Influencer marketing is a big deal these days, as more and more people are taking to this as a career in Nigeria. This is largely due to the exponential increase in the number of internet users in Nigeria, and the availability of internet-enabled devices such as smartphones and tablets. So you want to find out how to make money as an influencer in Nigeria? This article covers all you need to know.
If you follow this guide religiously, you’ll well be on your way to becoming a successful social media influencer.
What is Influencer Marketing?
In simple language, this is a form of marketing that leverages social media followers to market goods and services to those same followers. This happens in the form of endorsements and product placements for organizations, businesses, and clients.
Influencer marketing revolves heavily around the followers who are also fans of the influencer and are loyal to these influencers. The influencer has managed to build an audience over time and has gained their trust and loyalty.
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Influencer Marketing in Nigeria
Influencer Marketing in Nigeria is a thriving vocation for most people, especially among the youth. Since the advent and rise of social media in the Nigerian internet space, numerous influencers have emerged and still continue to emerge over the years.
This can be a very lucrative business venture if you do things right, and take action now. But to tell you the truth, it’s not a get-rich-quick thing.
If you want to make it big through Influencer Marketing in Nigeria, you must be prepared to work hard and exercise patience.
You must also play it smart by leveraging on other influencers that have gone before you. You see, you can’t write them off. You can only see far by standing on the shoulders of giants, as the adage goes.
So you want to be an Influencer in Nigeria? Keep reading to find out how.
Can you make money as an Influencer in Nigeria?
Definitely. Influencers make serious money every day through endorsements and product placements on their respective pages.
For instance, if you have like 5,000 followers on Twitter, and you advertise a product to those 5,000 followers. If just 3% of those followers (just 150 people) buy the product priced at just N2,000, the Influencer is making a total of N300,000! Talk about cashing out!
It’s common knowledge that social media influencers rake in some serious cash every month, but it’s hard to figure out exactly how much they make if they do not reveal it.
Who is the highest-paid social media influencer in Nigeria?
As of the time of writing this article, the highest-paid influencer in Nigeria is currently David Adeleke, aka Davido. He earns the sum of $128,500 for each sponsored post on his Instagram account. Davido has almost 24 million followers on Instagram and 11.1 million followers on Twitter.
Here’s a breakdown of the top 10 social media influencers in Nigeria. The followers for Instagram are in descending order while followers for Twitter are not.
| Influencer | Instagram Followers | Twitter Followers |
| David Adeleke | 23.7 M | 11.1 M |
| Yemi Alade | 16.6 M | 1.6 M |
| Funke Akindele Bello | 15.1 M | 1.4 M |
| Tiwa Savage | 14.9 M | 5.5 M |
| Wizkid Ayo | 14.4 M | 9.8 M |
| Donjazzy | 13.3 M | 6.6 M |
| Mercy Johnson Okogie | 12.5 M | – |
| Ini Edo | 12.3 M | – |
| Mr. P (Peter of PSquare) | 11.9 M | 3.9 M |
| Mercy Aigbe | 10.8 M | – |
How to make money as an influencer in Nigeria
There are things to consider if you want to become a successful social media influencer in Nigeria. If you consider the list of influencers above, most of them are either actors or musicians.
Now I’m not saying that you cannot become an influencer if you aren’t an actor or musician, but your chances of making it big increase much more if you are a celebrity already.
Don’t get discouraged though. I’m here to guide you. This is what you need to do in order to become a social media influencer in Nigeria:
- Choose a niche
- Create your account
- Build your audience
- Consolidate
Choose your niche
A niche is an area of interest. Now there are many areas of interest to consider. But first of all, you must identify your passion. Are you a comedian? Are you a journalist? What do you do for a living?
You can leverage your vocation or talents to build a following on social media. Presently in Nigeria, comedy and gossip are the most lucrative niches on social media. The country is a challenging place to survive in, so people love what will make them laugh and ease up.
Comedy skit making is a fast way to become a social media influencer in Nigeria. Skit makers like Mr. Macaroni, Lasisi Lenu, Broda Shaggi, Zicsaloma, Real Warri Pikin, and others are cashing it big with their content on social media.
Here are some niches to consider
- Comedy
- Gossip
- News
- Relationship counseling
Once you have identified your niche, then it’s time to move on to the next step.
Create your account
If you don’t have an account yet on social media, you need to create an account on either Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, or YouTube.
Each of these social media platforms is distinct and offers different types of content. The table below will help you determine which one to work with.
| Platform | Type of Content allowed | Duration |
| Videos, Unlimited text | Unlimited | |
| Videos, Unlimited text | 2,200 characters for text, 10 minutes for a post, longer videos on IGTV | |
| YouTube | Videos | Unlimited |
| Tik Tok | Text, Videos | 150 characters for text, 10 mins max for videos |
| Text, Videos | 280 characters per tweet, 140 seconds for video |
Once you have determined where to be active, go ahead and create your account. It’s free to create an account on all social media platforms.
Choose a distinctive and memorable name. You can still use your real name or your alias. It’s up to you. Fill in all the necessary information and add profile pictures and avatars to add a touch of distinction to your account.
Build your audience
This is the hard part and unfortunately is where most people give up. This is because content creation is a lot of work, and you need to approach it with skill, creativity, and uniqueness.
You should also know that consistency is key here. You have to keep posting your content regularly in order to build your audience.
When you are getting started, you may need to post multiple times a day. This is because social media is such a noisy place, with tons of content being added daily. For people to notice your content, it must be unique and stand out from the noise.
Approach content creation differently from what obtains out there, and your audience will love you for it. Originality is key here.
If you are consistent with your content, you’ll realize that your audience will start growing steadily.
Types of video content that perform the best include
Facebook – Reels
YouTube – Shorts
Instagram – Reels
Consolidate
When your audience starts growing, it’s tempting to relax. Don’t do this. Continue to engage with your audience regularly, because if you slow down, you are going to lose them.
Also, social media platforms need fresh content. If you are not putting out fresh content regularly, the algorithms will eventually reduce your content visibility. Your best bet is to keep churning out content on a regular basis to remain relevant.
How much money can influencers make?
A lot. Influencers make money by endorsements (where a brand selects the influencer to be its brand ambassador), by product placements in posts (the influencer can charge any amount of money, depending on the type of product or service), or by affiliate marketing. For instance, you can make money on YouTube as an influencer through affiliate marketing and sponsored mentions in your videos.
Each of these ways of making money has its advantages and disadvantages. However, be sure that you resonate with the brand and that what you are advertising is real and not fake.
If you promote a phony business, it’ll eventually boomerang on you. It’s best practice to make sure that what you’re promoting is relevant to your niche, and is a real business, not a scam.
Concluding thoughts
Influencer marketing has come to stay. If you want to make money as a social media influencer in Nigeria, then you should be intentional and focused. If you can follow the steps outlined here, then you are on your way to hitting it big as an influencer.
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