Social Media refers to applications and websites that facilitate human interaction. Over the years, social media appears to play an essential role in both the lives of humans and businesses. In recent years, we find a large number of Nigerians adopting various social media platforms as vehicles of expression and e-commerce.
Today, we would be taking a quick look at the monthly social media statistics for the month of March 2020. This post highlights the breakdown of social media usage in Nigeria, and the most visited social media pages by Nigerians.
Most Popular Social Media Platforms.
What are the top social media apps in Nigerian today? Let’s start by taking a look at the most used apps in Nigeria. The graph below shows the stats of social media in Nigeria for the month of March.
Facebook has always topped the list of the most popular social media platforms in Nigeria, it is an app that all age grades can relate with and this gives it an edge over other apps in terms of popularity. Next on the list is the Twitter app and then Instagram. These platforms happen to be the most entertaining and informative platforms for Nigerians.
FACEBOOK STATISTICS
Largest Audience (entertainment):Mayor Boss is a Nigerian Entertainer, a songwriter, a rapper, and a singer with over 7.5 Million followers on Facebook. Another large entertaining page with over 6.5 million followers is ‘Mark Angel”, they are known for their very hilarious comedy skits.
Largest Audience (Musicians):P-square official page ranks number one on this list. The duo (Peter and Paul) is very popular in the music industry, but who thought they’d still have an official page together on social media even after their big fight that resulted in a split. Second, on the list is the popular Ice prince with over 1.4 million fans on Facebook.
Largest (Daily News): In this category, we find the top gist bloggers in Nigeria, blogs like Legit.ng and Yabaleftonline have been consistent in delivering daily news updates and trends to Nigerians and this is why we find a large number of Nigerians on Facebook following these blogs.
Largest Audience (Politicians): Of all the Nigerian Politicians, we find out here that Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan is the most active on Facebook with the largest number of followers of his page. Governor Nasir El-Rufia of Kaduna state is next on the list with over 800,000 followers.
In recent weeks, the world is increasingly being digitalized. With schools and businesses moving online and social distancing, we find an enormous number of people relying on search engines and social media either for information or entertainment. Has social media been a useful source during the recent pandemic? The answer to that is “yes”, social media giants like LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter are using their mediums as fertile grounds for targeting people with useful information and new updates to keep users entertained and connected. Let’s take a look at a few updates from this week’s digital update;
Facebook Launches “Tuned” App for Couples:
Isn’t this just the cutest feature? With a view to facilitating communication between partners during the time of social distancing, Facebook has made an effort to create a new app on its platform for couples to share private intimate interactions. With the “Tuned” app for romantic partners, you can be mushy quirky and silly even when you’re apart. The app allows you creatively express your love, share your mood and build a digital scrapbook for your social moments. Stay connected with your partner with the “tuned” app.
Pinterest Adds a New E-commerce Tool to Its Platform
Are you the type that loves to shop? Pinterest has got your back. The photo-centric app has recently launched a new verified merchant program on its platform for brands that deliver high-quality customer service. With this eCommerce feature pinners can shop products inspired by the pins on their board. A new “shop” option has been added which will include buyable recommendations based on the pins you’ve added to your board on Pinterest.
YouTube Bans Conspiracy Theories Linking Coronavirus With 5G
One of the most recent debates in the world today is the conspiracy theory that suggests 5G is the cause of COVID-19 however, YouTube is now putting a ban on any conspiracy theory video that links 5G networks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Any video streaming that violates this policy would be deleted.
The LinkedIn event feature is back, the “event” feature is a unique tool that provides members with an easy way to create and join professional events that interest them. The feature helps grow active, professional communities by building authentic, face-to-face relationships. With a lot of businesses on lockdown during the pandemic, this tool could be another way to brand followers and increase engagement.
This is the September 2018 edition of our monthly review of social media statistics in Nigeria. In this post, we have done a detailed breakdown of social media usage in Nigeria.
MOST POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
As usual, we start by taking a look at the penetration rate of different social media platforms in Nigeria. As can be seen from the chart below, Instagram and Facebook top the list of the most popular platforms in Nigeria with 41% penetration rate. Another Mark Zuckerberg company, Instagram came in third. No surprise here really, other than the fact that one would have expected Snapchat to have more than its current 9% penetration (considering Nigeria large population of young people)
FACEBOOK STATISTICS
Largest Pages
In terms of the sheer number of followers, nobody beats Gossip Mill Nigeria. Gossip Mill has 7.5 million Facebook followers. Another news/gossip site, Mayor Boss, came second with 7 million followers on Facebook.
