How to Become the Next Social Media Sensation in Nigeria

It’s easier and more fun to make money on social media today. Social media platforms have implemented monetization models that pay content creators and general users for using their platforms. So you can make money while also becoming a social media sensation in Nigeria. Generating revenue and becoming a social media celebrity is the key focus of this content piece.

Just a decade ago, you could make money online, but hardly through social media sites. Some of the ways to make money on the internet back then were blogging, forex, website flipping, audio transcription, website design, and hosting among others. To earn money as a remote freelancer back then, you needed to log in long hours on your computer. Today, you can make as much money, or even more, as a content creator or influencer on social media.

Social Media Platforms That Pay For Your Content

Although the metrics for earning on social media platforms are outside the purview of this guide, here are some of the popular social media sites that pay handsomely for your creatives:

• Facebook
• Twitter (now X)
• TikTok
• YouTube
• Instagram

These websites and more will pay you directly for qualifying content – while invariably turning you into a social media sensation – and others like Instagram or Reddit will make it possible for you to market your content for publicity. One of the most popular and easiest ways Nigerians are making money on social media today is through video skits or short video comedies.

List Of Some Top Video Skit-Makers in Nigeria

• Macaroni (real name – Adebowale Adedayo)
• Maraji (real name – Gloria Oloruntobi)
• Isbae U (real name – Adebayo Ridwan Abidemi)
• MC Lively (real name – Michael Sani Amanesi)
• Taaooma (real name – Greene Maryam Apaokagi)
• Oga Sabinus (real name – Chukwuemeka Emmanuel Ejekwu)
• Brain Jotter (real name – Chukwuebuka Amuzie)
• Lasisi Elenu (real name – Nosa Afolabi)
• Woli Agba (real name – Ayo Ajewole)
• Broda Shaggi (real name – Samuel Animashaun Perry)
• Cute Abiola (real name – Abdulgafar Ahmad Oluwatoyin)
• KieKie (real name – Bukunmi Adeaga)
• Zicsaloma (real name – Aloma Isaac Junior)
• Nas Boi (real name – Nasiru)
• Others are Abiri, De General, Twyse, Craze Clown, Sydney Talker, Real Warri Pikin, etc.

Ways To Earn Revenue On Social Media

There are numerous ways to earn revenue on social media – but within the context of this content – we shall examine only two ways:

• Video skits
• Brand influence

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How To Make Money As A Video Skit-Maker On Social Media

Video skit-makers are also generally known as content creators on social media. They typically shoot and upload short videos that may be comedy, vox pop, vlogs, or comments and reactions to trending events. To get started as a content creator on social media, you must first choose your niche. If you want to go into comedy, you must choose the type of comedy content you want to produce and fine-tune your acting skills and those of characters you feature in your shoots.

Having chosen your niche – romance, money, religion, satire – you must perfect your acting skills to reflect your creative performance. You must be able to make people laugh with your videos while passing your social message effectively. You must be able to use appropriate facial expressions and use funny words that will resonate with your audience and followers on social media.

Your social media videos must be professional. It can be shot with a smartphone if you can’t afford filming equipment. And it must be well-edited with necessary audio-visual effects to enhance its quality and impact. If you feel like it, you can feature or collaborate with popular comedians, actors, musicians, and skit-makers in your videos for a wider reach. When your video is perfected, you can post it on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok among others.

You must choose a consistent schedule for posting your social media videos. For starters, you may do it 2-3 times per week to attract followers, and then do it once or twice per week to satiate the hunger of your community. You will need to meet the eligibility criteria for each social media platform before you can monetize it to earn revenue. Done properly, you can expect to earn up to N1,000,000 every month – and you must encourage your followers to share, comment, like, and follow your page.

After becoming a successful and popular video content creator on social media, you can go on to become a social media brand influencer as will be examined in the next section.

How To Make Money As A Social Media Brand Influencer

Although it is possible to become a brand influencer on social media without necessarily being a content creator, it is not possible the other way around. For instance, if you are a popular movie actor, music artiste, famous sportsman, or young politician, you can become an instant hit as a brand influencer if you are active on social media.

The reason for this is largely because you have an existing followership and a widening circle of influence across all industries.

To aspire to become a social media sensation in Nigeria, you must also choose a content niche and then go on to build a community of followers through video creation. Your content must tell your story in a way that appeals to your audience and followers. The ultimate purpose of your video content or online activities must be to build trust in a way that makes you an authority.

When people trust you as an authority, they feel compelled to listen to you when you air your views or recommend a product.

