communication tool that helps you and your department be a Rainmaker. Think of the I’net as a megaphone and social media as the volume dial on that megaphone. Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter are–by the way–also no-cost. Sweet!

Social marketing is a proven, inexpensive way to improve your network and improve business.

In four weekly phone calls starting April 7, I will teach you or perhaps someone on your marketing team how to become a Rainmaker using social media. This four-phone call course is quite affordable and very useful, especially for small and new businesses.

This is simply the best social media program of its kind. Attendees are very pleased:

“Marketing via social media has not been a well-paved road for me. But each and every encounter I have with Michael kicks it up a notch for me. Thanks so much!” -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

Facebook with purpose

The four phone calls are April 7, 14, 21 and 28 at 3:30 PM ET. Playback recordings are available for 24 hours after each call. The information given is NOT technical. You will understand everything I teach you.

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!

So, all you Poindexters out there–feel free to dumb it down a little. You don’t have to know everything, if you know someone who does. Spend a few minutes a day adding friends to your FB, LI and TW networks.

And share this post with your network.

I look forward to talking with you and/or someone from your company on April 7!

Tags: facebook, Internet, linkedin, michael Angelo Caruso, social media, teleclass, teleseminar, twitter
Posted in Career development, Self improvement, Uncategorized, problem solving, social media | No Comments »

Linkedin’s best-kept secret

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Every social media platform has a secret weapon.

The best feature on Facebook is the Notes page where you can promote your company in messages much longer than 140 characters.

Twitter has some amazing apps such as Tweetdeck that put the micro-blogger on steroids.

Even the relatively staid Linkedin has a piece of heavy artillery. It's called "Recommendations."

In the old days (the 80s, LOL) business people used to request a "letter of recommendation" from satisfied customers. Now I ask people to post compliments on my Linkedin page.

These types of testimonials are what Robert Cialdini, author of Influence, refers to as "social proof." Such recommendations, for example make me feel good, but they also make my prospects feel good. Nothing brings in business like third-party testimonials.

A client of mine recently posted this kind compliment on my Linkedin page for all to see:

"I had the opportunity to hear Michael speak at a Rotary function several years ago and was so impressed that I invited him to speak at an upcoming Zone meeting for seven Rotary Clubs in Southern Wisconsin. He had 120 people totally involved while speaking and his ideas for improvement are something we actively use today. I highly recommend Michael Angelo Caruso."

-John Stensland, VP, Martin Business Group, Geneva, Wisconsin, via Linkedin

Thanks, John!

If I had written this message about myself, people would think of it as advertising. But when John posts this message, it's the truth. That's the beauty of third-party testimonials, such as recommendations on Linkedin.

I'll be interviewing Linkedin expert Dean Delisle on Tuesday, December 1 at 4 PM ET. He's the President of a company called Forward Progress and a real guru on Linkedin.

Tags: dean delisle, Edison House, facebook, forward progress, linkedin, michael Angelo Caruso, Rotary, social media, teleseminar, tweedeck, twitter, webinar
Posted in Communication, Marketing, Sales and Marketing, Selling | No Comments »

Social media is about to make your life easier

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Everywhere you turn, you hear about these Social Networking and social media websites: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Digg, and Delicious.

Everyone's talking about them. Newspapers are writing about them. It sometimes appears as though social media Web sites are taking over.

Facebook now has over 200 million members. YouTube visitors are viewing 13 billion videos a month. LinkedIn has over 15 million business people networking. And Twitter is growing at a phenomenal rate of over 40% a month.

Depsite these staggering statistics, The big question on many people's mind is a simple one: Are these websites useful business tools or a massive waste of time?

Well, not only is social media useful, it's about to make your life a whole lot easier and more fun–if you let it.

I've done a lot of research and experimentation on the three most popular social media platforms and have some great info for you such as:

1. The top 3 mistakes that people are making using Social Media.

2. How you can position yourself as an expert in any niche fast without spending a dime.

3. The top 4 ways people are generating leads through social networking.

5. How we know that Facebook is becoming the new White (and now Yellow) Pages.

6. How to use social media to generate income.

These tools are not only changing business, they are shaping our lives. I'm helping people like you figure it out now so you can benefit from these fantastic changes.

Join me Monday, August 24 for a fun, productive teleseminar on how social media can make your life easier in so many ways.

If you can't attend the live teleseminar, pick up the audio CD and listen anytime you'd like.

Register for the teleseminar, held Monday, August 24 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET and benefit from live Q&A; invite your boss to attend; send an associate this invitation

Order the 60-minute audio CD on the subject; listen whenever you'd like, as many times as you'd like; share with others

Whatever you do, get with the program. Social media is here to stay.

