I’ve got to be honest – I’m not even sure if ‘Humanise’ is a real word, but I hope you understand where I’m coming from!
Looking at a business from the outside, whether literally outside the premises itself, or at the company website, you can get a good idea of what services the business offers, and how you could potentially benefit from these services and / or products.
But what do you know about the business itself? About the people running the business? About the people who will sell you said product or service? About the people who will provide the after-sales care? The answer is – potentially very little.
And this is where Social Media can play a huge part in separating your business from the pack, and adding a human element to what may otherwise be a largely synthetic process.
Here are my top 5 tips:
1) Write A Blog
Rumours of the death of blogging have been greatly exaggerated, honestly. Yes, video is now king, but a written blog builds up a great picture of who you are as people. Think about writing a blog as inviting someone into your living room – the things that this person would see around them would give them an instant indication of what you’re like as a person. A picture on the wall, a guitar in the corner, a magazine on the coffee table, your CD collection, some baby toys in a box. Yes I’ve just described my own living room but apply this to your business and your customers will feel more warmth and empathy towards you, rather than someone who is just trying to sell them something.
2) Use Video
As above – video is king. The average user online watches 188 videos per month, and I’m not just talking about those kinds of video… A weekly video blog or interview with a staff member – or even customer video testimonials – are a great way to engage with your customers and clients.
3) Build Relationships on Social Media Platforms
Platforms such as Facebook allow you to see what your customers are saying. Some of these comments may well be negative, which incredibly, I’ve had people say to me in the past is a bad thing! Of course it isn’t – it’s a great thing. Word of mouth is a powerful thing – there’s an age-old adage that people will tell ten people about a negative business experience but only one about a positive. The problem with this is you would never find out – but not any more! Not only can you find out – but you can respond, and if you respond in the right way you can quickly turn a negative into a positive. But you should also be engaging daily – pose open questions and reply to them, run little competitions, allow your customers to be ‘part’ of what you’re doing.
4) Let Your Personality Shine Through
Boring is forgettable – Personality is memorable. Don’t hold back – be yourself. If you’re the life and soul in the office, then transfer this through the keyboard, make it jump out of the screen! But also…
5) Take It ‘Offline’ Too
As much of an advocate of Social Media as I am, make sure you engage with your customers in person too. Ultimately, the aim of most businesses is to sell – it’s what we all set out to do, hey, it’s what we as business owners need to do. There are a million sales people out there with a million techniques, but I would argue that one of the best things you can do is get to know your customers and clients as people and stay in touch with them regularly. Build rapport and see the people you do business with as your friends.
What do you reckon? Let me know if you have a number 6 that I haven’t covered…