Since the most powerful content on social media is video, you must produce videos that evoke feelings, resonate with your audience, and leave them with a message. To succeed at this, you must create personal videos that address trending issues of the day or detail private issues that you are passing through.

As a popular figure, personal issues such as surviving a car accident, escaping a robbery attack, surviving a major surgery, and favorite local dishes will make interesting stories that resonate with your followers.

Unless you are doing a live video, your video content must be well-edited with all audio-visual effects. While posting on social media, your videos must be optimized for search engine optimization (SEO) or visibility so that other social media users can locate your content. While striving for consistency and engagement in your posting, you should encourage your followers to like your content, share it to their own networks, make comments and provide feedback, and follow your profiles.

When you become a successful social media sensation, major businesses across Nigeria will contact you to promote their products. Brands know that you have the ears of your followers – possibly running into hundreds of thousands – and that they value your opinion, so they will pay you handsomely to pitch their products to them. Influencing your followers to buy particular products is what it means to be a brand influencer or ambassador.

There Are Four Major Ways To Make Money As A Brand Influencer:

• Brand Endorsement

As a brand ambassador, businesses pay you money to represent their enterprise on social media. As a social media sensation with thousands or millions of followers, they pay you to become the face of their company and to influence your followers to buy their products. You only need to inform your followers that you personally use the products or services and then reveal the hidden benefits of the products to get paid.

• Affiliate marketing

You can also earn money as a social media sensation in Nigeria through affiliate marketing. The way of promoting affiliate products is not different from brand endorsement as highlighted above, but the payment model is different. As a brand ambassador, the company pays you an agreed amount whether the product sells or not; but with affiliate marketing, you only get an agreed amount – up to 70% of the product price – only if consumers buy the product through your promotions. This means that affiliate marketers get paid commissions on generated sales.

• Sponsored Ads

As a popular social media figure, business organizations will choose to pay you huge money for being the face of their marketing campaigns. Based on the number of your followers, businesses can pay you directly to feature in their video adverts, billboards, and traditional media ads. You may be the main character in their video ads where you promote the benefits of the sponsors’ products and services. You get paid whether the ads convert or not.

• Product Marketing

Whether you get paid to promote businesses on social media or not, you can equally create your own products and market them to your community of followers. Based on your personal interests and visions, you can create products and services that your followers would like to use. Since you already have a massive following on social media, you have the market to buy your products if everything is done perfectly. In this case, you determine your own price and get to pay yourself.

 SEE ALSO: 15 Reasons You Must Quit Your Day Job for a Personal Business

Collaborate With other Influencers and Brands

When you are a beginner in the industry, you can consider collaborating with established influencers to get a foot in the door. Attracting notable influencers and video skit-makers may not be easy at the initial stage, but you have to think outside the box to reach them. You may ask their friends or partners to put in a word for you, or you may ask them to do something that further promotes their brand for free.

If you follow the targeted influencer and add value to their social media content, they may have taken notice of you somewhere along the line. When you ultimately reach out to collaborate, they will be glad to oblige you. However, it is best to collaborate with influencers who operate within your desired niche and who have the media clout to advance your online image.

Also, it is essential that you leverage the social media platform where your community and model influencers are most active, rather than trying to break through on all the platforms at the same time. For instance, if your niche is related to business and employment, you should focus on leveraging your clout on LinkedIn; if it is how-to tutorials, you may use YouTube; and if it is general content, you can consider Facebook.

Conclusion

After achieving some level of success as a brand influencer or video creator on social media, you must not rest on your oars. You must understand that social media platforms are constantly refining their search and visibility algorithms, and any major tweak can affect your ranking, visibility, followership numbers, and revenues.

So stay ahead of the rules and constantly reinvent yourself to stay relevant to your target audience. You must constantly monitor the metrics and adapt your content to suit the platform updates for continued relevance. And don’t forget that you must also promote your content via sponsored ads and paid collaboration while using organic promotion techniques such as SEO, hashtags, and video descriptions to reach more audiences.

So what are you waiting for to become the next social media sensation in Nigeria? Start where you are right now. And with your smartphone if you don’t have video equipment. You can start with live videos if you don’t have the expert to edit professional videos. Overcome your fears and reach out to collaborators or brands you would like to work with, and don’t be shy about speaking on the products you use on a daily basis – perhaps the brands may contact you for paid promotions.

Becoming a social media celebrity is possible if you would work at it. It is not an overnight success, and you may only begin to notice results after 6-12 months of consistent efforts. Do not be deterred by the challenges that come your way on this journey, let the happiness you bring to your growing audience motivate you to do more. With more popularity and followers comes the constant stream of revenue that gives you the lifestyle that others can only dream of.