Oftentimes in the social media world, it is easy to forget that you are dealing with actual human beings. We like to think in terms—likes, clickthroughs, views, shares—forgetting that an actual person is behind all of the data. If you want to engage and keep your followers, you have to create a social media persona that people can relate to both personally and professionally. Best option? Humanize your business.

Begin with your employees. Everyone who has seen the movie Office Space invariably remembers Bill Lumbergh, the soulless boss whose monotone requests slowly drive his employees insane. The man is a true robot, unchanging and unfeeling. Do not be like Bill Lumbergh. Be engaging and promote a spirit of engagement internally through your business.

It is the engaging spirit that drives the humanized business. Engaging social media posts, an office blog, customer cultivation—all these practices are the mark of a business that cares about its followers. As an additional bonus, a blog and other posts not focused solely on sales will boost your website’s SEO rankings. Engagement is good business practice in every way.

Finally, be approachable and apologetic. Never turn down customer queries, and, if you make a mistake, apologize. Furthermore, say “thank you” to your followers when thanks are due. This practice is the cherry on the top of a humanized business. People love gratitude—social media is the perfect outlet for expressing it.

Humanizing your business expands your reach and establishes you as a “good” company. Be both good and pragmatic; use social media to humanize your business both for you and your followers’ benefit.

See Social Media Today for more.