Tags: facebook, linkedin, michael Angelo Caruso, social media, twitter, youtube
Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

To get business, sometimes you have to “salt the tip jar”

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

My brother Dave is a talented musician who stars in a very entertaining show called, "Piano Wars."

In Dave's line of work, there's an an entertainment custom known as the "tip jar." To get this done, Dave merely tucks of few of his own dollars inside the glass container on top of his piano. Audience members see the tip jar, take their cue and Dave makes a couple hundred extra dollars every night.

Here's the important part of the process. This idea works much better if Dave tucks a few of his own dollar bills in the container prior starting the gig. The process is known as "salting the tip jar."

Bakers have a similar concept they call "starter dough," which again makes dough (get it?).

Here are some clever ways to salt the tip jar at your company:

- Collect testimonials from satisfied customers and make them available on your Web site, your company Facebook page and Linkedin

- Have various employees write short articles on aspects of your business and post these pieces on Web sites such as your company page and EzineArticles.com.

- Encourage your employees to speak at trade shows on their subject of expertise. They'll probably receive free registration and audiences will perceive them as industry experts.

- Hold seminars and make sure the room is sprinkled with happy clients and vendors in order to effectively salt the tip jar.

If you use a Jewish speaker for these events, you're using Kosher salt. Use me and you'll get Italian seasoning. It's all good!

When you salt the tip jar, your company will make more money, faster.

Tags: dave caruso, Edison House, ezinearticles, facebook, linkedin, michael Angelo Caruso, new business, piano wars, salting the tip jar
Posted in Sales and Marketing | No Comments »

Make it easy for people to compliment you/your biz

Monday, May 25th, 2009

Composed in Nashville, Tennessee-

You are aware that compliments about you and your business make you feel good. But these types of compliments also make your customers and prospects feel good.

Endorsements and third-party testimonials are vital to business growth. In the old days, a person asked a satisfied customer to send a letter of recommendation. Then, the letter had to be properly typeset, keylined and reproduced so other folks could see it.

Today there are three easy ways to use testimonials. You should be using them all.

First, you can have someone post a recommendation to the Internet on a site such as Linkedin. You can ask the person to revise what they write, but I recommend not trying to micromanage the process. Instead, work on collecting dozens of testimonials.

Here's a recommendation that someone posted for me a while back.

"Michael Angelo was one of the speakers at the Motor City Connect conference. His practical advice about business development really resonated with me. I look forward to utilizing many of his suggested techniques." Val Main, Client Service Director, Resources Global Professionals, Detroit, Michigan via Linkedin

The second thing you can do with recommendations is copy-and-paste them to other Web sites. My Linkedin network consists of several hundred connections, but my Facebook page has several thousand connections. So, I often re-post the testimonial where more people will see it.

Finally, you can paste a recommendation into your e-mail signature file. I usually add it as post script or P.S. and introduce the testimonial as my favorite compliment of the week.

Don't be shy about promoting your business, especially now that it's easier than ever to do so.

Tags: Edison House, facebook, linkedin, michael Angelo Caruso, MotorCityConnect, recommendations, testimonials
Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

E-newsletters are the cheapest, most effective way to market your biz

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

Composed in Sarasota, Florida-

Thanks to the advent of desktop publishing and the Internet, there are many ways you can market yourself and your business for little to no money. All you need is a delivery system.

I now teach this in a five-phone call telecourse called, E-newsletters–The Best Way to Keep Prospects Close and Customers Closer. Here's an abbreviated version of the syllabus:

Syllabus

Call #1 – Introduction, overview, identifying your "forehand," the power of information marketing, developing a delivery system, I answer your questions.

Call #2 – Your Internet presence, promoting your e-newsletter from your Web site, blog and via social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. And I answer your questions.

Call #3 – Creating content and value, how to never be without great articles and graphics for your e-newsletters. Non-technical advice on how to beat spam filters and improve click-through rates. making your e-newsletter a revenue center. Oh, and I answer your questions.

Call #4 – How to repurpose your content to create information products such as e-books, audio programs, video programs and seminars–all of which promote your business. And surprise! At the end of this call, I answer your questions.

Call #5 – The final call is the capstone course and summary. I'll review what we've learned, suggest what you should do next and I answer your questions.

Many attendees publish their first e-newsletter before the class is even complete! Pretty impressive!! This e-newsletter course rocks, if I do say so myself. You will love this telecourse by the second session or I will refund your money. -Michael Angelo Caruso, http://www.EdisonHouse.com

Tags: e-newsletter, Edison House, facebook, linkedin, michael Angelo Caruso, twitter
Posted in Sales and Marketing | No Comments »