Largest Celebrity Pages
Largest News/Media Pages
Of the ten largest Facebook media pages in Nigeria, only two belong traditional media houses – Vanguard with 3.15 million fans and Punch with 1.48 fans.
Largest Political, Religious and Cultural Leaders Pages
Even though he lost the 2015 presidential election to APC’s Buhari, Goodluck Jonathan continues to rule the Facebook space. With 2.26 million followers, his page is the largest of any leader in Nigeria.
Top Five Nigeria Industries on Facebook
TWITTER STATISTICS
Largest Pages
When it comes to Twitter in Nigeria, musicians rule. Six of the ten largest Twitter accounts belong to musicians. Wizkid with 4.27 million followers leads the pack.
Largest Nigeria Brands on Twitter
Largest Nigeria Celebrities On Twitter
Largest Nigeria Political, Religious and Cultural Leaders Twitter Accounts
Thanks for reading. Watch out for the October 2018 edition.
Social media plays an ever important role in the contemporary Nigeria society. In this post, we have done a detailed breakdown of social media usage in Nigeria.
MOST POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
We will start by taking a look at the penetration rate of different social media platforms in Nigeria. As can be seen from the chart below, Instagram and Facebook top the list of the most popular platforms in Nigeria with 41% penetration rate. Another Mark Zuckerberg company, Instagram came in third. No surprise here really, other than the fact that one would have expected Snapchat to have more than its current 9% penetration (considering Nigeria large population of young people).
FACEBOOK STATISTICS
Largest Pages
In terms of sheer number of followers, nobody beats Gossip Mill Nigeria. Gossip Mill has 7.4 million Facebook followers. Another news/gossip site, Mayor Boss, came second with 7million+ followers on Facebook.
Largest Celebrity Pages
Largest News/Media Pages
Of the ten largest Facebook media pages in Nigeria, only two belong traditional media houses – Vanguard with 3.15 million fans and Punch with 1.47 fans.
Largest Political, Religious and Cultural Leaders Pages
Even though he lost the 2015 presidential election to APC’s Buhari, Goodluck Jonathan continues to rule the Facebook space. With 2.26 million followers, his page is the largest of any leader in Nigeria
Top Five Nigeria Industries on Facebook
TWITTER STATISTICS
Largest Pages
When it comes to Twitter in Nigeria, musicians rule. Six of the ten largest Twitter accounts belong to musicians. Wizkid with 4.2 million followers leads the pack.
Largest Nigeria Brands On Twitter
Largest Nigeria Celebrities On Twitter
Largest Nigeria Political, Religious and Cultural Leaders Twitter Accounts
This post on Newspaper Circulation was first published in 2010, and we decided to bring it back because, its still as useful today as it was 8 years ago
When a study conducted revealed that the combined daily circulation of all Nigeria newspapers was less than 300000, the publishers disagreed and protested the figure vehemently. That is understandable if one considers that circulation figure is a major factor an advertiser considers in media planning.
But be that as it may, denying a thing does not make it false. The truth is that all the newspapers in Nigeria today have a combined circulation figure that is far less than that of Daily Times of Nigeria in 1980 (when the population of Nigeria was about half of what it is today).
The question then should be, why? This is very important as a wrong diagnosis will invariably lead to an inappropriate treatment. All the commentators I have heard on the matter seem to agree that two factors are responsible for the dwindling circulation figures of newspapers — the sad state of our economy and the ever decreasing quality of our education. I beg to disagree.
While the first might be true to some extent, the second is completely off the mark. The last ten years have witnessed a reemergence of the middle class in Nigeria. These are mostly educated folks in the banking, telecoms, and entertainment etc sectors. And truth be told, the population of secondary and tertiary schools graduates has more than tripled in the last thirty years.
So what do I think is responsible? I believe it’s social. And it is global in scope. Such powerhouse newspapers as The New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune are also facing the same challenge of plummeting circulation figures. The difference is just that they are confronting the issue holistically rather than deceive themselves that all is well.
What brought this social state? Mainly, the Internet. Yes, the Internet. Most of the newly empowered middle class have access to the Internet and seriously, why should I buy a newspaper for information when the same is available on my mobile phone free of charge? Moreover, the Internet gives me access to different sources for the same information — all for free.
When I finished NYSC in 2005, my main source of information on job vacancies was Tuesday Guardian newspaper. And it wasn’t only me. All my freshly minted B.sc. friends consulted Tuesday guardian for employment opportunities. Fast forward five years to 2010 and what do you see? Nairaland, naijahotjobs, NBF social website, Careers Nigeria, kerewa.com etc. These are the free job listing websites where a job seeker will not only find vacancies but also tips on writing a CV, interview tips etc.
