You can’t hide

When we think about marketing, most of the time we think about ways to connect with people, especially people who are looking for what we have to sell. In my case, and the case of my brothers and sisters in the voiceover profession, what we’re selling is our ability to tell stories, to communicate, to read in a way that brings a script to life.
But, Tom Asacker points out that there’s another side of marketing. Maybe one you haven’t thought much about. Here’s a key thought from his post…

The Internet is one humongous story exposure machine. Whether you like it or not, people can now dig and dig and dig and get to the essence of your brand . . . any brand.

What will turn up when folks dig into your brand? Those hastily written posts on someone’s bulletin board, back when you just had to get something off your chest? Or multiple examples of how you lack command of the English language? Snarky product or service reviews?

If there are some cyber-skeletons in your closet, there’s not much you can do about them, thanks to the massive cache servers all over the Internet. Indeed, trying to do something about them could expose you to much more bad publicity that you could possibly want. Transparency isn’t just a marketing buzzword. It’s a fact. There’s no better time than right now to start paying more attention to what, when and how you present yourself.

(edited to fix typo)