INTRODUCTION
In today's digital age, having a strong personal brand is more important than ever. It's not just about trivial metrics or online popularity; it's about strategically creating your reputation and establishing yourself as an authority in your field.
Whether you're a seasoned professional, an entrepreneur, or just starting in your career, building a powerful personal brand can open doors to new opportunities, collaborations, and recognition.
To help navigate the exciting world of personal branding, we sat down with Ebuka Mic, who has graced our screens, owned several stages, and left us roaring with laughter. Ebuka Mic, is a renowned MC, host of numerous shows, an actor, an original, side-splitting comedian, and let's not forget his self-proclaimed (and widely agreed upon) title: "Finest Man Alive".
In this interview, Ebuka shares his insights, proven strategies, and practical advice on how to put together a memorable personal brand that gets you noticed and positions you for success.
Here’s a link to Ebuka’s Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/ebuka_mic
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions asked by Mr. Solomon
https://www.instagram.com/_mrsolomon
QUESTION 1
How have you been able to harness your brand, while balancing entertainment and personal life?
We didn’t know that we were building a brand when we were doing so, we were all big on reputation at the time— it was all about making a name for ourselves.
Being multi-talented can make it difficult to communicate as a brand because you tend to do many things at once. That was when I had a conversation with a friend, after which I started to think about defining my brand. Instead of leaving it to the general consumer base to arrive at a perception of me, why don’t I tell them who I want them to know as me?
Recalling the conversation I had with my friend, he mentioned that when he went through my Instagram page, he was prompted to ask me who I was and what I did— a question I thought at the time to be silly. I made skits, acted a little, and did some stand-up comedy, all of which he thought to be a little too confusing to decipher. At that moment, I realized that I was only going with the tide and wasn’t intentional about my image, and because of that, there was room for miscommunication.
One of my earlier mentors back then, Lanre Shonubi, used to call himself the enjoyment minister and people started calling him that and I thought, I’ll call myself “Finest Man Alive”. All this was done in a bid to craft who I wanted people to perceive me to be and to be more intentional in the pursuit of the same. This all served as a guide to building my brand.
QUESTION 2
When would you say that Ebuka Mic became a brand?
I would say around 2016. That’s about 8 years.
QUESTION 3
What would you say has been the most challenging experience?
Staying true to yourself, you know? I’ll give an example. People know you as an event MC but you try to augment the brand by being a stand-up comedian. For me, it would be coming out of the box. Not being limited by the confines of what people understand as the brand, especially when you’re still in the morphing phase. When you want people to see you in a new light, yeah, that’s tough. Much like how Nigerians call every toothpaste brand Closeup and every taxi company Uber. Almost like they don’t want you to change. So that doggedness, tenacity, and consistency to stay true to the bigger picture of the brand but your execution being different is where the greatest challenge is.
QUESTION 4
Has there been a scenario where you had gigs for an event MC, stand-up comedy, and acting all together and you had to decide on which one you took?
Several times. There’s something I read in Teju Babyface’s book about maintaining your “champion”. Going for the lower-hanging fruit. Around 2016, and 2017, the doors that were opening for me were more of event jobs so I had to tailor to that. I put up more event content because that was the lowest-hanging fruit at the time. I was hoping that with time I could gain enough reputation muscle to morph into what I wanted to do. I remember in 2018, I started pursuing acting gigs and went for several auditions. 2019 I started to give stand-up comedy a run for its money because that was what I wanted to do and be known for. I did that up until 2023.
QUESTION 5
Finally, what would you want to advise any young person starting a personal brand for themselves?
The first thing you must consider is who you are as a person. What are your assets? Figure that out and then start to market that perception that you want to put out there. The worst thing to do is to build a personal brand based on what you’re not because there would be a whole lot of inconsistencies. Once you understand yourself, it becomes easy to say how you want to come across to people.
Finest Man Alive was the alias up until I started calling myself “Mic of God”. And I was surprised that on my birthday in April, everyone kept saying “Happy birthday, the Mic of God”. So it’s what you call yourself that people would also call you.
In summary have clarity on who you are, clarity of what you want the perception of the personality to be, and then execution. Find out what platform the people you want to attract are in, and go and relate to them there. Whether it's LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or YouTube. Whichever channel would make the communication of your perception of your personality most effective. Focus on that and with God’s help, you’re going to make a lot of progress.
Conclusion
Ebuka Mic's journey to personal branding success is a masterclass in self-awareness, strategic communication, and a healthy dose of self-belief (and perhaps a touch of "Finest Man Alive" charisma).
As Ebuka shared, the key is to start with clarity. Identify your strengths, define the image you want to project, and tailor your message to the platforms where your target audience is. Building a brand isn't about chasing fleeting trends; it's about consistently communicating your authentic self.
Remember, there will be challenges. Breaking out of established perceptions and staying true to your vision takes dedication and perseverance. But as Ebuka's story exemplifies, with focus and a touch of strategic humor, you can cultivate a powerful personal brand that positions you for success.
Thanks to Ebuka Mic for sharing his insights! And to Mr. Solomon for the interview. Be sure to follow the link to his Instagram to explore more of Ebuka's work.
Link to watch interview:
And for our readers, what key takeaways will you incorporate into your branding journey? Share your thoughts in the comments below!