What all these mean is that the traditional business model (of generating revenue solely from paper sale and advert placement) adopted by most newspapers are dated.
Hear Google:
“The large profit margins newspapers enjoyed in the past were built on an artificial scarcity: Limited choice for advertisers as well as readers. With the Internet, that scarcity has been taken away and replaced by abundance. No [dreaming] will be able to restore newspapers’ revenues to what they were before the emergence of online [content]. It is not a question of analog dollars versus digital dimes, but rather a realistic assessment of how to make money in a world of abundant competitors and consumer choice.”
To succeed in contemporary Nigeria, a newspaper house must:
Review its editorial and news judgment policies. Content is king and the earlier a newspaper realizes this, the better. Readers should be provided with relevant and quality information. The culture of inundating readers with only political stories must be re-examined. There should be less of Zoning, PDP, AC, Jonathan this, IBB that. Of course, that’s just my view. To be sure, a newspaper should use focus group interview to gain valuable insight into what the public want. That is a sure-fire recipe for success. To paraphrase Peter Drucker: “Find out what people want and need, and give it to them – and your business will succeed”.
Get marketing savvy. Let’s hear from Peter Drucker again: “because the purpose of business is to create a customer (in our case subscribers, advertisers etc), the business enterprise has two and only two basic functions—marketing and innovation”. In fact, I will recommend that every newspaper house have a business building task force comprising of members from editorial, marketing, distribution, production departments. This task force should be headed by a professional business development executive (preferably from outside the organization). Incompetent marketing is the single biggest reason Nigerian newspapers are struggling to survive. For example, when Guardian newspaper (?) increased its cover price from N100 to N150 two years ago, all the other papers followed suit. And they all gave the same reason—increased production cost.
Were I a newspaper publisher then, I would not have followed suit. I would have:
Retained N100 cover price. Pricing is an important marketing element. Pricing my paper at N100 will automatically make my paper accessible to more people.
Reduced the average number of pages in my paper by as much as 50%. This will more than makeup for my low cover price.
Positioned my paper as a time and value conscious paper that gives readers all the relevant and important news in a straight-to-the-point-way.
Leveraged my (brand) asset. The greatest asset newspapers have is their recognition (supposedly) as a reliable source of information. This is an asset that can be leveraged for financial gain (ethically).
This is where Business Day newspaper comes to mind. As the name indicates, Business Day is a Lagos based business daily. It has lower circulation figure than most other major Nigerian newspapers but, it is in better shape financially than most.
Why?
The reason is not farfetched. There is no week the paper does not carry a special report on one segment of the Nigerian economy or the other. Because the paper has the reputation as a credible source of information about the Nigerian business environment, companies pay to be featured in special reports about their industry.
There are so many other ways a newspaper can leverage its brand equity, all that is needed is creative thinking.
Cut costs. There’s no doubt that growth will not come from fancy offices and car services and wardrobe allowances. So cut the hell out of your costs. Outsource nonessential functions. Move to Ibafo (yes like Punch Newspaper), at least this will save you from the excruciating taxation in Lagos state.
Embrace the internet – that’s where the future lies.
Drop idealistic posturing and face reality. This will obviously not go down with my journalist friends but it is the truth. Forget the fourth estate of the realm; forget conscience of the nation; forget societal watchdog, a newspaper is a business venture whose ultimate success will be determined by financial metrics.
I will conclude with these words from Jeff Jarvis “we now operate in an economy of abundance, not scarcity. So trying to convince readers to pay premium prices for content when content is anybody’s game is a fool’s paradise. But I do think you can sell merchandise to the people formerly known as readers as long as you take on the skills of the merchandise. And that ain’t editors”.
Every field has its authorities (Edward Wittins in Physics, Harold Bloom in Literature, Stanley Hauerwas in Theology to mention but a few). Same is true of the digital marketing field as well. There are a set of people who based on their exhibited expertise, depth of understanding and professional acumen have earned the tag “authority” in the field of digital marketing.
While there are several digital marketing “experts”, very few are qualified to be called “authority”. Below is a list of our favourite notable digital marketing authorities alive.
Classification By Subject Areas
Rather than do a generic list, what I have done is to group the experts into four distinct subject areas in digital marketing: SEO, PPC, CRO/Analytics, General Strategy
Search Engine Optimization
Rand Fishkin
Rand is the co-founder of Moz and served as the CEO of the company until last month. Moz is one of the marketing world’s fastest growing software companies. Rand Fishkin’s knowledge of SEO is overwhelming. More important however is his willingness to share all that he knows–for free. His company blog is arguably the richest source of up to date SEO resources. What surprises me the most about Rand is that he never lowers the standard of his write ups as I am yet to see a mediocre or even an average stuff from him.
