The personal touch is a winner for social media posts.

I couldn’t tell you how many LinkedIn and Instagram posts I skim through during an average day at work or at home and it’s become part of my daily routine, for business and for pleasure. It seems we all love to communicate this way but are we being heard?  How do we cut through the clutter, so we can engage with our audience? Making an impact online is even more important when these posts or video updates are connected to your business or profession.

The answer for me is simple, get personal with your audience and allow people to get to know you.  Whether it is your hairdresser, doctor, printer, financial advisor or marketing manager, the reason we choose to go back, time and time again is not only because we respect their services, but we connect with the qualities they have as a person. We have got to know them on a personal level.

So, what do I mean about getting personal when you post?

It’s about letting people know a little bit about you and what you represent, in a professional way of course! Here are some helpful tips.

Make sure your images connect to you.

Within your post include a photo of yourself, a picture of your meeting place, a real-life activity that is part of your day. It could be as simple as a coffee with a colleague or an exciting event you have just attended. Engaging, personal images will draw people in, allow them to pause, read your post, learn about you & ultimately about your business.

Don’t sell – in an obvious way.

This is the worst thing you can do when you are communicating on your social media feeds. People go on social media to be entertained and informed. If your feed just looks like an advert you can pretty much guarantee your response rate will be low.

Build trust

Being honest about your work life, sharing your success stories and opening up about past lessons learnt will endear people to you. They will trust and respect your frank updates and they will be encouraged to do business with you.

Entertain them

We all love a break in our daily grind. Something to make us smile, laugh or be inspired. These are the perfect ingredients to connect with people on a personal level, which in turn can mature into a professional relationship.

Mix up your video

Ok, so almost everyone is posting videos these days. So how do you mix this up to personalise it & encourage people to click, listen and respond?

First & foremost make sure you have subtitles. Over 85% of people will not turn the sound up for videos, so make it easy for them. Secondly, make sure the background gives a personal glimpse into who you are. It might be candles and a photo, sitting at an outside garden desk or maybe it’s in your car with a take away coffee as you’re about to buzz off to a meeting. These tiny personal nods to who you are, allows your audience to not only engage but to visually understand the type of person and service you deliver.

We all love the personal-touch, so why not try to implement these tips when posting your next update?

By Catherine Bergsma, Client Services Consultant, Media Stable.