At one time or another you’ve met someone that you instantly liked. You laughed at what they said, agreed with their opinions and were eager to see them again. And no, it wasn’t a date. It was a conversation where you just clicked with the other person. That person had charisma, and most likely, you aren’t the first person they made that type of connection with.

Great leaders often have that same penchant for connecting with another person. And because of this, they’re quite successful. But how can this observation help you and your company? Assuming your company is engaging in social media, you actually have the opportunity to be charismatic in each and every conversation. Virtually.

It’s undoubtedly easier to have and effectively use charisma in person, but there are also ways to draw an audience in with your charming ways in the social media world too.

Here’s the key – it’s not really about YOU, it’s about THEM. Any charismatic person knows that the key to captivating an audience is 50% what you say and 50% how the audience feels about what you say. So how do you get an audience to feel a certain way towards you through the cold glow of a computer screen?

Here are a few tactics and guidelines that we adhere to when developing social media campaigns for clients, such as OKI Data Americas – https://twitter.com/OKIData

• Have a photo and bio easily viewable on your company blog page and/or social media pages.
• Reach out to your audience and draw them in by having a genuine and candid conversation. For example: “Has anyone tried out our new iPhone app? What did you think? Would love to hear your suggestions!” Sure, you’re inviting naysayers right in, but once they’re talking to you (and not to potential competitors) you have the chance to turn their opinions around.
• Speak in the first person, using “I,” “we” and “our” and writing about things that you truly care about. Avoid the third person. E.g., “Domus, Inc. is excited for this year’s Grammys!” Really? All 30 of you collectively can’t wait for the Grammy Awards? I don’t think so. Writing as a company sounds too forced.
• Show that you’re a person too – admit that you were affected by the natural disaster, the looming tax deadline, the coming of winter, a long night at the office or the flu virus that finally caught up to you.
• Have fun with it – show that you enjoy what you do and your audience will enjoy what you do.
• Don’t take all the credit for some new innovation; tell your audience you’re changing for THEM – you’re making things smaller, faster, less expensive, etc., because they spoke and you LISTENED.
• Above all, be genuine – show that you’re a real, transparent, human (or company run by humans) behind the social media profile.

What do you think? Can transparency in social media be a bad thing? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Kate Toy is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com/. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

*Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net