The Best Platforms to Advertise your Business Online in Nigeria

If you’ve ever spent money on ads with little to no results, you’re not alone. In Nigeria and most countries, brands are wasting money on ads. You may be getting little to zero returns on ads because you are not using the right platforms to advertise your business.

Oftentimes, brands think its about the product. But the problem is not always about your product. In most cases, it’s about where and how you’re advertising. Sometimes its about the digital systems you’re trying to use to gain the visibility in the first place.

Most Nigerian brands jump straight into advertising without understanding that not all advertising platforms work the same way or even deliver the same results.

Based on my experience with how platforms, visibility, algorithms and attention work, I have realized that some platforms will help your target audience discover your brand while some will connect you with people ready to buy from your brand.

The Three Types of Platforms for Advertising in Nigeria

There are three popular types of advertising platforms. These platforms are categorized based on advertising outcomes.

Attention Platform: These are platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube etc. These channels help users to discover your brand thereby creating a demand for it.

Intent Platforms: This includes platforms like Google Ads, Bing Ads etc. The main goal of this platform is to present your ads to people that are already searching for that brand or product.

Trust Platforms: This includes news websites, blogs and popular local platforms with high PR that people are already reading like Vanguard, Punch, Lindaikejis blog, Nairaland etc.

Before we discuss these platforms in details, let’s run a quick comparison of the top platforms for advertising in Nigeria.

Comparing the Top 7 Platforms for Online Advertising in Nigeria

Now, that I’ve given you a summary of the three types of platforms for advertising based on advertising goals and the key platforms you can run your adverts for publicity, let’s discuss these platforms in details and when you can use them.

Facebook & Instagram – Attention & Visibility

Facebook and Instagram (Meta Ads) are like the numero uno in digital advertising. Both platforms owned by meta have become so integrated into advertising that it is nearly impossible to remove them from any advertising campaign, especially with its large audience.

With a combined 5 billion monthly active users, and highly diversified demographic, if you’re just starting out advertising in Nigeria and most developing markets, this is one of the best platforms to advertise your business.

These two platforms dominate advertising especially in terms of attention and visibility. You can find nearly every demographic of people, actively on the meta platforms.

Why Instagram & Facebook work:

• Advanced targeting (age, location, interests). Both platforms allow you to target a very widespread demographic
• Visual content converts well. Both work well for visual content, be it videos or image-based advertising
• Great for both products and services. Whether you’re advertising a product or service, this platform can deliver results that stick.

What most people get wrong:

They run ads like:

• “Buy now!!!”
• “Promo ends today!!!”

But people in low trust regions do not respond well to aggressive selling unless trust already exists. That means you must build trust by creating and sharing relatable content, showing social proof and targeting soft selling if you want to maximize these two platforms.

Cost of Advertising on Facebook and Instagram:

• NGN1,500-5000 per day is a good place for some target keywords, if you just want to see try out advertising with meta to decide if it works or you.
• NGN3,000–NGN10,000/day is enough to start scaling properly for smaller brands. If you’re using both platforms independently, you may have to pay more to run your ads.

Meta Ads is Best for: Meta Ads can be very effective for nearly all kinds of brands and industries but you’ll most likely get a better result if you are in any of the following:

• Fashion brands
• Food businesses
• Coaches & service providers
• E-commerce

PS: With Meta ads, people are not actively searching for you. You show up in their feeds, timeline etc. unannounced.

Google Ads – Ready to Buy Customers

Unlike social media platforms, Google connects you with people that are already searching for what you offer. This is what makes Google ads one of the best platforms to advertise your business.

This is how Google Ads work. If you’re an agency and you’re advertising on Google, using keywords like “Digital Marketing Agency in Lagos”. If a user searches for “top digital marketing agency in Lagos”, Google shows your ad to them, instantly.

Why it works:

• High buyer intent. A user searching for “where to find digital agencies in Lagos” is most likely interested in hiring that agency.
• Immediate traffic. As more people get to see and click through your ads, they get over to your landing page. This increases your traffic.
• Measurable ROI. You easily get to understand how many clicks an ad generates, the number of calls, page views and outright sales.

Cost for Google Ads: The cost for Google ads varies, depending on your target keywords or industry but on a general basis, Google ads are oftentimes more on the high side, compared to social media advertising.

Specific pricing depends on keywords competition. In most industries, you can have a range of NGN100-500 cost per click for most keywords. Google often times charges in dollars but this is a break down of what you can spend in Naira for instance.

For more competitive industries like Law, Real Estate etc., the cost per click may get as high as NGN1000-2000 per click.

What to Advertise with Google Ads: Just like social media ads, you can advertise nearly anything with Google ads but considering the cost and comparative advantage, it mostly favors campaigns in niches like:

• Real estate
• Professional services
• High-ticket products
• B2B businesses

What differentiates Google advertising is that you’re advertising to people who are already searching for products or services similar to yours. This makes it easier to drive sales instantly, compared to social media advertising however you can pay higher in terms of ads cost.

