OK. Time to fess up. I have been known to occasionally search for information about myself online. Turns out aside from being a PR professional in the U.S., I also am a PR professional in the U.K., a vascular surgeon, a teacher and a scientist!

There’s no shame…just a little vanity. And it turns out, I’m not alone.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, nearly half of Internet users have done the same - up from just 22% in 2002. In fact, enough people are doing this that Google recently introduced a feature called a “Google profile” to tap into this.

As marketers, we’ve all likely devoted time to online searches about our companies, brands and products. We likely subscribe to all sorts of services that monitor print, broadcast, online and even social media chatter about our company and brands.

But when was the last time you Googled or surfed the Web for information about your key spokesperson(s)? What about your C-level executives or board members? Or your paid endorsers?

The reality is the people whom you choose to surround and support your brand often become personifications of your brand. Are they using your products in their everyday lives or just when they are shooting a commercial for you? Is your CEO going on national TV to announce a series of layoffs and then driving around town in his limited edition Rolls-Royce or Bentley?

So go ahead…Google yourself. Just make sure you follow that up with some online searches and social media searches of your spokespersons, executives, endorsers and other key influencers of your brand.