Rand Fishkin co-authored the Art of SEO from O’Reilly Media, co-founded Inbound.org, and was named on PSBJ’s 40 Under 40 List and BusinessWeek’s 30 Best Tech Entrepreneurs Under 30.
Will Critchlow
Will is a nerd. An artistic nerd with a mathematics degree from the University of Cambridge (St. John’s College) including a graduate thesis on auction theory.
Will founded Distilled with Duncan in 2005. Since then, he has consulted with some of the world’s largest organizations and most famous websites, spoken at most major industry events and regularly appeared in local and national press.
His knowledge of search marketing is encyclopedic.
Neil Patel
Neil is a generous soul. I mean, how do you explain someone who spends tens of thousands dollars to produce top-notch digital marketing tools and guides only to give the resources away FREE? I have learned more from Neil than any other person in the area of inbound marketing.
Patel launched his first online venture, a job board named Advice Monkey, while in high school. The inability of the marketing companies he hired for the project to deliver meaningful result propelled him to learn how to drive traffic to his site, thus launching his career in online marketing. By 2009, Patel had become so good in marketing and search engine optimization that his expertise was engaged by 30 of the top 100 Technorati blogs and was named one of the top influencers on the web by The Wall Street Journal
Paid Search
Larry Kim
When it comes to paid search, Larry is head above the rest. He is simply the best mind in paid search today.
Larry’s background has been in software engineering, software product management, and Internet Marketing (particularly PPC, SEO and Social Media Marketing), for several widely-used software productivity tools over 10 years.
In recognition of his pre-eminence in paid search, Larry was voted as the most influential PPC expert in 2013 according to the PPC Hero Blog and won a spot in the ClickZ Digital Marketing Hall of Fame and Small Business Influencer Award in 2013. In 2015 Larry also won Search Marketer of the Year Awards from the US Search Awards and Search Engine Land.
Larry is the founder and Chief Technical Officer of Wordstream, a leading provider of AdWords, Facebook and keyword tools used by over a million marketers worldwide.
Marty Weintraub
Marty is the least known person to me on the list. However, almost all the people I consulted before writing this post agree that he is one of the leading authorities in Paid Search
Marty is the Founder & Evangelist of aimClear® an integrated social, search, display and PR online marketing agency. Client credits include Intel, Siemens, Tektronix, United Health Group, MarthaStewart.com, The Washington Post, Ning, SecondLife & other iconic global brands.
He has written extensively for respected Internet marketing publications including SearchEngineWatch, SearchEngineLand, SearchEngineRoundTable and been quoted in others, from AdAge to MediaPost
Pat East
Pat is the Founder of PPC Hero, the industry’s leading and most highly trafficked paid search marketing blog. PPC Hero delivers search marketing thought leadership and expertise from the PPC experts at Hanapin Marketing.
A university professor, Pat has probably impacted more PPC practitioners than any other person. He is also the Founder and CEO of Hanapin Marketing, a premier digital marketing agency that specializes in paid search marketing.
Analytics/CRO
Avinash Kaushik
The major advantage of digital marketing over traditional marketing is the former’s data-driven nature. Every element of digital marketing can be tracked, measured and optimized. This goes to show the importance of data management and analytics skills to a modern marketer. Avinash has probably contributed to this field than any other person.
Avinash is the Digital Marketing Evangelist for Google (Data-driven decision making uncomplexified); The Co-Founder and Chief Education Officer for Market Motive; The author of two bestselling books: Web Analytics 2.0, Day. He has won several awards, including:
– Statistical Advocate of the Year from the American Statistical Association, 2009
– Rising Star award from the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation, 2010
– Most Influential Industry Contributor from the Web Analytics Association, 2011
– Featured in the “Pioneers of Digital” book, with a bunch of amazing people I admire! 2012
Annie Cushing
If Avinash is the king of analytics, Annie is the undisputed queen.
Annie loves all things data visualization and analytics so much that someone once dubbed her Annielytics. And it kind of stuck.
She is good. She is extremely brilliant and uncommonly selfless. Yes, selfless. She created a monster marketing tools resource for her fellow marketers (hundreds of tools) and a kissing cousin audit checklist and gave them away for free!
Oli Gardner
It was so difficult to decide on which category to put Oli. He is an all-rounder. His Noob Guide To Internet Marketing is a landmark in the history of content creation. I eventually decided to put him in the CRO category because his expertise in this area is unassailable.