YouTube – Storytelling and High Trust Brands

Like most countries in developing markets, Nigeria and most parts of Africa are gradually consuming video content and also using videos as a way to interact, communicate and sell.

Generally, videos are visually stimulating. They create high engagements and are oftentimes, a great tool for trust building. Also, with smartphones and mobile data becoming increasingly affordable across evolving markets, more users are getting to enjoy video content.

These are some of the top reasons why YouTube advertising is one of the key channels to advertise your business in Nigeria, especially if your goal is to sell using powerful storytelling.

Cost of YouTube Video Advertising:

Like all the other channels, the cost of advertising on YouTube varies. It is charged per view or per impression but it is oftentimes very flexible.

For example; a typical cost per view (CPV) for typical in stream ads ranges around USD0.10 -0.030 and USD0.10-0.50 for most industries.

In terms of ads budget, you can spend as low as 5-10 USD per day or a lot more than that, depending on your industry and the competition.

If you’re hiring a local agency, you can pay them to set up and manage the ads for you. Depending on the agency, you can pay as much as NGN100,000-500,000 or more for agency and advertising management, depending on your campaign goals.

What YouTube Ads is Best For: YouTube advertising is great for many things but you should only choose this after considering your campaign goals. In most cases, brands use it for the following: YouTube ads for the following: goals but most importantly, brands use it for the following:

• Brand storytelling. Great for brands looking to sell with powerful storytelling
• Product demonstrations: For brands who have needs to showcase their products or demonstrate how they are using it.
• Personal brands: This is also great for personal brand seeking to build thought leadership or get visible in top industries.

To make the most of YouTube advertising, you should only use it if you have an audience that consumes a lot of video content.

TikTok Ads – Best for Ads targeted at younger Demographics

Tiktok advertising is a rapidly growing channel that is being increasingly used to target Gen Z and Millennial demographics in Nigeria.

With its youth friendly focused content, TikTok presents a great platform for targeting younger audiences. And brands have been keying into it.

One of the key reasons why TikTok works as a top advertising platform in Nigeria is because it creates a rich blend of organic and paid reach. It has a high virality potential and also a lower competition rate, compared to platforms like Facebook.

Cost of Advertising on Tiktok: Generally, competition on Tiktok is slightly lower, compared to much bigger platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

This means you can create ads with lower budgets and still make a good return on investment. For example, you can start with a daily budget as low as NGN3000-5000 per day, if your goal is to see how it works.

For general cost per click, you may pay anything ranging from NGN40-200, depending on the industry or target keywords you’re using.

What Tiktok Advertising is Best For: Tiktok advertising is great for brands looking to target a younger audience demographic especially with brands in:

• Fashion
• Lifestyle brands
• Skits and entertainment-driven marketing

Tiktok thrives on engaging content. If your ad videos are engaging and entertaining, it can deliver results far better than most platforms.

Beyond direct paid ads, you can also try the option of using Tiktok influencers for your advertising. While the cost is not capped for influencers, working with them can deliver a decent result especially for visibility focused campaigns.

Nairaland – Very Targeted Local Audience

If you’re a brand looking to target a very focused local Nigerian audience, advertising on Nairaland could be your defacto option for online advertising.

Yes! Nairaland is one of Africa’s oldest and most active online communities. It is more like the Reddit of Africa, with a highly engaged audience, massive traffic and a strong reach.

It has consistently been ranked as one of the top 100 websites with the largest volume of traffic in Nigeria. It also consistently has featured users in different countries.

Beyond that, Nairaland has always been well known for its strong discussion culture, engaging audience and capacity for niche targeting. These are some of the reasons why it has been considered as one of the best platforms to advertise your business in Nigeria or Africa generally.

Cost of Advertising on Nairaland

The cost of advertising on Nairaland varies. Each ad cost is calculated in sections, based on the target page, with key sections like home page, politics, crime etc. commanding ad rates within the range of NGN41,000 per day to over NGN1000,000 per month.

Other sections like romance, celebrities etc. are also seeing ads from 1900 to a little over NGN2000 on the average. Check out their average rates here.

Advertising on Nairaland is Best for: With over 6 million monthly visits reported on Nairaland by analytics tools like Semrush, it is very clear that this platform provides a very decent audience for brands. Specifically advertising on Nairaland is best for brands like:

• Tech products
• Education services
• Local businesses

It can also serve as a good alternative to X (formerly Twitter) for political ads and other locally targeted ads.

In general, Nairaland is great for brands targeting local users. It can also be used alongside other platforms to achieve very specific ad goals.

Linda Ikejis Blog, Bellanaija and other top blogs

Blogging is very popular in Nigeria. Blogs like Linda Ikejis blog, BellaNaija, Naijaloaded etc. are some of the most well known blogs across the country. These blogs are long-standing platform with a very massive audience that can drive visibility for brands.

Why blogs like Linda Ikejis Blog works as one of the best platforms to advertise your business is that they have a huge daily traffic. They also have a wide audience reach and a strong influence outside content publishing.

