Leadership
The Importance Of Substance In Building A Lasting Brand
By Dr. Wale Akinyemi
Social media is a powerful amplifier but it cannot amplify what does not exist in substance. A question we must all confront before we launch our social media,“ What is your message without a medium?” It’ s a confounding question and one we must all answer. If your Instagram vanished, your TikTok was banned, or YouTube changed its algorithm tomorrow what would remain of your influence, your impact, your income?
Abraham Maslow famously said that " I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” Social media managers are falling into the same trap. They think everything starts and ends with content creation, posting and boosting. Mirroring what Maslow said I will put it like this: " To someone who sees social media as the only path, every problem becomes a content opportunity even when real work is needed offline."
Many people today believe that with just consistent posting, a nice ring light, and a few viral trends, they can build lasting success. Social media is a window, not the house. What people see online is often the tip of an iceberg and a glimpse of years of value creation, self-mastery, strategy, and deeply rooted identity.
Many people are sacrificing the integrity of their brand simply because they want to trend and go viral but truth be told, if you have no substance offline, your viral post will not be sustainable and will not add significant value to you.
Nothing beats human connection. Nothing. As an author I learnt something very powerful as I tried to promote my books. We would spend tons of cash on social media campaigns with very little results. But anytime I went somewhere to speak people trooped out in their droves to buy books.
What was driving them? First if they were inspired by what I spoke about, they wanted to take a piece of it back with them hence the desire to buy books. However, there was something else I saw and that is the fact that people like to
Before you chase the spotlight, build the substance. Before you crave the stage, master the silence. The internet may give you attention, but only authenticity will give you longevity. Don’ t just be loud; be loaded. Don’ t just trend; transform. Because in the end, it’ s not who went viral that matters, it’ s who remained valuable when the noise died down.
meet the author, shake hands, take selfies and have their books signed by the author. Now there is no way this can be achieved on social media.
The interesting thing however is that the more of those we have the more we get content that is real and authentic which in turn connects with more people. So, when we have solid events on the ground, they create a symbiotic relationship with the online posts. Just like a person cannot clap with just one hand, similarly it takes the working of the online and offline together to create the connection that drives sales.
Even the heaviest hitters do it. Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Bill Clinton each have massive social media presence. Michelle has around 57 million followers on Instagram, Hillary with about 6 million, and Bill Clinton with over 12.8 million on X. Yet, despite their massive digital reach, they all committed to rigorous book tours, road trips, live talks, and face-to-face engagements. Why? Because they understand that visibility alone is not enough. Real influence is built in real rooms, with real people, through authentic encounters that no screen can replicate.
You can have the message and let the social media amplify it, but people still want to connect with the source. They crave the experience, the inspiration, the handshake, the photo op, the autograph. That’ s what moves hearts and opens wallets. To build lasting influence and sustainable revenue, you need both depth offline and reach online. Use social media to echo your real-world value and not replace it. Because in the end, authenticity is what converts followers into fans, and content into customers.
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