He is a Co-Founder & Director of Marketing at Unbounce.com
Social Media Marketing
It is hard to agree on which one has the highest number of quackery between SEO and social media marketing. Because of the zero barriers to entry in these two fields, anybody can claim to be SEO expert the same way anybody with a Facebook account can call himself social media guru.
Luckily, in this ocean of ineptitude, there are a few people with the highest level of professionalism, knowledge and adroitness.
Brian Solis
Brian Solis is principal at Altimeter Group, a research firm focused on disruptive technology. A digital analyst, anthropologist, and futurist, Solis has studied and influenced the effects of emerging technology on business, marketing, and culture. Solis is also globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media. His new book, What’s the Future of Business (WTF), explores the landscape of connected consumerism and how business and customer relationships unfold and flourish in four distinct moments of truth. His previous book, The End of Business as Usual, explores the emergence of Generation-C, a new generation of customers and employees and how businesses must adapt to reach them. Prior to End of Business, Solis released Engage, which is regarded as the industry reference guide for businesses to market, sell and service in the social web.
His website is a treasure trove of social media marketing wealth
Michael Stelzner
Michael Stelzner is one of the most recognizable names in the world of social media marketing. Michael founded Social Media Examiner in 2009 with the goal of providing free how-to information about social media.
Content marketing is the buzzword in digital marketing now but way back in 2011, Stelzner wrote Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition (Wiley) in which he introduces the concept of “content as fuel” for businesses. As Stelzner describes in an interview with Bryan Elliot of Entrepreneur, “Primary fuel is regularly produced free content that meets the needs of readers. This type of content includes how-to articles, case studies, and reviews.”
Jeremiah Owyang
Jeremiah states that his career mission is to help corporations connect with customers using web technologies. He does this by researching the way disruptive technologies are changing the customer relationship, by speaking at many conferences and events, and by serving as a frequent source for the media.
Since 2006, his blog has been the place where he shares insights from his research and what it means for a business of the future.
Jeremiah lives at the edge of technology but maps it back to what it means for businesses. This has led him to early thinking in the realms of customer experience, social business, interactive marketing, and now the collaborative economy.
In addition to his blog, Jeremiah and his team have published numerous research reports focused on social business and the collaborative economy. They focus on topics like how products, services, and markets have changed with the collaborative economy; how businesses manage complex, scaled social media programs; and the career path of the new social strategist. The reports are open research and can be accessed by anyone
Strategy
Dave Chaffey
Without a well-articulated strategy, marketing effectiveness is compromised. A well-developed strategy simplifies your everyday marketing job as it makes the implementation of different initiatives straight-forward.
Dave is the go-to authority on anything digital marketing strategy. Don’t take my word for it, in 2004 he was recognized by the Chartered Institute of Marketing as one of 50 marketing ‘gurus’ worldwide who has helped shape the future of marketing. His RACE Digital Marketing Planning model remains the best digital marketing planning model out there
Dave is the author of 5 bestselling books on digital marketing including Emarketing Excellence and Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation, and Practice
It is doubtful if there is any serious marketing executive or business owner who has not heard of the enormous business building opportunity presented by the advent of social media. From blogs to agencies meeting rooms, one of the staples of marketing prescription for business promotion and building in Nigeria is Social Media. The buzz about social media marketing in Nigeria notwithstanding, is it suitable for your business? and if yes, how can you leverage it to achieve your business goals?
In this post, we aim to equip you with step by step process for developing, building and executing a purposeful and result-oriented social media marketing program for your business. The post will cover both the strategic and the tactical aspects.
What is Social Media Marketing?
First, let us try and understand what the term “social media” means. Social media is media (words, photos, videos, etc.) that is spread through social interaction chiefly using individual communication networks. Popular web-based social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, Google +, Instagram etc. Unlike the traditional advertising paradigm that spreads information from one source to many, social media promotes peer-to-peer communication and gives individuals the choice to opt in, or out, of virtual conversations. With social media, consumers of media turn into producers of media—through photo and video sharing, blog posting, or other forms of content dissemination.
So, social media marketing means actively starting conversations, pushing content, asking questions, driving traffic and expanding visibility through social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Nairaland etc).
Social Media In Nigeria
It is estimated that there are over ten million active social media users in Nigerian. According to Internet World Statistics, Facebook alone has 6,630,200 users in Nigeria as at Dec 31/12. In fact, according to Alexa, five of the top ten most visited websites in Nigeria are social media sites.
