Here’s a quick tip – be human. One thing I’ve learned from Twitter is that people follow people and they “unfollow” spam. In fact, spam is detested in the twittersphere about as badly as it is in the email world. When advising companies about the use of Twitter, I always recommend letting one of the heads of the company tweet personally rather than just giving “company news.” This allows you to offer something back to the community rather than just be a taker.

This is a pretty important lesson social media has to teach medium and large companies – be a face, be a voice, and talk back. What do Chris Brogan, Guy Kawasaki, and Darren Rowse all have in common? They all love twitter and converse with their “followers.” This is also true of Karl Rove and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s even a tiny part of why Barack Obama won the hearts of the tech generation.

This post isn’t really all about Twitter (that post is coming next week). Instead, it’s a message about business, ministry, marketing, and people. People follow people. They don’t follow “company news,” “latest deals,” or press releases about new products. So how do you become human to your potential “followers” in today’s economy?

• Contribute – don’t be a taker.
• Have a face, not just a logo.
• Have a real name, like Bob, Tom, or Julio, not just “Gargantuan Enterprises, LLC.”
• Admit mistakes, answer criticism (sometimes), and be imperfect.
• Be a friend in the same way you’re a friend to your friends, if you really want new friends.
• Be careful about anything “automated” or “mass.” Think “personal response.”
• Use smileys. :-) and ;-) can make a somewhat argumentative statement more palatable. :-)

And the biggest lesson of all? Love people or get a job at a zoo. Here’s more about me. Want me to know about you and your message? Introduce yourself in the comments below – I promise to personally respond!

I just finished reading a great article on GetEntrepreneurial.com written by Terri Zwierynski about marketing yourself honestly. She asserts that putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t necessarily help as much as honesty and self-disclosure, and I must surely agree.

When I started eGrace Creative, I used the word “we” a lot, as in, “we” offer web design services. Now, I offer my services. I’m also honest with people that web design and marketing aren’t the real priorities of my life. My faith, family, and ministry come before any creative design work. I think this is an important marketing principle. You can probably generate more sales by being a little dishonest in an attempt to build credibility. But in the end, you actually hurt your integrity with others. I think this is why some of the world’s greatest salespeople aren’t very well-liked – they are too good at being salespeople and not really that great at just being people.

As you develop the marketing of your business, you also have to consider that every business has a human side. Your personality will drive your business, especially if you are the owner or manager – people will follow you and fit the mold you cast, so it’s important to work on being the best you that you can possibly be. After all, God only made one of you!

Our church is located on a major highway in Bentonville, Arkansas, the home of Wal-Mart. About 250 people attend a couple of services in a building that seats less than 200. Imagine if we had a tiny little 2′ x 3′ church sign on cardboard, or imagine if we had a Vegas-style blinking billboard. Instead, we have a church sign that proportionally matches our congregation. Why? We want to be honest and let people know when they turn in what kind of church they are attending.

When you over-market yourself, you’ll disappoint people. On the other hand, if you lay the false humility on too thick, you won’t inspire confidence in clients. So be yourself, but be positive. Think bigger, but be realistic and let people see the human behind the business.

Seth’s blog today mentions something that I try to articulate to clients all the time – there are web subcultures and you can’t sell to one if your site fits in another. I recently saw the site of a web design agency. The front page promoted them as a highly professional firm who wished to work only with highly professional people. It stated this on a little sign held up by a cartoonish guy! Clients choose service agencies that seem to match their own personality to at least some degree. So watch your site’s subculture.

• If you’re selling to gamers, go dark and scary.
• If you’re selling to a tech business, go metal.
• If you’re selling to an art museum, be artsy.
• If you’re selling to business firms, keep it soft.
• Personal blog? Be highly expressive and personal.

You get the picture. Think with the brain of your ideal client. Would you hire you based on your site’s design?