With more than 36 million social media users in 2024, Nigeria has one of the most vibrant marketing landscapes in Africa, with opportunities for millions of businesses to thrive. However, not all social media platforms are equal.
If you’re planning to use social media for online marketing, you need to know that even though some businesses are gaining visibility using social media marketing, not all social media platforms are really worth your effort.
Some of the popular social media platforms do not have a large number of users. And some of the ones with a sizeable audience do not have an audience that is suitable for some kind of businesses, depending on your industry.
After many years of practicing social media advertising, I am putting together this tutorial, to guide you on the top social media platforms in Nigeria. I’ll be sharing with you the top social media platforms in Nigeria based on user base, advertising stats, and reports by top data analytics platforms like Statista.
I’ll also be sharing with you in the following paragraphs, what platforms you can use for a particular kind of business promotion, depending on your brand, industry or the nature of your business.
Table of Contents
WhatsApp is by far the largest social media platform in Nigeria. According to Statista, more than 90 percent of internet users in Nigeria are actively using this application on their devices. It is largely used by smartphone users and it’s very popular for social engagement and on the go communication.
Owned by Meta, the messenger app is not known to be as robust for marketing, as compared to Facebook and Instagram, its other sister social media applications.
Although a number of businesses have for some time been using “WhatsApp TV” which is more like the updated version of today’s WhatsApp channel to engage in social media marketing on WhatsApp, success results from this channel has not been as well documented as the ones from Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Based on the foregoing, despite its growing potential, the use of this platform for social media marketing is yet to be well established compared to the other social media platforms.
To this end, if you’re keen on using this platform for your advertising, you don’t want to dabble in fully without paying attention to the track record you’re getting from it and the overall ROI its delivering for your business.
That means you have to look at the outcomes before making a full advertising investment on the platform.
Used by over 70 percent of social media users in Nigeria, Facebook is by far, one of the most established platforms for social media marketing in Nigeria.
It is arguably, the most popular social media platform in Nigeria with a very large and diverse user base.
This diversity makes it suitable for almost all kinds of businesses seeking to engage in marketing. You can almost find any kind of audience on Facebook and it is almost like the de facto social media platform for online marketing in Nigeria.
As a business seeking to generate overall visibility in Nigeria, Facebook might naturally be one of your best options as it has the audience that will meet almost all kinds of needs.
Also, if you’re a business on a tiny budget, with a local audience in mind, or one trying to test the waters of social media marketing, Facebook is a great platform to leverage for your advertising and business growth needs.
However, if you’re more after other kinds of advertising like virtual driven advertising, politics etc., you might want to consider using Facebook Advertising it alongside other platforms.
That said, whether they are using paid advertising or not, most businesses are keen on having a social media page, to interact with their customers.
Like Facebook, Instagram is a very popular social media platform for online marketing in Nigeria. Outside its general popularity, it is also a well-known platform for organic social media marketing and paid advertising.
It is most suitably used for visual driven advertising. For most paid advertising purposes, businesses tend to use it alongside Facebook either on a linked account or as two standalone promotional channels, for their advertising.
Outside paid advertising, a number of businesses are also using Instagram for organic social media marketing, to build a community and engage with their audiences. Although this number may not be as large as Facebook’s, it is still a very well recognized that can help in boosting a business’ visibility beyond their website and in terms of search visibility.
Alongside Facebook, Instagram is a leading platform for small business marketing and advertising.
X (Formerly Twitter)
Popular for political commentary, real time engagement and innovative advertising, Twitter has been one of the top social media platforms used by social media enthusiasts in Nigeria.
Compared to user statistics, it is not as popular as the three other social media platforms mentioned above however it has been a powerful platform used in creating real time engagement and shaping conversations around topical issues.
Over the years, twitter has morphed into a powerful tool in driving political discourse, creating conversations on social issues and building awareness.
It is popularly used by brands seeking to drive engagement around political discussions, promote evolving technological platforms like Cryptocurrency, NFTs, AI etc.
If you’re a business seeking a well advanced audience or those with aims to shape conversations around specific subject matters, Twitter can be your go to social media platform for online advertising.
PS: Twitter is also one of the popular social media platforms used by businesses of all kinds to engage with customers, attend to issues and inquiries. It is almost a must have social media platform for some kind of businesses.
YouTube
Projected to reach 11.9 million users in 2025, YouTube is one of the most visible social media marketing platforms for video content.
As you must probably know, video content is becoming very popular for web users today. More people prefer video over other kind of content and for this reason; even more businesses are engaging in creating video driven content.
Agreed, most marketers do not see YouTube as a top Social Media Platform for online marketing in Nigeria however If you are a business with plans to create longer visual advertising, YouTube might just be your preferred platform to drive sustained results.
Where you’re looking at using shorter videos on the other hand, you might consider going for Instagram and even Facebook.
Tiktok
Tiktok is also one of the top 4 social media platforms used by Nigerians. Based on reports by Statista, more than 50 percent of Nigerians on social media are currently using the platform.
It is one of the most popular platform for Gen Zs and young adults. And it is very popular for short video content and other visually stimulating kind of content.
Although Tiktok advertising is still relatively new in Nigeria, for businesses seeking to reach a very youthful audience, you can consider using Tiktok as your top social media platform for online advertising in Nigeria.
To make your marketing even more potentially targeted, you can consider using this platform alongside other popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram etc.
Over the years, LinkedIn has projected itself as the defacto platform for professionals and b2b marketing globally.
While it has just about 18 percent of the entire social media users in Nigeria, its well targeted user base has made it one of the most preferred social media platforms for online advertising in Nigeria for some specific kind of business advertising.
As a business seeking to target professionals and other businesses, you want to use LinkedIn as one of your top social media marketing platforms.
To make the most of advertising on LinkedIn, just like Tiktok, you sould consider using it alongside other well established platforms like Facebook etc.
Also, whether you’re using paid advertising or not, having a page on LinkedIn can be very useful for your business.
Final Words
Social media marketing has created an avenue for businesses to increase their visibility, attract new customers and make more sales however not all platforms are the same.
With this guide, I hope you’ve learned about the top social media platforms for advertising in Nigeria and how you can choose the one that will work for you, based on your business goals.
To create a more robust result for your business, reach out to our advertising team for your business needs here. Or, sign up for our digital marketing program to learn more about social media marketing and advertising here.
Now, it’s over to you. What are your biggest struggles when it comes to choosing the best social media platform for your marketing needs? Drop your comments below.
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