How Social Media Can Benefit Your Business
By implementing a thoughtful social media campaign you can: Create Buzz
Buzz is all about riding the current wave of media—and creating buzz means adopting the latest media
to promote your message. Today this means leveraging social media. Building a
legitimate social media voice and developing influence within your community will create buzz for your business.
Generate Traffic
Having a well structured social media program will increase the probability that people will pass along your message, product or website through online social networks. This opens the chance of your message being disseminated to new and diverse crowds and thereby help generate new visitors to you.
Generate Leads
It is customary that in every sector of the economy, there are people at the center of the conversation – the agenda setters or influencers. Social media gives you the opportunity to win over your industry’s influencers by engaging and building a relationship with them. Build and nurture a direct relationship with them and if you are successful in winning them over, these influencers will pitch your company and products online on your behalf in subtle and not so subtle ways. With their blessing, qualified leads will start to come your way.
Join the Conversation
A well designed social media program will include social listening and with this, you can identify social networks where consumers are already talking about your brand and engage in the conversation to learn how your brand is perceived and accepted. And if you discover that no one is talking about your business, take this as an opportunity to research and test which channels respond best to your product or business; which will invariably help you in focusing your effort on those channels that are most effective for you.
Customer relations
Whether you like it or not, your customers are already online. So, it is only logical that you are active in the same community so that you can relate to them better.
Competitive Advantage
It is very likely that most of your competitors are doing a very bad job with social media ( In reality most companies are), which gives you the chance to stand out. And the flip side is that, if you avoid social media, you leave a big opening that allows your competitors to capture your audience.
Building a Social Media Strategy
The way to marketing success starts with a plan. This means before going into tactics, it is important that you devise a strategy for your marketing. Same applies to social media marketing. All successful programs are built on a deliberate and well-defined strategy.
The following are the strategic questions you need to answer before you get started:
Goals
What are your goals? Are you trying to build awareness for your product or brand, drive traffic to your site, attain leads, or convert leads to customers? It is even possible that you have multiple goals that are not mutually exclusive. Even so, decide which one is your primary goal. This will frame your focus and will drive all other planning decisions.
Target Audience
Who do you aim to reach? Potential customers, current customers, influencers? Before you decide on channels or create content, it is important that you define whom you will be marketing to.
Choose your social media marketing channels
Will your campaign be a comprehensive one focusing on multiple social media sites or will you devote your activities to one channel such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.? You need to decide on which channels will work best you. Of course, this will depend on a properly defined target audience. For instance, if your target audience is undergraduates in Nigeria universities, Twitter and Facebook will probably be ideal for you than say LinkedIn.
Engagement
What type of engagement will you do? What is the crux of your message? Is it a hook, an offer, a direct product placement, or perhaps a thought leadership lure? What format will your engagement be: blog posts, photos, graphics, and videos? Are you going to be promoting other brands or only your own? These are all things you need to decide upfront and these should tie back to the goals that you’ve got.
Define a project timeline
Does your plan cover a week, a month or a year? This will surely affect the frequency and types of messages you plan to deliver.
Metrics
After defining the goals, you need to find a metric that aligns with your goals and set an ambitious target. Metrics that you can use include: number of impressions, visits, leads, tweets, likes, retweets, etc.
Track and Monitor
Once a campaign is up and running, determining a return on time and money invested in the obvious next step for any social media marketing effort.
It’s critical to find out just what kind of results your online efforts are having. Has traffic grown with the volume of Twitter feeds? Has the new corporate Facebook fan page expanded the conversion rate and generated leads overnight or taken two months? Social media monitoring answers these questions.
Useful Tips For Effective Social Media Engagement
– Monitor the web for conversations about your industry, product and brand. Do so via RSS feeds, Twitter, Google alerts, and other social media tools.
– Join the conversation–don’t be promotional, be helpful—and earn trust.
– Make a personal connection–become a face, not just a name. Use the same name (use it always), post a good picture, be as transparent as possible, and always be honest.
– Offer help.
– Be Clear: Draft, edit, share internally and revise your content for best result
– Expand your network, including fans, followers, and subscribers. Make it easy for people to find you and to join your network.
– Create relevant and targeted content. Create the right content based on what you are hearing, and be generous with your content and links.
– Be patient
– Use Imagery: You have heard that a good picture is worth a thousand words. Well, it is probably worth more on social media. Use images, videos, and illustrations to make any piece more digestible.
To most Nigerian companies, digital marketing starts and ends with banner ads. Well, to start with, banner ads are the least effective marketing channel . See some statistics about banner ads:
An estimated 31 percent of ad impressions can’t be viewed by users. (Comscore).
