| Are you be able to send a tweet and get hundreds of people to meet you almost instantly as a result?
No, neither can I.
But I know a man who can.
Jim Chapman is what's known as a "Youtuber" and he has an online following of one-and-a-half million - mainly teenage girls.
He's very personable and he knows how to connect with people through the camera.
Jim is a member of the new "profession" of Youtubing.
It consists primarily of people in their twenties who've developed massive and profitable fan bases by putting out regular YouTube clips on life, cooking, pop groups, make-up or "whatever" - as teenagers are inclined to say.
Leading lights are able to generate impressive incomes though payments direct from YouTube, advertisements, appearances, product placement in their chats and various forms of merchandising.
Youtubers are like 2014's rock and rollers...except most of them don't sing, dance, play the electric guitar or destroy their hotel rooms.
They just chat to the camera about what's on their mind wherever they happen to be.
But if you ever want to connect with your target audience through the camera, then it's profoundly useful to be aware of what the Youtubers are doing and how they're doing it.
Because the communication power of online video - for those who know how to harness it - is phenomenal.
Jim Chapman put out a single tweet late last week indicating he'd be available to meet his fans in London's Hyde Park on Saturday afternoon.
I'm personally not one of his fans - or "best friends" as he calls them - though I have to admire his artistry.
But I have a teenage daughter who is a total fan...especially now that she's met him.
When Jim put out a follow-up tweet on Saturday specifying precisely where he would be, he triggered a stampede of female feet across Hyde Park.
Here's the queue that formed to patiently line up for chats, a free signed bottle of Coke and "selfies with Jim" - supplemented by pictures taken by his three body guards.
The crowd got so big that the police turned up at one point to check things were under control.
They were, apart from a bit of hysterical screaming.
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WOWING THEM AS JIM DOES - IN YOUR OWN WAY
You don't need to be a fan of the fairly mundane stuff that Jim chats about to appreciate how cleverly he's managed to harness the power of online video.
But he does demonstrate that if you can master the art of talking naturally to the camera, all kinds of possibilities open up for you and your business.
I'm not particularly recommending you check out Jim's online videos - though if you have a teenage daughter she may find them exhilarating.
If you want to sample a really clever Youtuber who says more insightful things, I suggest a peek at so-called "Super Woman" - Canadian, Lilly Singh - who has over three million subscribers to her online channel.
Despite an apparent superficiality, Lilly has a deep understanding of the language of the face among other things.
Here's a sample called "What A Girl's Facial Expressions Mean".
Talking to the camera is a learnable and improvable skill.
You don't have to have millions of subscribers to make it work for you.
I team up with my colleague, technical guru York Smith, to help people talk to the camera in a way that allows you to really connect with your audience.
When you've planned, prepared and practised it - you can utilise the art of "planned spontaneity" by delivering your message in a way that looks as though you've just thought of it.
This brings you closer to the skill level of Jim Chapman and Lilly Singh.
You're then prepared for the next stage...to do an online chat-to-the-camera for real which York can edit, mix with some pictures and captions and put on your website.
This allows your potential customers to really get to grips with you and what your company can do for them.
There's more details at "Protecting and Enhancing Your Online Reputation" at:
We also run a master class version of this for business leaders groups - where members come away with their own memory stick version of their chat to the camera which we can put on their website.
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BEDAZZLE THEM LIKE THE YOUTUBING QUEEN
If you want a model for someone who is supremely good at talking to the camera, the undisputed Queen of the Youtubers is Zoella Sugg.
She has a way of talking to you through the screen as if you're the only person in the universe.
 As a result she's had more than 140-million hits on her blog...yes 140-million. Zoella's You Tube appearances are mainly dedicated to fashion and beauty tips. But in truth, it doesn't really matter what Zoella's subject is. She's just fantastic at chatting in a calm but animated, engaging and natural way. Zoella knows that it's all about making the camera your friend. If you'd like to experience how Zoella does it, here's one of her more unusual vlogs where she talks - not about fashion and beauty - but about the panic attacks she used to have. Here she tells the story of how she overcame them. It led to her catch phrase: "Just Say Yes". If York and I can get you to come across with the charm and apparent effortlessness of Zoella, then the world of cyberspace is your intergalactic lobster. Keep smiling, Michael |
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