How to become a social media influencer in Nigeria

When you hear the term social media influencer in Nigeria, it sounds like a fancy career until you find yourself trying to become one, and then you realize that it is so much work. Well, nothing, I guess every career is that way. They all look easy on the outside until you get in. You might even claim or think that you know how to become a social media influencer in Nigeria. However, knowing how to become a SUCCESSFUL social media influencer is another thing.

The truth is that irrespective of your career choice, knowing the right strategies to build or grow it is important. Every industry has different strategies and growth patterns. In most cases, the same principles govern them, but different strategies.

Becoming a successful social media influencer in Nigeria requires planning and following the right strategies. So, let me show you 6 ways that you can become a social media influencer in Nigeria.

First, maybe we should talk about what makes a person a social media influencer

You should be:

• Able to convince or persuade people to take a course of action.
• Knowledgeable about your field - People should be able to learn from you, beyond the information that they can easily get on the Internet.
• Trustworthy - Can people trust a word you say? Can they trust your recommendations and rely on you to point them in the right direction as far as your area of expertise is concerned?

Okay, now that we know the qualities expected of you as a social media influencer in Nigeria, let’s talk about how to achieve your goal.

Note that as an influencer, your goal isn’t to just attract a large number of followers, but to build a community of people around you or your brand. Building a community is like building a family on social media. These are the people that will constantly engage with you, use your product if you have one, follow your recommendations, etc.

How to become a social media influencer in Nigeria

1. Know the set of people that you intend to influence as a social medial influencer

The first step to becoming a successful social media influencer is to know the particular set of people that you are interested in influencing. Your target audience could be students, mums, fathers, sportspeople, entrepreneurs and SME owners, etc.

Figuring out the set of people you’re interested in makes it easy for you to determine how best to communicate to them; whether in a fun way, motivational and inspirational, etc.

2. Choose the social media platform that you want to use

There are several social media channels or platforms that Nigerians use. For instance, there is Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc. Don’t try becoming an influencer on all of these platforms. Choose one, to start with. You can later move on to others with the influence you’ve gotten from the first one. In the meantime, stick to one. It makes it easy to concentrate and build a good profile.

3. Develop your content strategy and be consistent with your contents

Now, that you know the set of people that you are interested in influencing and the platform that you want to use, it’s time to create a content strategy and marketing plan.

Your strategy should include things like how often you intend to put out content. For instance, is it every day, twice a week or are there specific days of the week that you’d like to post your content?

A part of your content plan should be how to create quality content because failure to do this means that you won’t succeed in that field. So, you should always produce and put out only high-quality content.

Also, be consistent with your content. Don’t go missing in action for 3 weeks, and then come back only to post contents for the next 2 to 3 days, and then disappear once again. No one would regard you that way. So, be consistent.

4. Collaborate with others

As a social media influencer in Nigeria, one of the best ways to increase your reach is to collaborate with other influencers in your niche. That way, you are exposing each other to your audience. You see, people like to know that you also have a network of influential people. So, don’t be an island. Collaborate!

5. Give your followers an insider’s look into your daily lifestyle

Your followers want to see and know what your life looks like every other day when you are not creating content for them. So, make use of stories, reels, and other features on any of the apps that you are using to show them what a day in your life looks like from time to time. Don’t worry about looking perfect, just focus on allowing your followers to get to know you more.

6. Interact and engage with them

Finally, don’t just post your content and run away. Engage with your audience. Respond to their comments. You can ask them questions via some of your posts to get their opinions on certain subjects. Also, make them ask you questions and answer as many as you can. Remember, it’s all about building a community. So, do your best to be a part of your audience’s lives. Knowing how to become a social media influencer in Nigeria could enable you to monetize your social activities online.