The Art of Being a like-able Brand 1. Know yourself: Yes, it all begins with you. Personal branding is about knowing who you are and presenting your best self to meet the needs of others. You need to really know who you are – your strengths and weaknesses. What makes your brand unique. What makes you tick, your likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. If you take the time to understudy yourself, it better prepares you to handle your relationships, clients, fans, and followers.You will not be taken aback by many things that your audience will reveal about you. It helps you to put your best self forward – your strengths over weakness. That’s the best way you can stand out from the pile! “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson 2. Stand for something: Share your values! Be truthful! Be open and upfront with your values right from the beginning. Let your audience, fans, followers, clients know what your values are as a brand – what’s important to you. Your standards that you wouldn’t compromise on. This prevents people from violating your values – your prized possessions. To one person the top values could be integrity, faith, etc. to another honesty, gratitude. What will yours be?As part of sharing your values be honest with your audience, let them know when you go contrary to set values – apologize and do that which is right. You should learn to gracefully correct your audience when they also go wrong. “You must stand for something! It does not have to be grand, but it must be a positive that brings light to someone else’s darkness.” ― Anthony Carmona 3. Give value: Offer a helping hand. Be the first to look out for a need of your clients, fans, and followers and find ways to help them with it, in ways that you can. The caveat is: don’t become God in their lives, just be a channel to be used. You are not a superhero – work in the confines of your expertise. Note that you cannot meet every need of client’s, fans and followers. So choose your niche carefully and to offer the best for them. The more value you give the more your clients get hooked to your brand. Your gift will make room for you! Give them more than they pay for and more than what they deserve. “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson 4. Keep in touch: make it a point to regularly check up on your clients – call, text, social media, etc. any act that shows your clients, fans and followers are important to you. Keep in touch not because you will need something from them someday but because you care. It’s nice to be nice. This is something @Sarkodie – the celebrated rap musician from Ghana does so well with his followers on Twitter – he constantly engages with them.When was the last time you reconnected with a fan? “There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother. “- Proverbs 18:24 5. Respect privacy: Some things are private and should be kept as such. You may be privy to some private stuff about your clients, just keep it as such. Being a coach, mentor, professional requires that you also give people room to be whom they want to be. You don’t need to always be in their space. Always remember the ethics of your calling – your job. Don’t spam people!Learn to set your own boundaries and also respect that of your clients, fans, and followers. Be wary of gossips. “A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends.” ― Proverbs 16:28 6. Forgive yourself: Hey, don’t be too hard on yourself when you mess up. Rather hold yourself up to a high standard and don’t settle for less. But when you mess up, apologize sincerely and make amends. You may fall short of your promises every now and then but quickly get it resolved. Make your clients happy. Be open to feedback and