Of those banners that are in view, a Nielsen eye-tracking study shows that 92 percent are simply not noticed.
A recent study by OnScroll in the U.K. estimates that a whopping $11.7 billion was wasted on display ads in 2012 alone.
8 percent of Internet users account for 85 percent of clicks. (ComScore)
About 50% of clicks on mobile ads are accidental. (Source: GoldSpot Media)
You are more likely to survive a plane crash than click on a banner ad. (Source: Solve Media)
Now, when you juxtapose the stats above with the ever worsening case of banner ads fatigue, you will begin to understand what I am talking about.
While it is true that the quoted stats are not Nigeria centric, the true stats for Nigeria will probably be worse(You don’t believe me? just head to lindaikeji.blogspot.com, stelladimokokorkus.com, ynaija.com, naij.com and other popular Nigeria sites and you will see how inundated you are with banner ads)
So, for a brand to build its whole online marketing strategy on banner ads is preposterous to say the least
Social Media
Another big online marketing lie that Nigeria companies have bought into is that social media is the marketing panacea. So many “marketing experts” have touted social media as a magic bullet, promising it will change the very fabric of how we market online. And it seems Nigeria companies have bought this hype hook, line and sinker.
And to make matter worse, social media is now largely pay-to-play. It’s getting harder to achieve the same results posting for free on social networks.
“Organic reach” of content from brands and small businesses has fallen to less than 2 percent of all fans. (Inc.)
In December of 2013, Facebook changed the algorithm that determines who sees what content, resulting in business pages losing 40-80% viewership of their posts. (Modern Connection)
Company Facebook pages reach as little as 2.6% of their followers. (Adweek)
Of the 2.6% of users pages reached with their posts, 11.8% engaged with those posts, on average. (Adweek)
Pages with more than 1 million Likes saw link posts perform the best, at 3.78% reach. For those with fewer than 1,000 Likes, video posts perform best with reach up to 30.0%. (Adweek)
Average organic likes growth was 0.53%, and pages with fewer than 1,000 Likes saw that figure rise to 1.62%.(Adweek)
Sorry sir, the truth is, social media is not the marketing panacea it has been sold to you as (at least organically).
THE SOLUTION
Does the above mean companies should not utilize banner ads and social media marketing channels? Not exactly. The point I am trying to make is that:
Banner ads or social media are only a small part of digital marketing – if used well they can perform equally as well as other channels for both branding and direct response- sales. The real insight comes when a company looks beyond each silo and start to measure the cross-channel value of a campaign, optimizing based on what works and equally what does not.
In other words you need to take a strategic approach to digital marketing. This means asking questions like “where is the company today and where does it want to get to?” then applying those answers to the selection of digital marketing opportunities. And of course, employing the best practices for the selected channels to get the best from them
Social media can be defined as websites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts. In Nigeria, social media has become an integral part of life. It is now an important tool for disseminating information online.
During the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, social media played a huge role in shaping public opinion and setting the agenda. Political parties employed various tactics on social media to make known their voices. Almost every presidential & gubernatorial candidate had a social media handle (mostly Facebook & Twitter) which was used to canvass for votes.
Today, every state in Nigeria has a social media handle (although mostly poorly run) which is used to inform its people about the day to day activities of the state government and how it affects the life of the masses.
In this article, we will be taking a look at the top 10 most active governors on social media in Nigeria. The criteria for selection include Number of followers, average number of posts daily, engagement rate & verification status.
Please note that only official Facebook & Twitter handles of the governors were considered for the ranking.
The executive governor of Oyo state, Governor Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi, is one of the oldest governors in Nigeria. He became the first sitting governor in Oyo state to be reelected into office in 2015.
The governor was nicknamed “Mr. Constituted Authority”, after a confrontation with students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) who were protesting against the nonchalant attitude of the Oyo state government to the affairs of the school.
Gov. Ajimobi is the 10th most followed governor on Twitter with more than 98k followers. He is followed by more than 125k people across his social media handles. He uses his social media handles to constantly inform his followers about the day to day activities of the government.
His Excellency, Aminu Waziri Tambuwwal, the executive governor of Sokoto state is the 9th most socially active governor in Nigeria. He served as the Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. He is one of the few serving governors who have previously been active on social media before being elected into office.
The governor has about 140k followers across his social media handles. He uses his social media handles to report his day to day activities and how it affects the people of Sokoto.
His Excellency, Rotimi Akeredolu was recently elected as executive governor of Ondo state. He is a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN). The governor previously served as Attorney General of Ondo State from 1997 to 1999. He is also an ex-president of the Nigerian Bar Association.