Depending on your needs, you can target very specific blogs in specific niches. And instead of focusing on banner ads, you can also use sponsored posts with links, affiliate advertising options etc. to drive visibility. This gives you a lot of options.

Cost of Advertising on Blogs in Nigeria

The cost of advertising on blogs in Nigeria is wide ranging. They are always affected by a number of issues like the popularity of the blog, traffic, advertising options etc.

For example, advertising on a mid-tier niched blog with a decent audience in Nigeria can cost you anything from NGN50,000 to NGN300,000, depending on the niche, traffic and your advertising duration.

A banner ad on a major blog like Linda Ikeji’s blog can cost as much as NGN300,000 to NGN1,000,000 or more. This will also depend on ad preferences like duration and ad type, whether it’s a sponsored post with a link, a PR post or a banner ad etc.

Advertising on Blogs is Best for:

• Product launches
• Brand announcements
• Viral campaigns

You have to understand your advertising goals, expected outcomes and overall niche before choosing to advertise with blogs.

Local Newspapers (Like Punch, Vanguard, Daily Times etc.)

Before the advent of digital advertising, newspapers and other traditional media channels where the go to platforms for nearly all forms of advertising.

With the coming on stream of digital advertising, so much has changed however, newspapers still command a wide array of credibility, trust and a high volume of well targeted audience.

Using their digital assets (websites and blogs), these news platforms now provide an avenue for brands to boost their reputation, access locally focused audience while also enjoying the benefits of digital ads. Some even go as far as giving a backlink to the brand.

These are some of the reasons why news websites are rated as some of the best platforms to advertise your business online.

A well-established media platform with strong credibility can boost your profile as a brand regardless of what you’re promoting. And you can use diverse options from sponsored ads, to interviews, paid articles or banner ads, depending on your advertising goals.

Why it works: I have already listed a number of reasons why advertising on newspaper websites work for brands but for emphasis, below are some of the other reasons:

• Builds trust instantly for both human users and search engine citations
• Appeals to professionals and decision-makers especially for corporate facing brands
• Great for brand positioning

Cost of Advertising on News Websites: Generally advertising rates for newspaper websites are higher than most digital platforms. Their rates also varies but with NGN100,000 to NGN500,000, you can access a set of advertising options.

For key news platforms like Vanguard News, you can pay between NGN300,000 to NGN350,000 to use their sponsored post options on their website.

For Punch Newspaper, their sponsored posts are rated at USD400 per day while their branded content rate is fixed at NGN350,000. They also have options for advertising on their owned social media platforms.

Advertising on News Website is Best for: Generally, advertising on newspaper website is suitable for all brands that wants to benefit from the credibility and goodwill of the advertising platform however considering certain factors, it is best for:

• Corporate brands
• Financial services
• Government-related campaigns

Like I always tell my readers, before choosing your advertising platforms, consider your specific goals, budget and expected outcomes. If your advertising outcomes will be better delivered on other platforms outside top traffic newspaper websites, by all means, go there.

How to Choose the Right Platform to Advertise your Business Online

Here’s the simple framework most businesses miss. If you want to get the best outcome for your ads, you must use the right platform that can deliver those outcomes.

If you want QUICK SALES:

Use:

• Facebook & Instagram
• Google Ads

If you want BRAND AWARENESS:

Use:

• YouTube
• TikTok
• Blogs like Linda Ikeji Blog and other Niched blogs

If you want TRUST & AUTHORITY:

Use:

• Newspaper Website Ads
• Google Ads

If you have a LOW BUDGET

Use:

• Facebook and Instagram
• TikTok

If you want BACKLINKS

Use:

• Niched blogs
• Newspaper websites

The Smart Strategy that works

Getting on the right platforms alone might not necessarily deliver your ads. Use this strategy… Instead of choosing just one platform, combine:

Attention with Intent Strategy

• Use Facebook/Instagram to create demand
• Use Google Ads to capture demand

This is how we get ads to deliver for top businesses.

Common Mistakes to Avoid while Advertising Your Business Online

• Running ads without a clear audience. You’ll end up wasting money.
• Using the same strategy across all platforms. Some platform work with their own custom strategy
• Ignoring creative quality (this is HUGE). Your ad creative has to be catchy. This includes your designs, videos and text.
• Expecting great results in just a few days. To make the most out of some ads, you’ll need to test it wit different audiences, ad creative etc.

Final Thoughts

To be very honest with you, there is no “best advertising platform in Nigeria”. All of these platforms I listed do work really well for ads but the best platform for ads is the one that meets your specific business needs.

So, if you want to get your money back with digital advertising, identify and work with platforms that meets your business goals.

Like I always say, if you’re unsure, instead of rushing to put in all your budget on a single platform, you can always test platforms to see what works for you and their deliverables before going full in.

And yes, we don’t only build digital systems, as part of our commitment to shape visibility and create opportunities for brands, we run digital advertising for companies. We’re available to consult and work with selected clients. Reach out to us here.

Now, it’s your turn. What are your struggles when it comes to setting up ads that deliver on expected outcomes? Drop your comments below.