Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been covering marketing as a topic on my podcast, “The Inspired Entrepreneur’s Guide.” My guests have shared their insight and expertise about blogging, social media and networking, just to name a few. Among all of the conversations I’ve had, there was one common theme my guests kept coming back to, as it related to online marketing. I’ll get to that in one moment. In today’s technological world, there is a misconception that we don’t connect with each other, our noses stuffed in our phones all the time. Yes, this is true. But for many, we are still connecting.

Let’s circle back to the commonality that kept popping up in my conversations with my podcast guests about online marketing: they all said (in one form or another) that being authentic, honest and caring was the most important thing we can do to connect with our audience in today’s online world.

That’s right; the common thread had nothing to do with using a specific tool, device or a social network. It was not about the 80/20 rule of sharing on social media or how to send a specific,“tweet.”

It all came down to one simple thing: what it means to be human. It's so important to not fall into the practice of being a machine pushing out content or sending links haphazard on social media. Be invested in what you put out into the online world and truly care. Also, don’t be afraid to show your true self. Your audience will notice. And, that will be the reason they choose to connect with you, the real you.

Check out recent episodes of The Inspired Entrepreneur’s Guide to hear some of the conversations with business owners about online marketing.

Podcasts, blog posts or e-newsletters are great ways to share relevant content in an authentic way. Contact me, I’d love to help.