This article about says it all! Heck, even the headline captures what I’ve learned in my own daily experience working the front lines of a corporate social media presence for the last two years!
Brands Need a More Human Face to Avoid Being “Foreigners” in Social Media, Highlights Research
It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy when research bears out your personal beliefs! 
When I let my humanity come through the most is when I get the most positive response from our ‘fans’ or ‘friends’ or whatever you’d like to call them that day. Another quote/headline (also bolded in the Financial Times source article):
When I let my humanity come through the most is when I get the most positive response from our ‘fans’ or ‘friends’ or whatever you’d like to call them that day. Another quote/headline (also bolded in the Financial Times source article):Consumers Value a Human Face and Gravitate to Brands that Act Like a Friend
So, I say thank you to Financial Times and Firefly Millward Brown (the research company that conducted the research and wrote the study)! The 10 ‘tips’ to using social media listed in at the conclusion of the article are the same rules we in communications have recognized for a while, but they always bear repeating.
