If you’re ever looking for a content approach that will helpyou get the attention of more people, and more easily win their trust, do what Nate Randle did.
Recently, Mr. Randle, who is CEO of a company called Gabb, shareda LinkedIn post to give an attaboy to one of his people. But he did it in away that is both unexpected and obvious.
He was human.
The center of Randle’s post was not about his employee’sachievements or hard work, though those were mentioned. Instead, it was about the employee’s family. It recognized how difficult the employee’s travel schedule was on his wife and kids, and it showed appreciation for the sacrifices all of them were making.
At the end of the post, Randle did not include a call toaction or an invitation to check out his product. He simply said, “Thank you!”
The post got a huge response. Because it was authentic,genuine, and human.
What can a human touch do for you?
That human touch is too often lacking in LinkedIn posts,especially among CEOs and other C-level leadership. The tendency is to be professional and businesslike, and to keep the focus on the product or service.
Being human is an under-utilized, under-estimated approachto engaging with your audience, whether it’s on LinkedIn, in videos, presentations, or any other form of communication. Here’s what being human can do for you:
Get Attention
As I just stated, that human touch in an otherwise“professional” platform like LinkedIn is too-often lacking. That means when it is used, it gets a big response.
I don’t know Randle, but his post came across my feed for areason. People were touched by his emotional message. Lots of people. I don’t have access to the analytics, but it got more than 1,000 engagements. My guess is the number of eyeballs that saw the post easily reached into six figures.
That’s a lot of eyeballs. Do you think a product-focusedpost would have gotten that kind of attention?
Makes You Likable
Reading this post, it’s impossible to not like Randle. Hecomes off as truly sincere and caring about his people and their families.
That human touch can do the same for you. But let me beclear: I’m not saying it can make people who are jerks likable. But you’re not a jerk, and neither are most people.
But being human, being yourself, can show off your bestqualities, and that will result in people having a positive opinion of you.
And having people like you is never a bad thing when itcomes to winning their business.
Makes People Trust You
The other thing about Randle’s post is that it makes himtrustworthy, even among people who have not yet done business with him.
Why? Because he’s being honest and forthright. He’s nottrying to draw attention to himself, but instead celebrating the people who are important to him, and the people who are important to them.
You win trust by delivering on your promises. But being realand human sets you up to win that trust faster. And makes it easier to forgive you if you ever screw up.
Try Being Human
Next time you’re thinking about what to write for a LinkedInpost, or to introduce a speech, or to capture people’s attention in a video, try adding a little human touch. You might be surprised at the results.