Report: Instagram dominates as 22 million Nigerians use internet for social media

A new report by Terragon Group has shown that more Nigerians are using the internet, with about 63% of them using it for personal purposes.

According to the report Digital Trends for Nigeria in 2018, the total number of internet users currently stands at 100.5 million people, with some 22 million of them actively using social media for a whole lot of activities.

As such, social media is one of the areas with the highest growth rate, even as more Nigerians are adapting to it for digital marketing purposes while also increasing opportunities for brand-consumer interactions across all business verticals.

The exponential growth of social media is followed only by “search”, which is the second most engaging activity on the internet by Nigerians.

Out of all the social media platforms that are available, Facebook maintains the widest reach, with a total of 22 million Nigerians actively using it on a monthly basis. However, in a rather surprising disclosure, Instagram posted higher engagements with 10x higher than Facebook and 84% more than Twitter.

Nigerians have increasingly relied on Instagram for sharing images and short videos, news, fashion and even e-commerce. Small Business have also relied heavily on Instagram for their social media marketing and brand building. The report, however, leaves out WhatsApp, a very popular social media application in Nigeria.

More Nigerian males are accessing the internet, albeit through mobile devices

The report revealed that male internet users dominate the internet space by 58%, with the female folk at 42%. Interestingly, Nigerian men are also more active on all the major social media platforms. For instance, Facebook has 64% male active users, Twitter has 68% male users, YouTube has 69% active male users, and even Instagram has 60%, male users.

Meanwhile, most of the active users access the internet with their mobile devices, so much so that Nigeria ranks as the country with the highest number of mobile users in the world. This, therefore, indicates that one of the best ways to target Nigerians on the internet is through a mobile-first approach.

A changing marketing paradigm

The report also shows that Nigerians are increasingly using the internet for commercial activities more than ever before. This is fueled by digital advertising, which targets millions of Nigerians that are online.

The advertisements come in various forms, even as Nigerians are particularly receptive to ads that come in video forms. Interestingly, internet users in Nigeria are said to purposely look out for video reviews that are related to the products and services that they wish to buy. Consequently, more brands are making use of such social media platforms to reach more people with such ads; leveraging social media influencers in this regard.

Online marketing is also becoming increasingly personalised by “offering consumers
personalised content in order to connect with them on an individual level.”

“The days of mass marketing are dead. It is necessary to incorporate personalisation into marketing strategies by offering consumers content that is tailored to them in order to connect with the audience on an individual level. Businesses also need to exploit analytics for predictive intelligence to anticipate consumer needs and achieve business success.” – Terragon Group

You can read more on this report by clicking here.