The governor was in the spotlight on social media after he controversially won the governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in September 2016. This led to a rift among leaders of the party.
Gov. Akeredolu is one of the 3 governors with verified accounts on Twitter. He is followed by about 159k across his social media handles where he regularly posts about his activities as governor of the sunshine state.
Udom Gabriel Emmanuel (born 11 July 1966) is the Governor of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria, in office since 29 May 2015. He ran successfully for the office of governor in the April 2015 elections on the platform of Akwa Ibom State People’s Democratic Party. Emmanuel was elected Governor of Akwa Ibom State on 11 April 2015. He was sworn in on 29 May 2015. He is followed by about 163k across his social media handles where he regularly posts about his activities as governor.
Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha is a Nigerian politician, a philanthropist, business mogul, administrator presently Imo State Governor under the All Peoples Grand Alliance (APGA) flag. He is versed in local, national, and international policies and global trends in economic development. The governor is followed by 186.3k people on his social media account.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai, the executive governor of Kaduna state is ranked 5th on our list. Popularly called Mallam Nasir El Rufai, the governor needs no introduction when it comes to social media. He uses social media to further amplify his vocal views about the affairs of Nigeria.
Mallam Nasir El Rufai has previously served as Director, Bureau of Public Enterprises and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. He was nicknamed “Mr Demolition” during his service as Minister of the FCT due to the massive demolition exercise which he approved to rid the FCT of unwanted structures. The governor is followed by 256k people on his social media account.
The governor uses his social media accounts to inform the people of Kaduna state about the ongoings in the state and reiterate his promise to take Kaduna to the next level. His son, Bello El-Rufai, is also popular on social media and is widely seen to be a chip off the old block.
Governor Ibikunle Amosun, popularly called SIA (acronym for Senator Ibikunle Amosun), has served as executive governor of Ogun State since 2011. The governor is well known for his signature Yoruba cap wearing style.
The governor was previously a member of the Senate representing Ogun Central District. He is followed by about 277k people on his social media handles.
Senator Ibikunle Amosun is very popular in his state for his massive (perceived as unnecessary in some quarters) road projects which include flyovers and multiple lanes expressways. He uses his social media handles to showcase the beauty of Ogun state and inform his people about the ongoing projects in the state.
The executive governor of Gombe state, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, ranks 9th in our list. The governor is followed by more than 343k people across his social media handles. He also ranks 3rd in the list of most followed governors on Facebook.
The governor posts regularly about his activities in the state, including new & ongoing projects. The governor also uses his social media handles to reiterate his commitment to keeping his campaign promises.
His excellency, Rauf Aregbesola is the executive governor of Osun State. Popularly called “Ogbeni”, the Yoruba word for mister, the governor is perceived to be a figure of love-hate in some quarters. Known for his vocal power, he is often criticized for his management of Osun state.
Ogbeni Aregbesola is the only governor without a cabinet as he deems it too expensive to maintain. The governor has also been widely criticized for the non/partial payment of government workers in Osun state.
Like him or hate him, Ogbeni is a strong political force in the South western part of Nigeria. He also previously served as Commissioner for works & infrastructure in Lagos state under the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
With over 669k followers on social media, the governor remains a force to reckon with. His twitter handle is very popular for regular bants about the English Premier League (EPL) in which he supports Arsenal Football Club.
His Excellency, Akinwunmi Ambode, is the executive governor of Lagos state. Lagos is the most populous state in Nigeria. The governor was elected into office in 2015 after a keenly contested election.
Gov Ambode was constantly berated on social media during his early months as governor after being regularly spotted at the popular nightclub, Quilox & embroiled in a messy dispute with his predecessor. The governor has gone on to be the pride of the people of Lagos by commissioning projects of huge magnitude.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is the only governor in Nigeria with verified Facebook & Twitter handles. The governor his followed by more than a million people on his social media accounts. He uses the accounts to showcase his day to day activities as governor of the commercial capital of Nigeria, Lagos state.
Conclusion
Despite social media growing to be a very important tool for disseminating information & shaping public opinion, a lot of state governments are still not taking advantage of this tool. Most state governments in Nigeria have very shabby social media accounts which are poorly run and grossly underutilized.
Social media has grown to be more than just a tool for basic interaction to becoming an integral part of life online. Take advantage of it today.
Want to learn more about social media & how to effectively use it? Send a mail to hello@woweffect.com.ng today.
Largest Audience (Industries)
10. 
9. 
8. 
5. 
4. 
3. 
2. 
1.